作者：Peter Willington

在Pocket Gamer Connects活动中，我们举办了“Very Big Indie Pitch”，并因此看到了许多非常奇妙的游戏。

除此之外，我同样也看到了许多独立开发者在宣传自己的产品时反复犯着一些显著的错误。

所以我便决定提出一列必要的窍门去帮助你在下次宣传时做得更好。

pitch(from makeitbigingames)

1.不要讲那些有关你自己生活的故事

除非你是Hideo Kojima，eter Molyneux，Rami Ismail或Mike Bithell等具有个人威望的大人物，否则你对于自己或者自己在职业生涯中所做的事的描述便不可能成为快速宣传中真正有用的一部分。

你也许认为最近刚从大学毕业是件大事，或者你的猫咪的死亡是确保这款游戏具有更棒的个人体验的重要元素，但是你的宣传目标可能根本就不在乎你所说的这些事。

当你有机会能够讲述有关自己游戏的内容时，请利用所有的时间去描述游戏，而不是你自己。

2.“我想就是它……”

上述这一句子，或者像“所以…….”，“这就是我的宣传”等等内容是结束宣传的一种糟糕表达。

这些内容都没什么价值，更糟糕的是，它们是基于消极的语气。这种结束语会在我的心里根植下怀疑的种子：也许我能够对游戏有更多的期待，或者我开始觉得你对自己的理念并不是那么自信。

你应该计算好宣传时间，如此才能保证你能够说出所有想说的内容，并给出较为高调的总结。如此我才会愿意通过询问更多问题去了解你们的游戏。

3.舍弃情节

也许你的游戏故事非常有趣，但除非你的发行点是围绕着叙述展开（游戏邦注：如一款冒险游戏），否则请不要花太多时间去解释它。

就像有一支团队在向我呈现一款益智游戏，所以我便希望能够看到它的游戏系统是如何与其它系统进行互动。然而该团队却浪费了2/3的时间在阐述不会对游戏玩法产生直接影响的游戏情节。

这一窍门也能够用于任何对游戏体验不是特别重要的游戏部分。

4.避免小题大做

当你花了几秒钟时间瞎忙活于描述技术元素时，你便是在浪费告诉人们你的游戏所提供的其中一个内容的机会。

确保你能够不断练习这样的宣传直至你能熟练地传达出来，并且不要只是专注于训练你所要传达的内容。你应该习惯于不断重置自己的演示内容，并快速获得你想要呈现的内容。

如果你已经准备好要呈现的特别创造的架构，这便能够减少用于设置演示内容所浪费的时间。甚至连将所有你想要作为展示内容的资产都归结到一张纸上，或取消平板电脑的密码设置都有可能减少宣传的时间浪费。

5.个人卫生

肥皂，牙膏，除臭剂。

像这些产品都是你的朋友，所以请使用它们。

这么想吧：你已经花了许多时间在创造能够给我们留下好印象的优秀游戏，你也应该在游戏宣传时这么做。

请注意，我并不是让你选出团队中最吸引人的成员去完成展示工作；相反地，我所强调的是如果你体味太重了，我便不可能去玩你的游戏。

同样关于该主题，你应该随身携带口香糖或一瓶水（如果是菠萝汁会更好），从而保持口气清新。

6.让我玩你们的游戏

我知道这听起来再显然不过，但如果我不能玩你们的产品，那么我便不可能说出自己的看法。

你必须在宣传的时候带着游戏的可运行版本，即使那只是由视频渲染或概念艺术所支持的简单原型。

此外，如果你知道你将面向宣传的人有多少，你便可以考虑是否该为每个人准备一台设备。如此不仅能让每个人立刻体验游戏，同时你也可以基于不同设备去展示游戏的运行。

7.学习玩你们的游戏

你当然知道如何玩自己的游戏，但你是否知道如何颠倒地玩游戏？

这听起来可能有点奇怪，但如果你正在展示游戏玩法，你便需要能够从自己并未常接触的角度去完成。

学习如何从设备的上方和侧边去完成游戏阶段或呈现特殊的游戏功能，因为如果不这么做你便很难去判断游戏的印象。

8.了解你的用户

在“Very Big Indie Pitch”中，每个宣传桌都会出现不同的新闻记者，发行商，盈利专家，市场营销主管等组合。

如果你能够掌握桌子前都是些什么人便会带来较大的帮助，就像如果你面对的是盈利专家，你便需要注重于解释将如何为他们的投资创造回报，但如果你面对的是评论家，你则需要强调你们想要突出的创造性风险。

至少你应该避免一个宣传者不了解情况而自己在那说个半天：包括展示的内容明显侵犯了“裁判者”的雇主的版权这种情况。

9.不要低估你的用户

如果你清楚自己的游戏具有缺陷，那就不要期待着“裁判者”看不到它，请相信他们的火眼金睛。你所宣传的对象有可能已经在这个业务领域打拼了好几年，甚至能够辨别出一英里以外的潜在问题。

如果你注意到这样的问题，你就应该准备好向对方解释（游戏邦注：请确保足够简洁）你将如何去修正它，以及为什么你会做出这样的设计决定。

另外，如果作为“裁判者”的我们正在做笔记，你也不要停下来等我们，我们可以同时听你所说的并进行记录。我经常注意到宣传者会停下来等我写完一个句子才继续讲说。不管怎样你都不应该匆匆忙忙地进行演说，但与此同时你也不要因为认为我们不能同时进行两件事而浪费时间。

（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Top 9 tips on how to pitch your mobile game like a pro

by Peter Willington

At Pocket Gamer Connects we hosted the Very Big Indie Pitch, and I got to see some truly fantastic games, many of which we’ll write about over on PocketGamer.co.uk.

However, I also saw a few glaringly obvious mistakes repeated time and time again by indie developers whilst pitching their products.

So I’ve decided to put together a list of indispensable tips and tricks to ensure that the next time you’re pitching – either at one of our Big Indie Pitch events, or in a live fire scenario – you’re fully prepared to dazzle and amaze.

1. Don’t tell your life story

Unless you’re Hideo Kojima, or Peter Molyneux, or Rami Ismail, or Mike Bithell, or another big name creative with personal cachet, I do not see how you describing who you are or what you’ve done in your career as being useful or beneficial as part of a rapid-fire pitch.

You may think that graduating from university recently is a big deal, or that the death of your cat has made making this game a very personal experience, but the person on the other end of the pitch doesn’t care and tunes that stuff out.

In a scenario in which you are being given the opportunity to talk about your game, use all of the time you have to talk about your game, and not yourself.

2. “And I guess that’s pretty much it…”

The sentence above, and variations upon it – such as “so… yeah….”, “…and that’s my pitch”, or simply trailing off at the end of a sentence – are a weak way to end a pitch.

They say nothing of value, and worse than this, they’re negative in tone. These endings plant seeds of doubt in my mind: perhaps I should have expected more from this game, or maybe I begin thinking that you don’t sound confident in your idea.

Time your pitch so that you know you have said everything you want to say, and end on a high note. I should then immediately, and excitedly, want to find out more by asking questions.

3. Losing the plot

Perhaps the story of your game is pretty nifty, but unless the entire point of your release is the narrative itself (such as in an adventure game), then don’t spend too much time explaining it.

One team that spoke with me was showing a puzzler, and so I wanted to know how its systems of play interacted with one another. Yet the team squandered two thirds of the entire presentation time speaking about the plot which, as far as I could tell, didn’t directly affect the way the game played.

This tip can also be applied to any aspect of your game that isn’t crucial to the experience.

4. Cut the faff

When you spend even a few seconds of your time faffing about with technical elements of your presentation, you are wasting an opportunity to tell the person you’re pitching to one of the bullet points of what your game offers.

Ensure that you’ve practised your pitch until it’s super slick, and don’t simply focus on practising what you’re saying. You should also get used to resetting your demo on the move and getting to the content you want to show quickly.

If you can have a specially created build ready to show then this can minimise the amount of time wasted on setting up the demo. Even just putting all of the assets you want to use as part of the presentation onto one page, or taking the password off your tablet for the day, can cut valuable seconds of wasted time from your pitch.

5. Personal hygiene

Soap. Toothpaste. Deodorant.

Products like these are your friends, so use them. The very fact I have to write this point down fills me with sadness about the industry, but there it is.

Think of it this way: you’ve spent loads of time making your game look as good as possible to impress us, you should do the same.

Please note that I’m not suggesting for a moment that you should deliberately send the most attractive member of your team to do the presentation simply because they’re pretty; instead I’m highlighting that if your body odour makes my eyes stream, then I can’t play your game properly.

Staying on this theme, you should bring throat sweets and a bottle of water (or better yet, pineapple juice) with you, to keep your vocal chords in tip-top condition.

6. Let me play your game

I know this sounds obvious, but if I can’t play your product, then I’m unlikely to be able to tell if I like the cut of its jib.

You should never go into a pitch without a working version of your game, even if it’s simply a prototype supported by video renders or concept art.

Additionally, if you know how many people you’ll be pitching to then consider bringing one device per person. Not only will everyone be able to experience the game at once, but you can also use the opportunity to show how the title runs on different devices.

7. Learn to play your game

Clearly you know how your game plays, but do you know how it plays upside down?

That might sound like an odd question, but if you’re demonstrating gameplay you’ll need to be able to do it from an angle you don’t usually play at.

Learn to complete stages or show specific game features from above and to the side of the device, because not doing so may give judges the impression that the game is harder or less responsive than it actually is.

8. Know your audience

At the Very Big Indie Pitch, each pitching table featured different combinations of journalists, publishers, monetisation specialists, marketing executives, and so on.

Knowing who is at the table can be a real boon, as if you’re talking with the people with the cash you might want to focus on how you’ll make money on their investment, but if it’s a table of critics you may want to highlight the creative risks you’re taking.

In the very least you should try to avoid the situation one pitcher wound up in: including content in the demonstration that was clearly infringing on the copyright of one of the judge’s employers. Yikes!

9. Don’t underestimate your audience

If you know there’s a flaw in your game, don’t hope for a moment that a judge won’t spot it, because they will. The people you pitch to will likely have many years of experience in the business, and can see a potential issue from a mile off.

If you’re picked up on this, be ready to explain (very briefly) how you’re planning on fixing it, or why you made this design decision.

On top of this, don’t wait for us if we’re making notes, as we can listen to what you’re saying and write at the same time. On several occasions I noticed pitchers waiting for me to finish writing a sentence before continuing with their point. Don’t rush the pitch by any means, but don’t throw away time because you think we can’t do two things at once either.(source:pocketgamer)