作者：Cameron Davis

如何规划并陈述游戏的卖点对于电子游戏的开发具有重要的影响，但是却有很多游戏设计者和制作者常常忽略了这一环节。鉴于很多游戏在初期的推广阶段就遭到了惨痛的失败，我们有必要在此就这一话题进行深入的讨论。

首先我必须在此申明，并不存在着哪一种严密的科学理论能够帮你创造出完美的游戏推销方案。但是你却可以学习一些指导方针（很多都不是来自于游戏行业），以推动你的游戏获得成功推广。

首先，你需要一名优秀的游戏“推销员”。很多游戏就是因为做不到这一点而惨遭失败。然而这并不是因为我们缺乏天赋，激情或者创造性，而是因为作为游戏开发者，我们并不懂得如何推销自己的游戏。

shake_hands(from xbogsx.deviantart.com)

推销之前

首先你必须与游戏发行商展开一场积极的谈话，而如果发行商对你们的游戏感兴趣，并确定了商讨新游戏相关事宜的会议时间，那么恭喜你了，因为你已经越过了游戏产业中最困难的一个环节！而现在你便可以开始真正落实游戏推广了。

明确你的目标听众（发行商）。每一个游戏发行商在拟定目标用户方面都有自己的独到之处。就像华纳兄弟（Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment）并不是因为逼真的运动类游戏而闻名，Atlus（游戏邦注：日本著名游戏制作公司）也并非因为其第一人称射击游戏而备受瞩目。在策划游戏的推广项目之前，你必须了解你的发行商喜欢什么，以此针对他们的喜好进行规划。这样做不仅能够迎合这些听众的需求，也能够帮助你缩小游戏的目标范围并锁定你的目标发行商。

了解自己的产品。这是101点产品推销术中的一大关键点，但是却经常被忽视。你的“推广”小组成员必须清楚游戏的每一个细节（尽管他们并非专业推广人员），因为这样发行商才会觉得这个推广小组了解这款游戏，才对这款游戏充满信心。但是如果你做不到这点，那就必须先解决这个问题，因为它是重中之重，将对你接下来的游戏推广起着关键性的影响作用。

假如你销售的是一款授权游戏，就得进一步了解该游戏授权的相关条款（甚至是与游戏不相关的内容）。也就是说如果这一款卡通授权游戏，那你就必须看过这部卡通片的大量内容。并进一步了解该作品授权下的其它商品，如玩具，书本或者衣服等，记下这些授权商品中关于角色形象，logo和主要知识产权特点的相同之处（例如“芭比娃娃”从不会皱眉毛等）。同时，你还必须让发行商和授权许可方知道你拥有足够的品牌意识，以此才能博得他们对游戏的信任。

除此之外你还必须擅用“电梯法则”（游戏邦注：Elevator pitch，电梯法则，也称电梯游说，即假设你在电梯里，只有30秒的时间来向一位关系公司前途的大客户推广产品且必须成功）推销游戏。因此你的解说词必须简短，精辟且具有吸引力。最常见的形式便是“X与Y在Z情况下相互结合”。

举个例子来说，我针对《Viva Pinata: Party Animals》的“电梯法则”陈述便是：《马里奥赛车》，《马里奥派对》以及《急速前进》（游戏邦注：美国CBS电台的真人秀节目）的合体。这种建立在已有品牌，游戏类型和比喻基础上的结合方式看起来也许略显平庸，但是却能帮助你更好地传达游戏理念。即使你未能明确地在开发商面前展示你的”电梯测验“，但是你也必须在游戏中确立这个机制，以便游戏更快捷地亮出自己的特点。你也可以将“电梯法则”运用于后继推广阶段。

做一些特别的准备。你必须记住，这种推销活动是一种向对方要钱以便创造出并不存在，但有可能实现的产品——所以你必须针对这个目标有所行动。

但是如何才能更好地向发行商传达你的游戏理念呢？你必须根据他们的不同游戏偏好采取不同的措施，包括交互式游戏模式，非交互式游戏视频，概念创作图，游戏预告片（游戏邦注：应该控制在2分钟之内，YouTube的案例告诉我们超过了2分钟，观众的注意力便会开始发生转移）或者阐述一些有说服力的证据等。

最基本的模式便是提供概念创造图的书面证明，同时包含游戏的概要，并向发行商阐明该游戏的“独特卖点”。例如《Just Cause 2》的“独特卖点”便是游戏中巨大的开放世界，逼真的抓升钩道具以及好莱坞电影般的游戏体验。

在游戏设置书面说明（1至2页）的最后章节，你必须以玩家的视角描述游戏核心机制，以及整个游戏中最有趣的事件。不论你采取何种媒介，都应该尽量让游戏以最出彩的一面示人，并承诺他们一定能感受到比媒介所示内容更棒的游戏体验，就像展示艺术的第一准则：让受众形成更大的心理期待。

（另外值得注意的是，不要忽视交互式或视频展示内容的音乐和声效这些微妙的细节，因为这一点可以让你的展示材料看起来更加非同凡响和专业化。）

不要纠结于无关痛痒的问题。我发现很多游戏推销方案都侧重于颂扬那些创新的AI路径系统的优点，或者杰出的环境破坏仿真模式。但是这些功能却与游戏的核心机制并无任何直接联系。

如果这只是游戏体验中的次要内容，如此行事就不免让发行商对更逼真的AI系统以及物理系统产生期待。如果你并未有这个打算，那就不要将其列入推销方案中；但是如果你有此打算，那你就必须重新开始，在新的游戏开发中更加重视这个环节的内容。

做好万全的准备（包括应对任何意外事件）。不要因为发行商所拥有的律师数量比你的整个团队成员还多，就幻想着他们会帮你包办所有推销游戏所需的材料。

你最好拥有一份演示文档或者视频，一台超大屏幕的笔记本电脑且配备着持久耐用的电池，并将所有文件保存在这台设备上。而且今天的掌上投影仪也不再那么昂贵了。如果你不能自备这些仪器，那么当发现展厅里并没有适合你的文件格式的播放设备，那么你就极可能失去一次难得的推销机会。

你还必须带上书面材料的复印件。同时确保出席者手上都有一份复印件，以应对硬盘驱动器崩溃的情况，或者那里并不能提供网络让你接收存档在家中文件的情况。

尽可能以多种不同的格式保存视频文件，甚至包括最小的手机版本。如果实在无计可施了，你便可以在手机上打开预告片，让参加者进行传阅。你必须想方设法防止一切可能破坏游戏展示的情况。

实践。大部分的推广展示只需要5至15分钟，并且是取决于发行商对于推广内容的兴趣度，开发商的名声以及当时是否属于企业忙碌的旺季。就像你在E3展会上如果能够争取到5分钟的展示时间就已经算是非常幸运了，而你就必须在这个短暂的时间内尽可能地吸引发行商的注意。如果你获取了额外的展示时间，也必须确保言简意赅地切中要害。

在出发前最好进行多次彩排，并观察这些听众是从哪部分开始感到产生厌烦情绪，因此对这部分内容作出修改和完善。如果你能带上游戏设置的原型那就再好不过了，因为没有什么能比现场展示更明了，而且这么做还能让参加者更清楚地明白他们所谈论的游戏功能到底是什么。

回忆一下你在大学的辩论课上都学到了什么内容，即你必须反复地向听者解释自己所阐述的内容。而在游戏推销展示中，你必须开门见山地阐述主要观点（也就是“独特卖点”），并在后来的展示中反复强调这一观点。

推销过程中

面对面交流很关键。虽然我们现在可以跨越时间和距离的障碍，使用电子邮件或者网络电话等高科技产品进行交流，但是这些都远不如在同一个房间里进行面对面交流来得直接与方便。

首先，你能得到更多的关注度，并且不会在展示过程中轻易被打断（因为对方的员工知道这是开会时间）。同时，在这种面对面交流的情况下你也能够更好地与对方做出商讨。

这也正是E3展会和GDC大会的展厅为何如此喧嚣和热闹的原因，所以你必须注意仪容仪表，并准备好名片以递给任何需要的人。始终面带微笑，与他人礼貌握手。主动与参加者展开一些适当的谈话，如关于该会议，飞机航班，汽车租赁以及当地的体育团队等内容。

你可以阅读卡耐基的《如何赢取友谊与影响他人》，这本书可以帮助你更好地应对各种社交或者商业场合，而且如果你能在展会一开始就给发行商留下好印象，那么对于接下来的展示推销将有很大的帮助。

要有信心。我知道你肯定会很紧张，因为这是一个投资甚大的推销活动，你也希望能够将其做到最好而不让任何人失望。但是我建议你最好能抛掉这一念头，并一心想着自己已经拿下了目标发行商的投资。也许你并不相信，但事实上，你的展示方——发行商特别希望你的展示能够取得成功，因为对于他们来说，找到一家优秀的游戏开发商并与其展开合作就是他们的工作目标。如果你对游戏有信心，那么你便能够充满信心地推广这款游戏，并因此取得成功，而发行商也会因此更容易达到目标。

所以你必须牢记，你要面向的是一群希望接受游戏的听众。请面带微笑。在开口前仔细斟酌每一句话，不要使用“恩”等感叹词或者发出任何结巴的声音，反倒可以选择用短暂的沉默掩盖任何思考的瞬间。除此之外，更不要说出任何自相矛盾的观点。

演讲技巧很重要。很多人都讨厌听演讲。而且在游戏产业中，我们中绝大多数人都未接受过任何演讲培训。所以，除非你想要雇佣一名专业的演员帮你传达任何推广信息，要不你就好好在当地的英语演讲会上琢磨自己的演讲技巧。英语演讲会是一个分布于全世界的非盈利组织，主要致力于帮助人们成为有自信的公告演讲者和展示者。同时，你在这学到的技巧也能帮助你在游戏开发过程的气氛调动演说中取得较大成效。

肢体语言。如何展示自己与展示什么内容同等重要。在当地的图书馆（或者谷歌图书搜索中）你可以找到很多相关的内容，只要你能够阅读其中一本书，那也必将受益匪浅。

以下是一些初级读本中的内容：不要交叉双臂，与观众保持适当的眼神交流（如果观众人数较多，你可以有规律地与他们进行眼神交流），可能地话，让观众清晰地看到你的双手（未携带任何演讲内容），以确保他们对你的信任以及演讲内容的公正。

与观众保持行为的一致性（即与他们一起笑，按照他们的音量讲话，并模仿他们的动作等）同样也是较为传统的一种肢体语言战略，它可以帮助观众降低对你的演说主题的防御性。

推销之后

在结束了“漫长”的推销展示之后，你可以不用再继续炫耀游戏了。而在你冲出展示厅并冲向最近的酒吧之前，你必须暂时在此逗留，以观察是否有哪一名参加者对你的展示有所疑问。

即兴的技巧。比起口若悬河的演说，内容的精确度更加重要。而且你不能在展示过程中撒谎。因为只有这样你才能自如地应对任何一个观众提问。就像媒体咨询顾问传授给政治家的技巧一样，只需回答你想听到的内容，而并不一定是对方实际提出的问题。

举个例子来说，例如当发行商问你的游戏目标用户是哪些人时，你并不想详细解释这个问题，而回答道游戏将面向任何玩家，并称希望发行商提出自己的看法。这么一来你不仅无需局限于特定的目标用户定位，而且也把这一问题重新抛回给他们了。

如果发行商的提问超出了你的职责范围，那么你可以向他们承诺，回去向负责该任务的同事做出咨询后再告知其答案。对于发行商来说，能否准确回答问题并非关键所在，拥有足够的解答资源更为重要。如果你想知道如何应用这些技巧，请打开有限卫星公众事务网络，并观看一些记者招待会的相关视频，学习其中演讲者应对各种问题的技巧。

提供足够的支撑资料。最好给参加推销展示的发行商人员提供一些后续支持资料（即你所展示的相关文件内容），让他们能带回去展示给小组的其他成员或者高层管理人员看。最好能在USB设备，DVD等装置中拷贝一份预告片，让他们能够带回去做进一步的研究。甚至可以提供一两份专业的文本资料让发行商能够详读。

需要注意的是，只有印刷资料文件才更有利于向发行商展示更多信息和内容，也更容易获得他们的关注——因为这些资料总是摆在他们眼前的办公桌上，而不是湮没在电子邮箱中的一堆邮件中。另外还应该即时做好日程安排和成本预算方案，以便发行商快速做出决策。

确定后继会面的时间表。当然了，如果你最终未取得任何结果，那么前面提到的这些程序就都是白搭功夫。确保你能在推销展示后与发行商再次对话，并与他们一起确定一个最适合的深度商讨时间。毕竟，公司里还有一个团队在等着你的好消息，并随时准备开始动工开发新的游戏。

但这其中还存在许多变量和不确定因素，发行商管理层可能另有想法，他们可能突然转变目标用户定位，也可能半途杀出更具成本竞争力的东南亚开发团队，或者实际操作难度远远超过你的预期……所以完成上述步骤后，剩下就看你的运气了。

游戏邦注：原文发表于2010年11月10日，所涉事件及数据以当时为准。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

How To Pitch Your Project To Publishers

by Cameron Davis

[Having trouble getting your projects signed? Experienced game industry pitchman Cameron Davis, formerly of Krome Studios, delivers a guide to how you can up your game

and get your project signed with sensible -- but somewhat elusive -- information.]

The creation and presentation of the pitch is one of the most important parts of developing the structure and success of any video game, yet is routinely overlooked by designers and producers. Considering that most games don’t pass the initial pitch stage, you would think there would be more discussion of the subject. I’m hoping to address some of that here.、

Now, let me be clear from the outset: there is no exact science to creating the perfect pitch. However, there are a couple of guidelines you can follow in order to increase your success rate, and many of them come from outside the world of games.

Primarily, a successful pitch comes from being a good salesman first and foremost. This is why I think many pitches fail. It’s not for a lack of talent, passion and creativity, but we, as an industry of developers, are absolutely hopeless at selling ourselves.

Before the Pitch

So you’ve had a positive conversation with a publisher, they’ve expressed some interest in what you and your team can do, and a meeting time has been set up to discuss a potential new project. Congratulations, you’ve just jumped over one of the hardest hurdles in the industry! Now comes the hard part — actually doing the pitch.

Know your audience. Every publisher has a unique approach to rounding out their roster. For example, Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment isn’t known for realistic sports games, just as a place like Atlus isn’t the flag-waver of the first person shooter genre. So before you start writing the pitch, find out what they are interested in and play to their strengths. Not only will it establish that you’re a good fit for them, but it helps narrow down the scope and style of the project before you start work.

Know your product. This is salesmanship 101 stuff but missed all too often. Everyone from your team presenting the pitch should know every aspect of what the game is going to be about, even if that isn’t part of their area of expertise. This is important because it tells the publisher — even on a subconscious level — that the team knows the game and believes in it together. If you don’t, bite the bullet and solve that issue ahead of time. It may lead you to change things that would have caused major project issues months down the track.

Further to that, if you’re pitching for a license, you should know everything about that license — even stuff that isn’t related to the game. If it’s a cartoon, watch a bunch of episodes. Study other products that bear that license — toys, books, clothes — and note what common themes you find in the presentation of characters, logos, and dominant IP features. (For example, Barbie never frowns). You want to assure the publisher and licensor that you care about and understand the brand they’ll be entrusting you with for the game.

One more note on this point — make sure you develop the elevator pitch version of what you’re selling. This is an old advertising term where you have the time it takes to get on and off an elevator ride to convince the person you’re in the elevator with to invest in your idea. Hence, it needs to be short, memorable and fire the imagination. The most common form of this is the x meets y in z world formula.

For example, the elevator pitch I used for Viva Pinata: Party Animals was “Mario Kart meets Mario Party in an episode of The Amazing Race”. The use and combination of established properties, genres and tropes might sound trite, but it gets your idea across a lot quicker. Even if you don’t use the elevator pitch in front of a publisher, developing it is essential just so you can establish what the key pillars of your game are internally. You can also use the elevator pitch to start the ball rolling on your larger pitch.

Prepare something special. Remember, the pitch is basically you asking someone to give you a large amount of money to make something that doesn’t exist yet — but should. You have to make every element of your pitch go towards that goal.

The best way to get this across to your audience, in order of preference: interactive gameplay prototype, non-interactive video presentation of gameplay, concept art and environment views cut like a trailer (no more than two minutes, since YouTube has taught us that attention spans plummet after that point), and spoken presentation with supporting materials.

The most basic version is the written document with some concept art, which usually contains an executive summary of the game, a briefing of the main “Unique Selling Points”. For example, the USPs for Just Cause 2 would be: a huge open world, the grappling hook, an over-the-top Hollywood movie experience.

Finish up the document with a one to two page gameplay walkthrough. The latter section would be written from the point of view of the player, describing key gameplay mechanics and event sequences they would experience during a particularly interesting moment in the game. No matter the medium, it’s always good to promote the best aspects of the game, elaborate on the unique selling points and offer the promise of the game being even better than what you’ve shown – i.e., the first rule of show business: leave them wanting more.

(A small point that many people forget with interactive or video presentations — always have music and sound effects in them. It makes the world of difference to how professional it looks.)

Don’t get bogged down in minor details. I’ve seen so many pitches where they spend time extolling the virtues of a revolutionary AI pathing system, or a new whiz-bang environmental destruction simulation model, despite the fact that those features have almost nothing to do with the core gameplay mechanics.

If it’s a minor part of the experience, your publisher will assume you’re going to come up with realistic AI behavior and a new physics system during the course of development anyway. If it’s not, then you should ask yourself if it belongs in the pitch at all — or if you need to start again and make it a focus of your new development.

Bring everything and ensure contingencies. Just because they’re a big fancy publisher with more lawyers on staff than people in your entire team, don’t assume they have everything they need for you to do your pitch.

If you have a demo or video, take a powerful laptop with a big screen, long lasting battery, and everything saved to it. Pocket wall projectors are getting cheaper by the day, and you’ll kick yourself for not having one when the local one has died or doesn’t work with your file for some reason.

Take printed copies of your written material with you (this is important later, too). Make sure your co-presenters have a copy of everything too, in case of hard drive corruption. Assume you will have no internet access to get another copy from home.

Save video files in nearly every format you can think of, including a smaller version for your cell phone. In the worst case scenario, you can then at least hand someone your phone and let them watch your trailer on that. It’s better than letting your presentation be completely ruined by unforeseen technical hiccups.

Practice. Most pitches take around five to 15 minutes, depending on how interested the publisher is, your reputation as a developer, and how busy the time of year is.

Typically you’ll be lucky to have five minutes of quality time at something like E3, so it’s critical to have your presentation down pat and within a small time frame.

If you’re given extra time, expand on key points but make sure you cover everything in the minimum amount of time.

Rehearse your presentation over and over again to anyone that you can get to sit down and listen. Note when they start to look bored – that’s a sure sign that you’re retreading old ground and you need to switch to a new topic before that point. If you have a gameplay prototype, practice playing it in time with you or your co-presenter’s dialogue to ensure you’re demonstrating the features they’re currently talking about. (Bonus points if you’re both playing a multiplayer game and you include some scripted smack talk).

Remember the key points from your college debate class — explain what you’re going to be saying, say it, then tell them what you said. Present your main arguments for your game (i.e., the unique selling points) up front and return to them throughout your time talking.

During the Pitch

Face time is critical. Yes, we have email and Skype and all sorts of wonderful technological bridge-builders that allow us to communicate across distance or time barriers, but nothing matches the immediacy and value of being in the same room as the people you’re meeting with.

For one thing, you’re guaranteed far more of their attention, and you’re less likely to be interrupted as their staff knows they’re in a meeting. There’s also always more opportunity to discuss your ideas afterwards in a face-to-face situation.

This, more than the chaos and loot on the show floor, is why E3 and GDC are important events. So, dress well. Get that haircut you’ve been putting off for the summer.

Have business cards ready to hand out when asked for one. Greet everyone with a handshake and a smile. Make small talk about the convention / flight / rental car mixup / local sports team.

Read How To Win Friends And Influence People, it’s probably the greatest book ever made on how to be a nice person in a social or business situation — and you really want the publisher to think you’re a nice person at the start of the meeting.

Confidence. I get that you’re nervous. There’s a lot of money and time invested in this pitch and you want to get it right. However you have to put that out of your mind and act like you’ve already won the day. You might not believe it, but the people you’re meeting with actually want to see you succeed more than anything. It’s their job to find a developer to make their game, and they’re rooting for you to be the one. If you’re confident in your game, they’ll be confident in your ability to make it a success and, in turn, that their job has just been made a lot easier.

So with that in mind you’re already walking into a receptive room. Smile and look happy. Think about what you’re going to say before you say it — a small moment’s silence while you collect your thoughts is always more preferable to a protracted “Ummm”, stammering, or worse, changing your mind and contradicting yourself.

Public Speaking Skills are important. Most people hate public speaking, and it’s something many of us in the industry are not trained in at all. So, unless you want to hire a professional actor to broadcast your message (and Jerry Lambert’s busy at the moment), why not brush up on your skills at your local Toastmasters? It’s a non-profit organization with chapters all around the world devoted to helping people become more confident public speakers and presenters. The skills you develop here will help you talk to your team during development, too.

Body Language. How your present yourself is just as important as what you’re presenting. There’s plenty of books in your local library (and many more articles about it for free on Google Books) that cover the subject, and you’ll be well advised to read at least one.、

Here’s a primer: Don’t cross your arms, maintain eye contact with who you’re speaking to (if there are lots of people in the room you’re addressing, change who you’re looking at regularly), and if possible show your hands to indicate openness and trust.

Matching the behavior of the people you’re speaking to (i.e. laughing when they laugh, talking at their volume level, assuming their posture) is also a time-honored tactic, as it lowers the defenses of your subject.

After the Pitch

After what must have felt like an hour, you’ve finally stopped showing off your game. Before you run out of the room and head towards the nearest bar, you’ll need to stick around and see what questions they have for you. Here’s what stands between you and the post-meeting beer.

Improvisational Skills. Or, to be less eloquent but more accurate — learn how to BS on your feet. You should never lie, of course. However, it’s a great skill to have an answer to something, no matter the question. One of the first skills media advisers instruct politicians is to just answer the question you wanted to hear, not necessarily the one they actually asked.

For example, if you’re asked what the target demographic will be for the game is, and you don’t want to narrow it down yet, explain that you make games that are open for any audience and you’ll welcome publisher input on this matter. That’s prevented you from defining the target audience and thrown the problem over to the publisher in one sentence.

If you don’t know the answer to a question that’s completely out of your department, talk about how you have people on your team back home that can answer it, and you will get back to them. The key isn’t correctly responding to the question, it’s assuring the publisher that you have the resources to find the right answer. For tips on how this works, watch a press conference on C-SPAN to witness the skill of answering questions on your own terms.

Provide support material. It’s best practice to leave behind something the people you’re talking to can show their teams or upper management and encourage more support. Have a copy of the trailer you’ve prepared on a USB device, DVD or similar for them to watch again later. Print and professionally bind a copy or two of the pitch document for them to read in more detail.

You’d be amazed how much further printed material goes in terms of information and retention and getting noticed — the document is always there on the publisher’s desk, not invisible in a pile of email. Also be prepared to follow your pitch up quickly with scheduling and cost proposals to help them make their decision.

Establish timeline for follow up. Of course, all of this work amounts to naught if you don’t get any result out of it. Make sure you discuss when it would be suitable to contact the publisher again to discuss if the project will be greenlit and that both parties stick to that timeline. After all, you have a team back home that need to know if they’re about to start work on a new project, or prepare the hot oil for your return.

Good luck! After all of this you’re still at the mercy of publisher management shakeups, the fickle tastes of the target audience changing completely, and competition from development teams in Southeast Asia that will do everything you’re promising for half the price. Oh, and the daunting task of actually making good on all your wild promises…（source:gamasutra）