Hi, me again, with a more serious post this time. Please don't take it as a flame, it's a serious thought about the UWE's approach to marketing, and why it urgently needs to be revised

Right here goes: Why does the E-Team fail? this is why:

Because the current website is awful for marketing / promotion.
Elaboration: If a user is directed to this website from a poster, user, e-mail, word of mouth, viral ad... anything which would leave the user craving more information or a taster... what do they get?

Here is an example of what people coming to the website will think / see / do:

1) There's no information on this blog page, its got some crap about technology...
2) Perhaps there's information on the About page!
2.1) NS2 will not be a Mod like NS was...
- Ok, what is NS?
- What is a Mod?
- Why do I need to know this?
2.2) NS2 will be beta-tested...
- Ok, what is a beta test?
- What is constellation?
- Steam?
2.3) NS2 will cost about $20...
- Great, but what does $20 buy me?
- Where is all the f****ng information about the god-damn game?
- Why am I wasting my time here? I could be playing GRAW2 !

The website will fail all the people we've convinced to come here, it'll ruin their image of NS2 (First impressions only happen once) and will probably destroy their image of the game into being a "technology based indie game with some infestation thing". Games are sold on their entertainment value... currently the website offers no clue that they game is here to entertain, from a newbie's POV it looks like a bunch of techno-babble.

The devs need to re-make the website, or even better create a fully seperate promotional website, with some stuff such as:

About section - Real information on the game, it's premise, setting and history.
We know you have a business plan, investors and the likes, so the game has all this already, you've just neglected to release it (probably for good reason) however it needs to be published in an interesting and engrossing way to captivate the users that come to the promotional website.

Media section - Concept images should be enough here for now, leave the DI for the technology section.
Write a short bit of information for each concept, how they fit into the game and what the user can expect (in gameplay, not technology) for each image.

Technology section - Some information on the technology behind the game.
Write and show how the technology will improve entertainment (you are selling the game on entertainment values) value of the game, and how the user can expect to see it implemented.

Community section - Link / integration of this community / development website.
For people who are interested in finding out more, or contributing.

Not-quite-BS - Stick anything exciting / cool on there... marketing spiel!
Stuff like: "One of our artists (concept, does this need ot be said?) worked on the revolutionary game: LAIR for the PS3" anything that'll get you guys a little bit of "ah I know that" familiarity, ride the expensive marketing/promotion of others to aid yourself... and try to remove your ties to Code-programs or Sudoku games... that gives no credibility in making a massive, popular, gorgeous, entertaining FPS... but stuff like NS1, Lair does!

I am more than happy to help spread the word about NS2, but you need to either do this promotional part of the website yourself, or out-source it to someone with experience in the field of marketing / promotion (although you said you had absolutely zero budget for this.) before anyone even thinks about promoting the game... if promotion starts before what i've suggested (or your own take on it) happens, then it'll damage the game's reputation more than help it.

I am writing this topic based on my brief experience of promotion (at university) of products. And because my course is to do with internet media and web-design... I'd suggest thinking about putting together a viral advertisement to put on you-tube/google video/myspace aswell as a promotional website... something like an onos crashing through a door and eating a marine whole... done like a home-video or something, then just a link to the promotional website.

Oh, and to add... I don't know if or when Max/Charlie view this forum, so if anyone could re-direct their attention to this topic at anypoint, it'd be appreciated.

It's true, it is tailored awfully well to the current users of NS, but not to prospective new customers.

ive not read all but i have to aggree that the informations given about NS2 are very short and very nerdy. its hard to understand for ppl who have not played NS yet and dont know much about games/computers. so it'd be clever to enlarge the destriptions and avoid using shortcuts so even a total noob can understand how NS2 gonna be

Once there is some more solid gameplay videos, you could have a flash intro popup when you join the site, similar to what a lot of bigger retail games do on their websites.

I think the wiki is a good start with regards to this. Especially if the wiki for NS2 is in development at the same time the game is so that it will be available to players as soon as NS2 is out.

I would've appreciated a slightly nicer version of this post, but at any rate...

I agree that there's not much information on NS2 yet - we are still working on that. Whenever we are ready to release more information, we will post it prominently on the NS2 page, for easy access and then we will want it promoted and spread all around the 'net. If we wait until we have more info on the game before we get the E-Team started, then we won't have it when we need it, make sense?

So if you feel like your work will be wasted until there's more info, that's fine.

There's a Depot in every forum.

lol they just got the new website up and your asking them to change it?!

lol

I'm with charlie. The E-Team is not up yet, you can't spread the word by now because it's still an idea, (well it's a forum but you have to place the ideas first) I can't create a NS2 banner for my web because there are no banners. It's like totally dumb to start working on the E-Team seriously, when there's no info out yet.
I can tell people that NS2 will be a standalone game and the cost will be 20$ approximately but I can't go further because no one knows anything yet! (well charlie and max do, but its sekrat!)

UWE knows how to run things, they'll prepare every necessary thing to start spreading ads and info about NS2 soon.

We've made them aware of the need for a noob friendly uber promotional face plate on the NS2 website, cool.

Okay, so back to brain storming ideas on what we can do, right?

yer, any "e-team" stuff should just be ideas and preparation atm. It's a waste if anything is done too far away from release date as people will forget or check it once and go 'ok cool'

Ah I guess I was a little confused perhaps, you are just gathering ideas for when you decide to start promoting properly!
well, in that case, please take my topic as a suggestion on creating a seperate promotional website... When media and such is released and if you haven't already.. I might do some mock-ups of my own to aid, even if you do it yourself it's always nice to have a "brief" of sorts to go into my portfolio

First of all, killkrazy; be nice. Flay deserves a lot more credit than what you gave him in the first post.

Now; as for your idea. Some peopl do seem to forget that NS2 is a sequel. Yes, it will be very different from NS1, but the concept is NS1. NS2 is something that kind of "grows" from NS1, it started there and continues on. So as for one; if you want people to get interested, you could already point them at NS1, have them try it out. If they like it, they'll surely like NS2. Secondly, if they don't like it that much, you can already tell them some of the changes in NS2 to make it more intesting. (hl2 engine, physics, dynamic infestation etc.) Any decent gamer knows HL1, HL2 and the differences, they'll all recognise the potential of the game once they have played NS1. Just keep it in mind!

I wasn't trying to be mean at all, just wanted to talk straight
But again, you make the assumption that people will have the tolerance or patience to buy HL1, install it... download NS, install it... and then play/learn the game. Or that they already have HL1. and that you know them well enough to demonstrate the game, talk to them about technical details...

NS1 is great promotion, but it's marketing to people that don't or haven't played NS1 that will be the area that needs the most work
This is where a super-simple, idiot-friendly promotional website with everything within 1-click's reach and nothing too technical on it will be essential!
think www.half-life2.com

Maybe as a quick fix to interrupt that chain of frustration and woe outlined in the starting post another entry could be added to the NS2 About page FAQ. Maybe a question along the lines of "What's this "Natural Selection" thing all about?"

Possible answer:

Natural Selection 1 is a free modification for the Half-Life engine. It features a unique blend of first-person-shooter and real-time-strategy action between Aliens and Marine teams in a sci-fi setting. More details can be found at the official Natural Selection wiki *insert link*.

Just browsing through, only thing I can say: Mini-sites ftw!

Get a catchy domain, whack a short flash intro on it, put your best pics/vids/art/sounds on there, a bit of non-techy non-boring blurb (most people skip it and just view the screenshots/videos anyway?) and use that as your center of promotion.


Any youtube videos with hot chix talking about ns, text-ads, forum-sigs etc. can point to the minisite.

The main NS website as it stands is VERY nice, but it isnt suited to quickly telling someone about ns2 and holding their (short) attention span. The NS website (as said before) is more for people who already know/play/are into NS, which it does great but its not very promotional. I think a minisite would be a great promotional tool for NS2.

On an off tangent, however you direct people to info about NS2, if its here or a minisite, you want to get them comming back. Maybe some sort of special 'pre-order' type promotion that requires you to check on the site semi-regularly. Top 50 players in a mini-game/first 100 to win an on-going quiz (that requires you to check back for more clues)/Limited 10 Code giveaway on different days/etc. that gives you some sort of discount/icon/feature in-game ?

PS: I often read the NS forums, ive been playing NS on-and-off since about v2. Just wanted to say I love the game

Is this why you tell everyone you want to be just like me when you grow up?


You're doing a fine job on the E-Team Charlie, keep up the good work. When the time comes modNS will be there to promote you.

I think some more media would grab people a bit more, people dont wana read through dev blogs but rather jump to the eye candy like the dynamic infestation video. Only us hardcore ns fans like to read the blogs

People do love pictures, and moving pictures even better. Alot of people like interviews. Perhaps I should interview Charlie and put it out in the communities?

There's been interviews regarding NS2, and so far it seems like there isn't any new information. I would just wait until UWE is ready to release more information. I just hope its soon. I've been waiting for years now!!! =)

Hey, I couldn't resist, given Charlies mention of you in that podcast thingee. And really, if my humour is any indication, my personal hero has to be a Tonight Show writer...

No kidding, I missed that... which one was it?

The first one I think... I think they mentionned you were the only one missing the first podcast or something... can't remember... I know I laughed though

Personally I think it makes perfect sense to deal with geeks and nerdy stuff first because we'll be the ones that hold long-term interest (I'm more interested in the games' concepts then actually playing the game! I ended getting bored of SWG after 6 months following 2 years of following its development ). If you get the kinds of people you're talking about into the game with a really cool flashy website. They would be bored of the flashy website by then. If you want evidence of it just look at STALKER! They hyped the game up way too much too early and it was just another game by the time it had actually come out.

You want a fairly solid game with a release date in view (probably during the beta test stage?) to really push for all the viral marketing and stuff. Unless you go for halo/the dark knight style viral marketting which is way too excessive for a game like this!

Nasty post, but you have a point. I'd say it would be coming...Perhaps something like Neverwinternights 2, it has a forum based community website, like this one here, which is great for people who know more than just the name of the game. They also have a flash based promotional website, which is obviously for people who have only just heard of the game.

But yeah, a promo website would be a good idea. Just to give new people the basic information they need to look at this kind of website, where they can get more in depth information about the game/company.

It seems like some sort of machinima video with the "characters" released closer to release could be pretty successful. The "Meet the..." videos from TF 2 were remarkably successful at creating buzz. I think for now going with a fairly sparse site is probably the way to go. The web site is for the die-hard fans and investors right now.

This game will need a proper marketing campaign. Obviously its hard to do it now, with very little content/screenshots/etc. Just remember, several hundred hardcore NS players will be happy if no one else but them plays.. however the game has sold over 4 million copies, so there's tons of potential.

sold?

I think he's referring to HL2. I could be wrong though.

I didn't find the first post that nasty...
It wasn't kind, but it was honest and made excellent points.
Good medicine never goes down well.

Basically though, the time isn't right to promote NS2. At this point, if you're going to promote it to anyone, then you promote it to the people like us, people that will take a long term interest, and people that are loyal to the game. As for other people that have played and enjoyed the original NS1, you just let them know that an NS2 is in the works, so they know to expect it eventually. Anything beyond that, at this point, won't work well in NS2's favour.

When the game is very near completion, or has been completed but as yet unreleased, then you should really get the e-team up and running, and the promotional website that killkrazy has suggested; that has all the information anyone, even the most ignorant idiot, can want about the game; and all the excellent suggestions running around this sub-forum. The timing of release is important too, you don't really want to be competing with the big-name games.

But I'm sure this is all already the plan, so it doesn't really need to be said; but I thought I would anyway.

The reason it's perceived as nasty is because of the title and the fact that it was posted after less than a week of the E-Team announcement.

Wow I really never thought of it, but your correct in my opinion! Sense I already now what all that stated above is, that im already interested and stuff. But for those people who are directed here, just one look at the first page and they see 3 different games! That's one good part, but once they choose one such as the NS2, it directs them to a bunch of words and paragraphs about the engine and boring stuff. We/they want to now whats going into the game, the new weapons, and all that stuff. I now that you guys are trying to keep it a secret for a big grand post. Atleast drop off some ideas of whats coming besides OMG A FEMALE MARINE! LOL

Sorry if i'm being a little harsh, but 1 - 2 years until release? If you guys are going to tell us everything on the last day, i might loose interest in those 2 years. I will be in college and doing other stuff. Someday i will be like, Woah NS i remember that! I wonder is NS2 is out yet? and go check out the site.