If a tree falls in a forest…

Ok, so now we have a feature complete, bug free, 100+ level puzzle game that is currently in certification with apple. The next hurdle is going to be how to make it into something that could actually bring in money. The question becomes, How do you stand out in the forest of apples marketplace with the thousands of other games all vying for the same thing?

Exposure is the first big step, letting people know that your game is out there. Facebook and especially twitter are good for that, but social media only has a relative reach. What we need to do is go further.

Reviews are key in my opinion and if they are not reviews than at least the are little stories that say, “Hey go check this out.”

Yesterday I  compiled our list of media outlets we want to send to, but we did this last time. We made the same list of all the major industry news hubs, joystiq, IGN, G4, GameInformer, and you know what happened?

First it was a nightmare to even try to find contact information for any of these places. And second of all, what I did end up finding was a generic, webmaster@whateversite.com. Which means that our presskit, which basically amounts to a polite/professional plead, was most likely lost in the shuffle.All of those websites get thousands of hits everyday, which accumulates into hundreds (or more) of emails.

So at the end of the day of the fifteen or so media outlets we sent a press kit too, not a single one responded.

But we did get coverage. Other smaller websites found our game and we actually got a review from one of them, Video Games Interactive. These guys were awesome and fully supported us, but unfortunately making games is a business and we need to find a way to get more eyes on our product.

So here is the plan: We are going to hit those same major players again, but this time with a header in our press kit that might actually get someone’s attention. We are also going to give these people a free copy of the iPad game Before it comes out, apparently that is major factor in deciding if to review something. Twitter, I think we are going to try to push the game at individual reviewers who tend to favor independent games, mixing ourselves up in the general email pool just feels like its doomed for failure.

And finally, it’s all about who you know. And finally we kind of know some people who know some people and maybe that will pan out.