Category: Video Game Development

PR Analysis: The Divine

The Divine PR was an official announcement of the game itself. Sent out late 7/17/06.

The Divine homepage recevied over 500 vistors, over 1000 page views in first full day of release. The second day it over 400 visitors, over 1000 page views.

You Google ‘The Divine’ nothing comes up. ‘The Divine Game’ has a couple sites on various pages. ‘The Divine Packom Interactive’ has every page about the game.

Now the ordeal is that many of these pages are in foreign languages. In something that I did not expect at all. We have more foreign websites than English websites. So it appears that we could be missing the boat because we won’t be offering the game in all of their languages.

Website Presentation

Your pitch is your website. Whether you are looking for a publisher or a distributor, the first thing they’ll see is your website. When you release your game your website will be the first thing a player interacts with. You must at all costs make the presentation of your website as simple and professional as possible, while maintaining the game’s atmosphere.

If your game is a horror game, the website should be dark and graphically run-down. If you have a puzzle game, the website should be bright and colorful.

No matter what the layout looks like it doesn’t matter if the visitor can’t find what they are looking for. Any page besides News, Forum, Screenshots (Media/Downloads), Purchase, Contact could be pointless. You want to keep things organized and clutterless. If your visitor cannot find what they want in 5 seconds your website layout sucks.

Experimenting

A step that’s always needed throughout game development is experimenting. You’ll never reach your final product on your first try. It’s all about testing variables to see how you can improve the gameplay. 

Well that’s what I was doing to this blog- experiementing with ads. After some feedback I’ve moved the ads around so they aren’t as intrusive as before, but still effective.

So understand the metaphor here?

SWL Podcast Episode 12

Here’s my latest podcast:

http://www.stuffwelike.com/podcast/swl-podcast12.mp3
Originally Recorded: 07/16/06
File Size: 24.5 megabytes
Length: 26:50 minutes
Hosts: David Rodriguez and Jon Carver
Edited by: David Rodriguez
Covered Stories:
The Divine Official Announcement
Morning’s Wrath 50% Off
Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth 2 (Preview)
Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays
Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest Box Office