Promoting a Game

This weekend, I will be going to San Angelo, TX to both vend and promote Tortured Earth. I've always found the convention scene a bit of a hodge-podge of gawkers, fans, geek enthusiast, and casual onlookers. The scene has always been both kind to me and my business and a bit like homecoming. In sort, it's a scene I absolutely love!

The big question right now with the con scene is "What is going to happen?". With so many established cons going belly up and others postponing their events indefinitely, there is a lot of uncertainty within the community. Feeding into the madness are social and political issues and a general fear generated by the lockdown. 

Attending San Angelo Comic Con is an attempt to venture back into normalcy. Hawking our wares, running game sessions, and interacting with the public (albeit with masks on and continually washing in hand sanitizer) are all tick marks in the "Normal" column. The goal will be to sell some books, run game sessions, and generally have a good time.

The interesting part of all this is the promotion of a game product which focuses on social and group interaction. Of course, media exist such as Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds which facilitate distance interaction. They are valuable tools and definitely have their place in the upcoming developmental phases of our company. As supplemental tools, these are incredibly valuable. 

Unfortunately, I'm an old school gamer. I love having a group of friends around the table, laughing and joking, and rolling dice. This style of interaction translates well into my business model. I travel around at various conventions, running game demos, and selling the printed copies of our game. It's a very "grassroots" approach but it's what I'm comfortable with and it works.

As we continue to grow, we will expand our presence into online media - podcasts, VTT, and other such media. Unfortunately, I'm the sole proprietor of the of Tortured Earth and am divided among the writing of the new game, creature manuals, artists, blogs, web page content, social media updates, and all the other little tidbits that go along with independent game development. 

Fortunately, I have family and friends willing to help with various aspects and, through a combined effort, the ball can begin to roll. This, of course, takes me to the topic of the day.

Promoting any product requires those presenting information to have some sense of not only the content but of the audience itself. Developers first getting into this aspect of the business (myself included) are plowed under by the sheer options available: Facebook adds, Reddit, Podcasts, Posters, T-shirts, Pins, Hats, Necklaces, and all 2000 other items available to slap your label on and spread the word about your existence. 

Allow me to indulge you with my mistakes. These are the ones I'll never make again.

T-shirts. Yes, company shirts are nice. In fact, it gives employees a sense of unity and looks professional. Good Idea. Selling t-shirts with your logo and imagery on it - bad idea! Strike that. TERRIBLE idea. First, you need to have t-shirts in all sizes. Even ordering 5 copies from sizes Small to XXX-Large is an incredible number of shirts. To top it off, you can't just get by with 1 design. People like variety. You need to have multiple styles. Traveling with a van full of merchandising t-shirts takes up a lot of space, requires a tremendous amount of time to organize and display properly, and doesn't sell as fast as one might think. I tried t-shirts the first year I was in business. I still have shirts from the original order. Posters are equally problematic. They add the additional problems of storage and protection. 

Hats. Another "nope". Never again. The minimum order was 500. I will probably be buried with some of those damned hats. We've tried giving them away as promotional items, selling them, and slipping them into grab bags. They simply are not a desirable item with the target audience. Company related jewelry are also very dicey. Depending on the logo and presentation of the jewelry, this may or may not be a worth-while venture.

Pins. Yes. I bought 500 simple round button pins. They ran about $0.30 per pin. We gave them away as promotional items and I still see them circulating at some of the conventions we frequent. People will put them on grab bags, integrate them into their cosplay, wear them on sashes, and actually trade them. It's a great way to attain logo recognition. Next time, I will make sure either the web site is on the pin or one of our social media links.

Reddit. Yes. As previously mentioned, the first attempt at this was an unmitigated disaster. We were trolled and, as a new company, we weren't sure how to deal with this development. Our second attempt at this media is proving more productive. I am currently using the forum as a means of identifying potential artists, connect with other game developers, and promote both the blog and the new version. This is one of those devices best used in small doses. I've found you cannot dump a large section of information on Reddit and expect it to be reviewed. Rather, several small doses roughly a paragraph long to introduce a concept followed by either a link or reference to more information for interested parties works far better.

Facebook adds. Yes. However, this is only used to promote appearances at various conventions. Having signups, appearance information, and other relevant information works a lot better than trying to sell stuff online. I believe most people are so bombarded with advertisements, most simply overlook the advertisement all together. When advertising a location or appearance, you are tagging onto an existing audience and drawing attention to yourself within that group. Game shops love the tactic because it adds interest to their business as a venue for something new or unexpected.

Podcasts & Vodcasts. This is the next step in our developmental phase. I'm not sure how it's going to play out in terms of marketing. Like so many other things I do, this is one of those projects I just want to do. As mentioned, I love our game and its mechanics. The Tortured Earth Podcast will be a really neat way to showcase the game and demonstrate the range of storytelling abilities of both the system and the game creators. 

A huge factor feeding into the podcast idea is my love of Old Time Radio Programs. This is yet another hobby I'd developed when my sons were younger - trading OTR Programs. X minus One, Superman, and Green Hornet all manage to tell such amazing stories without ever being seen. The stories were rich and thought provoking, entertaining, and just plain fun. I've always wanted to recreate that element in some small part. Zoom, Google Meet, Screencastify, and a million other programs enable the homebrewer to create such programs with ease. Granted, I may only have an audience of 10 people but it's not about the numbers. This is a project I want to do for me and out of passion for story telling, not as a means of supporting myself.

Thanks again, guys! 

K. B. Kidder

If you are checking out this post for the first time, you may access our website by clicking here: Tortured Earth

Character species released for review: Allorn, Dwarf, Elf, Eoceph, and Goblin.

Combat Creatures released for review: Braunach, Faeda, Fetid Hound, Minotaur, and Wolf.

If you are interested in the creature development process, you may submit your own creatures by filling out the following form. We will review the forms before publishing the creatures to the website. Creature Creation Form

If you would like to see what Tortured Earth looks like, the GM portion of the rule book is available as a free download on the Tortured Earth Home Page. Tortured Earth Beta GM Guide  

And finally, I have created a Tavern Generator and Loot Generator. Both are free downloads and can be adapted to a wide range of story settings. Both are written in Excel. If you are using a tablet, you can download a free version of Excel and operate it live at the game table.