Ooh. 2 page ads

Never thought the day would come

Published on April 5, 2006 By Draginol In GalCiv Journals

We've signed on to do a series of 2 page game magazines in Computer Gaming World and Computer Games Magazine.

But the question is, do ads drive sales? How many people learn about games from game magazines? It's not an easy question to answer because as active as these forums and such are, they represent only the slightest fraction of the people who play games.

If I were to take a poll here on where people learned about Galactic Civilizations II, I bet places like Penny-Arcade, Gamespot, Usenet, from a friend (who heard it from some on-line source) would come up.

Which brings us back to game magazine advertising and what affect it has on real world sales. Two page spread ads in game mags aren't cheap as you can imagine. But let's say you're convinced that they're potentially worth the cost.

The next question is, what kind of ad should it be? If you're reading this and have access to a game magazine, go grab it. I'll wait...

(scratches)

(looks around)

(scratches)

(I could do this for awhile, I'll be right back)

(scratches)

Ah, good. So you found your CGW, CGM, PC Gamer, or other favorite magazine. Look at the ads. Do they catch your eye? I'm an engineer. I don't care about the beauty of an ad. I only care whether it causes the person to subsequently buy the game. What ads in the game magazines do you think are effective? Not which ones look neat. Which ones actually might have made you go out and buy the game?

Personally, my eyes are trained to avoid ads. If something looks like an ad, I go right by it. That means if I see artwork that isn't from a game, or a logo that I know isn't part of editorial, I instantly go by the ad.

The best ad I ever saw was the 2-page ad for Total Annihilation. In the spread it was all in-game action. Like a 2 page mega screenshot of a huge battle with minimal fluff. The game sold itself and the ad let the game do the selling.

For our 2 page spread of Galactic Civilizations II, we're doing something similar for our first crack at it. It will, in essence, look a lot like what Galactic Civilizations II does on a wide-screen monitor at super-high resolution. Only the bottom corners will explain the points of the game and where to get it. We figure, players either want this stuff or they don't. When it's done, we'll put up a screenshot of the ad.

Comments (Page 1)

Yellow Sign

on Apr 05, 2006

I've got the same attitude towards ads as you, Brad. And in fact I have a huge distrust against magazines, be it printed or online. When deciding wether to buy a game or not, I always look what people write in forums. Best way, in my experience, to find out what a game really is like.
But when I look at ads now and then - everything that conatins to much buzzwords and only screenshots from cutscenes makes a bad impression. Showing what the actual GAME looks like is the right way to go, in my opinion.

Jamest65

on Apr 05, 2006

Personally I don't buy any gaming magazines so I can't really help. Sorry. I can defintiely see the logic in your idea though - showing people what the game is like rather than telling them seems like an excellent idea.

aeternali

on Apr 05, 2006

I am not sure on how to advise you here but the adds i like are the ones that show me the features of the game. You guys did really well with that one with the ship and its features.

Also, i would make sure that you put the ship design feature on the top of that list.

One of my employees, on a weekend

, turned and asked me what the rest of the game was like because after 8 hours he had not made it past the ship designer yet.

Jamest65

on Apr 05, 2006

Personally I don't buy any gaming magazines so I can't really help. Sorry. I can definitely see the logic in your idea though - showing people what the game is like rather than telling them seems like an excellent idea.

polysyllabist

on Apr 05, 2006

I saw an ad on pennyarcade, followed it and found an awesome game...
...don't buy magazines because they never seem to really give honest information (or at least not from my perspective values)

However, your approach is solid.
Every ad can say,
"design the look of your ships from over xxx different visually stunning pieces!"
"customize your fleet from an assortment of researched weapons, defenses and specialized components!"

But I take that slosh with a grain of salt...
However...
...if I see a two page ad, with a picture of a plain hull dotted with hard points,
then that hull with added components, then another with weapons, lights and "flare"
...oh my...
...and if I THEN see a pic of that slick customized ship on screen, on the map, next to a star base, with the enemy in range...

my imagination runs wild... and wishes it was playing the game right now.

What I'm trying to say is that even with a grain of salt, YOUR approach is hard to walk away from negatively.
Kinda hard to post in-game photos of the AI ruining your best laid plans by being "smart"

But good show! Looking forward to the screenie when you're done!

Armando Penblade

on Apr 05, 2006

When flipping through a gaming mag, I like to be made to laugh. That may jut be me, but I appreciate a sense of humor.

fsk5809

on Apr 05, 2006

If you're really going to be asking users to design ads for you, why not just hold a contest where the best ad design gets published?

Gaeiledhge

on Apr 05, 2006

I subscribed to CGW for about a year and I found that articles about a game (like a Tom Vs. Bruce) were more effective than ads. The review itself was a huge selling point though.

Efthimios

on Apr 05, 2006

Well, CGM is the best PC magazine there is IMO. And I trust their reviews, though I do not always agree with them. Though I haven't been able to buy a magazine of theirs for close to 2 years now, I was looking at the ads. From my experience/taste the ads work better when the art is in game art, not from cutscenes or irrelevant, but from actual gameplay. Also, I dislike, not sure how to call them, words that are "cool/hip/whatever they are called now" or even l33t. No, I do not dislike them, I freaking hate them. I want details as to what type is the game, screenshots are nice, when they are not very small. I too remember the TA ads, also for some reason teh Korsun Pocket ads. Here is a simple idea for an ad. Have a guy/emperor sitting on a throne, while he is surrounded by screenshots or in game art with lines or bubbles explaining what the game is about. Have one of the robots-advisors in the back "talking" to the emperor.

NeoWolfen

on Apr 05, 2006

Game Visuals definitely help screenshots of action, various features.. but also text describing the features. I'd pay particular note of the ship design feature as well as the custom race feature as they are two of the most excellant customisable additions.

eride

on Apr 05, 2006

Personally ads don't work for me. I almost never buy a game based on an ad. I buy games either from word of mouth or based on published reviews.

I would say because of that if you were going to have an ad one of the most important things to include in the ad would be your review scores/awards. A bunch of great review scores or quotes would make me more inclined to read those reviews and consider buying the game.

Frogboy

on Apr 05, 2006

If you're really going to be asking users to design ads for you, why not just hold a contest where the best ad design gets published?

While that's a good idea, that's not what we're doing actually. I'm actually saying what we're doing with our ad as is. But a good idea for future ads.

on Apr 05, 2006

I agree with polysyllabist suggestions on the ad, show someone making a ship in ship design, then show a screen shot of that ship in a fleet approaching another fleet and then show a screenshot of the battle, from different camera angles .... with lots of text and stuff .... sweeeeet ...

I don't usually buy comp mags anymore but I always flick through them in magazine shops. The only ad that I remember catching my attention was an add for a MMORPG - and that was only because of the words FREE on it. So maybe you guys can emphasise the FREE updates and no copy protection? Oh and definitely mention the fact it plays on Laptops with no disc required ... that was the major selling point for me in the end.

Martimus

on Apr 05, 2006

Back when I read game magazines, ads had to have pictures of the game. If it did not have pictures of the game itself, I would never think much about getting it. If it had pictures of sometihng that looked like it would be fun/interesting to do, I would want to try it out. (This was back in the Nintendo days, so I would go out and rent it.)

Anyway, I would put pics of a fleet battle (Make sure you use GOOD looking ships though), Pics of the ship design screen (Again with a GOOD looking ship), and a good pic of the game map zoomed in. (With good looking ships/fleets and a lot of things going on such as visible trade routes and visible autopilot lines, and preferably a ship battle with one ship/fleet blowing up...)

I am also an engineer, but that is how I would set up the ad, because that is how it would appeal to me.

Kosty

on Apr 05, 2006

I own a small ad agency and have had some experience in software marketing for client/server professional aps. I used to prepare software sales for large shows and advertised in some major trade magazines. My consumer experience is not in software though I do know the theory (MBA etc, I have too much education LOL).

My thoughts is that for a large 1 page or 2 page spread, you need to have major screenshots showing the most dramatic elements that make the game unique in the ways that appeal to the type of player you want to sell to . For the turn based strategy gamer, it might be game scope, replayability and ease of user interface . eg., screen shots of the tech tree, zoomed out strategic map, player setup screen, battle screens, colony management screen, line graphs, ship design screen.

This is a high involvement purchase, and a strategy gamer might be willing to spend a lot of his time with the game, and a dedicated strategy gamer would not mind reading a lot of features. Offer a specific benefit buying it now( quick action) (get something free until date xxx). Don't go for a ad with a simple large theme image, go for a cluttered looking ad with multiple specific screen shots and lists of features.... Look at the civ 4 ads and. Put in a list of awards and summary of reviews along with a very prominent mention of the galciv2 website.

An artsy good looking ad with be hardly looked at, a cluttered ad with a lot of information , that is professionally laid out and presented yet artfully done will be stopped at and read. Your goal is to get the occassional gamer to the website where you can let him see the reviews and your screenshots, or the compulsive gamer to remember you the next time he is near a rack full of sofware
Kosty

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