Game almost done, now what?

[Evanstaul]

Hi, I've been working on my game for quite a while now. Its not "casual" it's a 2D "beat 'em up" which are kind of games I really enjoy. So who knows what my chances of success are. I have all the graphics, sound and major programming done. I just have to finish off all the levels.

Before I go any further, I am preparing a beta for show to people so I can get some feedback. I also have the contact information for a few large portals that I want to try out. I want to do as much as I can to make the game some decent success.

Can anyone please give me a brief outline to what the order of my business plan (at this point) should be? This is probably out of order, but a sample would be:

1) Finish playable beta
2) Release beta to this forum, do tweaks, more tweaks
3) Show to large portals, see who might have interest
4) Create a website, with screen shots and movie clips
5) Approach marketing service like VGSmart? (maybe way before?)
......

Actually I was planning to show it here and the portals at the same time. If there is anything I'm missing let me know. Any tips appreciated!

[Pallav Nawani]

You can show it to portals any time. Best show it only after you have polished it well. So:

1) Finish playable beta
2) Release beta to this forum, do tweaks, more tweaks
2.5) Polish it untill it really shines - Don't bother releasing an unfinished game since it won't sell at all. Tweaking it later won't help your sales at all, so tweak it before you release it. You probably intended to do this all along, but I just wanted to emphasise this point.
3) Show to large portals, see who might have interest. Since portals will take some time to respond and put your game up (1 Month or upwards), so you can move on to number 4.
4) Create a website, with lots of screen shots, preferably get a professional website designer to do it, if you can afford it. Nobody buys games from a amateurish website. A professional looking website goes a long way in convincing the buyer that the seller is trustworthy. If your website is good enough, you will find that some people will buy your game without even trying the demo! Also, don't bother too much about SEO. Defenitely do a minimum level of SEO, but don't waste much time on it. If you are going to get a website designer to do it, then don't wait to finish the game, best get it done early.
4.5) Ask on this forum for feedback on the website after you finish it
5) Approach marketing service like VGSmart and do a press release. Preferably a week or so before it gets released by any portal. If you can, get VGSmart to solicit game reviews - very helpful, they are, esp if you have a good game.

Hth,
Pallav

[electronicStar]

I have all the graphics, sound and major programming done. I just have to finish off all the levels.

I would not say that your game is almost done then. I think you have quite a lot of work left to do.
In any case wait until the game is very polished because a bad first impression is a bad start.

[Evanstaul]

I think I should get some feedback early so I don't go too far. Perhaps I should do something like a closed beta to a few people so it doesn't get out?

[cliffski]

I'd get a website up and running ASAP. people are much more helpful generally when there are screenshots to look at. based on a few screenshots, its quite easy for people to say "you have a lot of work to do" or say that its looking finished. OF course thats very superficial, but its always good to get fresh pairs of eyes looking at the state of your game, it helps put any posts here into context.
My cat just bit right into my hand as I typed this. ouch.

[bignobody]

I think I should get some feedback early so I don't go too far. Perhaps I should do something like a closed beta to a few people so it doesn't get out?

This is the route I took, and it worked quite well for me. Got a lot of good feedback from the community. Still polishing though, several months later... Good luck!

[Game Producer]

Hi, I've been working on my game for quite a while now. Its not "casual" it's a 2D "beat 'em up" which are kind of games I really enjoy. So who knows what my chances of success are. I have all the graphics, sound and major programming done. I just have to finish off all the levels.

Before I go any further, I am preparing a beta for show to people so I can get some feedback. I also have the contact information for a few large portals that I want to try out. I want to do as much as I can to make the game some decent success.

Can anyone please give me a brief outline to what the order of my business plan (at this point) should be? This is probably out of order, but a sample would be:

1) Finish playable beta
2) Release beta to this forum, do tweaks, more tweaks
3) Show to large portals, see who might have interest
4) Create a website, with screen shots and movie clips
5) Approach marketing service like VGSmart? (maybe way before?)
......

Actually I was planning to show it here and the portals at the same time. If there is anything I'm missing let me know. Any tips appreciated!

I would concentrate on poin #1: finish the game. I know that "almost finished" can be several months away from completion. So, focus on that.Next point: #2, tweak tweak tweak. And tweak.

Secondly: What are your goals? What are you trying to achieve? For example: If you want to build your own business & learn selling then you might re-consider going towards portals.

If you get best portals interested, then perhaps you don't need a marketing service at all?

Sounds fine to me, just go forward. Good luck! :)

[d000hg]

A small/closed beta with maybe one or two levels sounds good. Then you can test the gameplay and stability without risking people seeing the unpolished version and never wanting to try it again.
Probably, just informing development forums like this would be fine - unless it's great nobody else will know about it.

I'd quite like to play a 2D beat-em-up if you'd let me...

[Evanstaul]

Thanks all. I've decided to polish it up more. I will also be testing it on the Mac. After that I will try a closed beta. I hope I can finish it soon!