It’s been a little over two years since I created my first game prototype. Over that time, with the help of about forty people, I’ve honed it into a game I think is actually pretty cool. Now it’s time to “make it real”, meaning I’m going to put it out to the public for sale. As such, I need to get serious about marketing and sales… two things I have no experience or expertise in doing. The first step is design: I need to come up with a professional-looking layout for the box, the rulebook, the web site, and even the campaign page where I’ll advertise and sell it.
For at least a year of those two years, I’ve been telling people “Oh, I’ll get to the marketing part eventually”. This week I decided “eventually” had come, and sat down to focus on it. It’s meant a series of late nights, working in my little studio, doing my best to dial in a design that’ll entice people to buy the game.
Here’s a shot of tonight’s work:
I’m working in the mostly-dark because Pepper’s sleeping in the next room. Also, it reminds me of the many, many late nights I spent working on Zing stuff in my basement office, with nothing but Christmas lights strung up around the room to illuminate my desk. I feel like I do some of my best work in the late hours, so hopefully the creative juices will be flowing and I’ll come up with something good. Stay tuned.