So, what "Completed game announcements" don't you open and read?

[fernewelten]

Hello,

Have you noticed? There are some forum threads in "Completed Game announcements" that have more than 20,000 (!) views; others published at about the same time have about 150 views, and that's it. Even taking into account that some threads are much longer than others, this must translate into massively different reader amounts.

There must be thousands of readers that open one specific announcement but not another next to it.

What makes this surprising is that the title in that forum is rather constrained by the Board Rules; and all the pictures that a thread may contain are only visible after the thread has already been opened.

How come? What about you yourself: what makes you read some game announcements and ignore others that are right next to them?

The act of opening or NOT opening a game announcement is in and of itself a rudimentary critique: namely, a critique of the way the game is announced and advertised. So I think this forum might give useful insights.

What do you think?

[Sinitrena]

Simply put: Names
Names and numbers.

I'm more likely to open a thread from someone I know in some way or form (creators who released games before, especially well-known games; people I talk to more often than others).

There are also certain titles where I know I'll probably not be interested in the game, but this is not really measurable.

Even taking into account that some threads are much longer than others, this must translate into massively different reader amounts.

That's an exponential curve, I think. More posts means there might be something interesting in there so more people look. More looks means more posts, and so on. Higher reader numbers, even without many posts, also means it's more likely that there is something interesting there.

[Cassiebsg]

I read every post, but don't post as often. If someone replies on a thread, I'll go read the reply, making it more views... so a thread with more replies, is normal to have more views...
I only do not read threads that for some reason "disappear" from the "unread posts since last visit" list, since I mostly only use this function to check the forum.

[milkanannan]

I agree with what's posted above and will just add that I'm definitely more likely to open game announcements that I have heard of before. I guess it is helpful for developers to build the momentum for the game with a few 'in progress' updates in the months/years leading up to the release.

[VampireWombat]

I'm more or less like Cassie. I try to check out each Completed game's thread. Some I'll return to, some I won't. Sometimes I'll be interested in trying the game, but don't feel like downloading it at the time and so I'll come back to download it. And then every once in awhile I'll actually comment on the game and return when I see there's new messages in the thread.

[Laura Hunt]

Re views, I'll click on literally anything. I get *very* bored at work.

Re engagement, I will definitely leave some props/encouragement/respect if I like what I see, even if I don't end up downloading it or haven't played it yet. Everybody likes getting feedback, everybody likes knowing people have enjoyed their work in one way or another, so why not let them know. It doesn't take a lot of effort and you make someone a bit happier.

Stuff with "space" in the title is almost 100% guaranteed to not pique my interest though

I agree with what's posted above and will just add that I'm definitely more likely to open game announcements that I have heard of before. I guess it is helpful for developers to build the momentum for the game with a few 'in progress' updates in the months/years leading up to the release.

* takes notes *

This just creates another question though: what makes you click on "games in production" threads?

[milkanannan]

Re views, I'll click on literally anything. I get *very* bored at work.

Re engagement, I will definitely leave some props/encouragement/respect if I like what I see, even if I don't end up downloading it or haven't played it yet. Everybody likes getting feedback, everybody likes knowing people have enjoyed their work in one way or another, so why not let them know. It doesn't take a lot of effort and you make someone a bit happier.

Stuff with "space" in the title is almost 100% guaranteed to not pique my interest though

I agree with what's posted above and will just add that I'm definitely more likely to open game announcements that I have heard of before. I guess it is helpful for developers to build the momentum for the game with a few 'in progress' updates in the months/years leading up to the release.

* takes notes *

This just creates another question though: what makes you click on "games in production" threads?

Haha that's not a loaded question at all, right? 

I think artwork threads are easy ways to get some exposure and to introduce the community to the feel of your project as well as give a heads up that a game is coming. This 'Crimson Diamond' game is a good example. The author is releasing lots of artwork, playable demos and media from events she is attending. I think all of this helps raise awareness/interest, which translates into way higher clickthrough when the game is finally released. These updates are similar to reality TV shows. You sort of get to peek behind the curtain and see how the project is being made. That's always fun.

[Laura Hunt]

I think artwork threads are easy ways to get some exposure and to introduce the community to the feel of your project as well as give a heads up that a game is coming. This 'Crimson Diamond' game is a good example. The author is releasing lots of artwork, playable demos and media from events she is attending. I think all of this helps raise awareness/interest, which translates into way higher clickthrough when the game is finally released. These updates are similar to reality TV shows. You sort of get to peek behind the curtain and see how the project is being made. That's always fun.

That's a good one, but excessively long development times or "hype campaigns" can also lead to fatigue and a feeling of "ok, but WHEN is it coming out". It's a delicate balance!

[milkanannan]

Can't help but be reminded of Phil Fish, who rode the 'Jesus, are you ever going to release this thing?!!' to unbelievably glorious heights! 

Although no one wants to end up a Phil Fish, I still think releasing lots of preview material gets better traction than releases with absolutely no preamble, mention or community discussion. I mean, the conversational turnover is generally so quick that if there isn't any buildup at all the developer risks their years of effort being reduced to a single AGS thread with only a few random 'congrats on the release!' posts. In a weird way, Phil Fish becoming the asshole of the internet was great marketing and put his game on the map for many people.

[Privateer Puddin']

I'm as guilty as anyone when it comes to not posting on completed games threads, but I do wish they were more active, both as just someone in the community and someone making games.

I'd put myself as:

Read thread - 90%
Download game - 25%
Post on thread - 1%

Will try and fix that! I can see from the analytics from my Hutton VGA thread that the forums drive a fair amount of traffic, but little feedback thus far.

[fernewelten]

Can't help but be reminded of Phil Fish, who rode the 'Jesus, are you ever going to release this thing?!!' to unbelievably glorious heights! 

Thanks for the pointer to this interesting video!

Interestingly, this whole affair was completely new to me. I'd never heard of Phil Fish before in all my life, neither of that game “FEZ”.

I was definitively on this world in 2008, and I definitively owned a computer at that time. Thinking back, I mostly played Adventures, and Caesar III. For casual gaming, I played Flash games, the ones that Armor published for instance; but only occasionally, every few months or so in binge evenings.  And I didn't do Twitter at all.

For Adventures, I strongly preferred the “atmospheric story with puzzles” approach, and apart from the Wadjet Eye games I only considered games with a resolution of at least 800x600. (I hated, hated being told that a five pixel blob was a pair of scissors. )

Apparently, this set of preferences is completely disjunct from FEZ or FEZ-style games. That's the only explanation I can think of.

So this film has given me a lot to think about.

Do you think that the AGS game machine seems to attract an audience that likes a certain type of game, and that other types were better written with another game machine, say Visionnaire?

And how would you characterize games that the AGS machine is suited for?

[milkanannan]

Ferne, you might be interested to watch the documentary 'Indie Game'. I think it is on Netflix. Phil Fish is one of three developer teams that is followed in the movie. It is a really interesting overview of commercial game development process. I'm not sure if it would answer any of the questions you have asked here, but it is a motivating watch nonetheless. Here's the preview: