How to go about releasing a game

[Deathtroth]

I've been working on a game for roughly 500hrs now, and I was wondering, when should I start advertising? Also what should I do first -Secure a copyright or post screenshots or make a social media page? Never released a game before, so I'm kind of clueless. I'm sure it would be helpful for others besides me to have this thread anyways, unless it already exists in which case please direct me to it.


(Also, if this thread's in the wrong place, Sorry XD)


Thanks to all suggestions and comments!

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

1) Start advertising when you feel like you have enough materials to bring up the hype. Here in the forums, some people start making a development thread for their game once they have the basics going on, some wait until the later part. It's basically your choice.


2a) Securing a copyright would depend on you if you really want to get one ;


2b,c) Make a game page, preferably one that looks professional (on it's own site) rather than making it on a social media site (especially if its a commercial game)


Is the commercial btw?

 

[Deathtroth]

Is the commercial btw?

Yeah I am making it for commercial use. I own the licenses to almost everything I have. Everything I don't own the licenses to is free for commercial use content/scripts/etc. Any original artwork I have I got the artist's permission to use as well.


Is the copyright necessary? Posting about the game and having the uncompressed files should warrant me ownership of it in the event it is stolen, right? A copyright is roughly $70. and some of us might be poor. (me XD) 

How much information is too much information to give away about the game? Releasing a 512x512 cover photo of the game - good idea? (Cause I downloaded GIMP and made one)


(Sorry for all the questions, consider me the newb express)

 

[Wavelength]

Start advertising (in the sense of free advertising like posting threads in forums and launching a website) once you've got enough "show-offable" work that you yourself would be somewhat impressed if you saw it.  It never hurts to get people on-board early, but it's a little "too early" if you don't have anything that will reflect on your game as well as the finished product would.


You can put the little "Copyright" symbol on your game (depending on where you live - I'm speaking about America but I would guess the EU probably has even more author protections) without formally filing for it.  You also don't even need to put the symbol on your game - starting in the '80s, most copyright protections were automatically extended to the author of any creative work.  Formally filing and paying the fee can make it easier to solve ownership disputes later on, but it's unlikely you will have to deal with this.  Look up Copyright Law in your jurisdiction (Wikipedia is a great source for most jurisdictions) to make sure.


No idea about social media presence as I have none myself, but I can't imagine it would hurt!

 

[BigToastie]

Further to this post, I am working on a free to play game.


When would be a good time to start posting about it to hype it up and post on the forums? as it's more of a hobby and my pace can go from 1-2 hours a day to 20-30hours over a weekend.


I know the above question is very dependant, but would you think it'd be best to have a demo of a game before trying to hype people, so not only people can try it but also contribute to future developments?

 

[Joewoof]

If your game is commercial, then you need to plan out a marketing campaign. Your goal is to create viral hype, where something really cool about your game will keep spreading by word-of-mouth. Now, think. How are you going to create that hype? If you start too early, then there's nothing for people to talk about. Make sure you have enough things to show, so that you can up the ante as you near release.


Copyright is automatic these days. All you need is a copyright label some place visible in your game, and incomplete versions of your game can be useful for resolving disputes.


Publicizing is also ongoing if you really want to make money. Don't expect to release your game in the wild and expect anything to happen. If you have some budget, Google and Facebook ads can be reasonably effective, although only expect 1 in 30 click-thru-visitors to buy your game (optimistic), when calculating how much to spend.