- Show mood, mechanics, experience. - Show how the game is different. Focus on what is unique. - What would someone tell a friend about your game after seeing your trailer? Usually one big thing. - Trailer should explain how to play. - Introduce the new ideas early. - You want the audience to see your game's potential "omg I can do this and this and this!" - Good music. - Actions/cuts on the music beat. - Does your trailer tell a story? Or is it a bunch of random scenes together? - Turn off the HUD / only show important parts to the shot. - Show your trailer to someone who doesn't know anything about your game. - Don't show everything in the trailer. - More information can be less interesting. 1. Cold Open: Hook the audience. 2. Introduction: Educate the audience. 2. Escalation: Draw the audience in. 3. Tease. 4. Call to action.
I've never been on Noclip (though I'd love to be!), so it must've been another show you're thinking about. I'm pleased to hear you assumed it was going to be a talk by me 😄
What would someone tell a friend about your game after seeing your trailer? People generally when they're sharing they don't go to their friend and say 'oh it has... 100 guns' Hundred? no. One billion? YES! =)
This is about the 4th time that GDC have posted a video about a particular topic within 2 weeks of GMTK posting a video of the same topic. One might think that the person in charge of disseminating GDC content was trying to piggy-back...
Oh man, Asian game trailers are so bad at this. Especially mobile games, but a lot of PC games are like this too. They tend to show you so many scenes, sometimes the entire trailer, that aren't even from the game. Animations (some even Flash animations) that don't exist in the game, that don't actually even tell you what the game is really like. And it'd be fine if it's an animated representation of the story for an RPG or maybe the cool characters for a fighting game. But quite often that isn't the case. That or they show you literally just the most boring parts of the game. Like some guy fiddling with his inventory for about 30 seconds. Or show you things that would only be interesting to those who are already playing the game, like talking about newly implemented features before they even tell me what kind of game it is. Like "Wedding System Unlocked!" Yeah ok fine, but what kind of game is this? "Fishing System Implemented!" Is it an MMORPG!? I dunno what I'm looking at!
Maaaaaan I really disagree with the "Dont show the HUD" advice. I think the hud is a nice detail that really teases aspects of the game especially if there's stuff on the hud that the viewer doesn't have any idea about. "What could that star icon mean in a first person shooter? Oooooo I can't wait to find out!" It also adds a rewatch value for your trailer, I know I for one watch trailers without pausing the first time through and then go back and watch it to try and divine what I can from the tiny details and the hud is a huge factor for that.
As I'm developping a FPS, I took a look at some FPS trailers and noticed they don't show hud, and the action look super cool, and at the same time it kinda screams "I'm playing with every cheat enabled". of course it's less fun when you show you can get hurt and miss shots, but it's also what will happen when you play.
I totally understand this sentiment! I think the HUD is very much a “second read” or “third read” element, but in the context of a trailer they can come at the expense of the “first read.” I think a lower percentage of people are going to rewatch and freeze frame, so I try to make my trailers so the broadest audience can understand what is going on at the most basic level. That said, I think it’s important to serve the needs of as many players as possible, and for those who are looking for HUD, it might be a good idea to make a video which is more raw. Like how many big games make 101 trailers.
from dust's narrative trailer for me was memorable despite having no(?) gameplay. I think bc it builds up to the end-of-game apocalypse and sets the stakes & builds intrigue into where the game will go that the game's gameplay mechanics don't do on their own
I have an ongoing playlist of my favorite game trailers! There’s a mix of gameplay and cinematic, but I focus on gameplay th-cam.com/play/PLIGLRMCk1Wi_Ygpfd6Jz4nSl6sAIFqZKQ.html
@@tabula_rosa ah interesting. do you find yourself getting into the 'lore' of a game more than skipping the cinematic elements like myself? You know, now that you mention it- I did upload my reaction to the Boundary trailer. I think it did a good job of combining cinematic elements with showcasing gameplay mechanics in development. I suppose what works best is choosing the method that works best with your specific targeted audience. For instance: with doom - don't tell me deep stories, show me the weaponry, foes and maps with some rocking music. likewise, with a building game like Minecraft; show me how the blocks fit together and examples of things you can build. really you can't replace knowing your target audience with a template that works for everyone. as the saying goes- you can't please them all right? ^.^ I'll have to check out that from dust trailer - I don't recall if I've seen it
Are speakers required to mention to the audience to silence their phones? I've heard quite a bit of them mention it and I wonder if it's that big of an issue at GDC
It's part of the standard procedure and has been for years. It's a big conference (29,000 people this year) and people can be forgetful. That said though, I've never heard a phone go off in the 7 years I've been.
Worst thing about this talk is the shadow on his face. It says a lot about the quality of the content (meaning, this is fucking great (and I like to make things obvious (and open a lot of parentheses (only to close them all with a single one at the end (to piss off programmers like me).
Don't. Kojima's a legend in the industry and he can allow his trailers to be full of Kojimaisms, but for any newcomer a trailer like that would be suicide.
![F.HERO Ft. JSPKK x ลำไย ไหทองคำ x M-PEE - ไม่สนิทบิดหมด (Thai Riders Anthem) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kPJZ0UihBfk/mqdefault.jpg)
- Show mood, mechanics, experience.
- Show how the game is different. Focus on what is unique.
- What would someone tell a friend about your game after seeing your trailer? Usually one big thing.
- Trailer should explain how to play.
- Introduce the new ideas early.
- You want the audience to see your game's potential "omg I can do this and this and this!"
- Good music.
- Actions/cuts on the music beat.
- Does your trailer tell a story? Or is it a bunch of random scenes together?
- Turn off the HUD / only show important parts to the shot.
- Show your trailer to someone who doesn't know anything about your game.
- Don't show everything in the trailer.
- More information can be less interesting.
1. Cold Open: Hook the audience.
2. Introduction: Educate the audience.
2. Escalation: Draw the audience in.
3. Tease.
4. Call to action.
My favorite suggestion was this: Build the trailer around the uniqe feature, constantly emphasizing a certain message!
A clear and compact guide for making effective trailers. Also, this 29:27 long trailer definitely made me want to play with the cats!
My plan worked 😹
Derek is the man, people looking for more useful info should check out his youtube channel!
I love how his presentation is full of cats!
I hate that
@@worldserpent731I hate how some people are entitled to opinions
@@SSukram_ cope
@@worldserpent731 I am
Check out his Noclip podcast appearance as a guest. I knew it was Derek Lieu from there, even before I checked the video's description.
I've never been on Noclip (though I'd love to be!), so it must've been another show you're thinking about. I'm pleased to hear you assumed it was going to be a talk by me 😄
@@DerekLieu Oh, yeah. It was actually The Spelunky Showlike, episode 4. Misremembered!
This was a great talk. Super informative, thanks so much for sharing what you know!
What would someone tell a friend about your game after seeing your trailer? People generally when they're sharing they don't go to their friend and say 'oh it has... 100 guns'
Hundred? no.
One billion? YES! =)
Haha, yes THAT is a good message, but anything less than that is going to be less noteworthy 😂
Excellent ❤
This is about the 4th time that GDC have posted a video about a particular topic within 2 weeks of GMTK posting a video of the same topic. One might think that the person in charge of disseminating GDC content was trying to piggy-back...
They took a bit longer than usual this time :)
@@GMTK Haha well you are certainly a trendsetter Mark.
(I do subscribe to GMTK and work at GDC, but Bryant, who schedules these videos, does not, so this is definitely rando synchronicity!)
As a player, the only thing I disagree is hide the HUD thing, it is really frustrating to hunt for it on the pictures and videos
phantastic talk thanks!
9:23 "So yeah it's pretty cool you can turn enemies into leather hats and sofas and there's cannibalism and stuff."
SO MANY CATS
Oh man, Asian game trailers are so bad at this. Especially mobile games, but a lot of PC games are like this too. They tend to show you so many scenes, sometimes the entire trailer, that aren't even from the game. Animations (some even Flash animations) that don't exist in the game, that don't actually even tell you what the game is really like. And it'd be fine if it's an animated representation of the story for an RPG or maybe the cool characters for a fighting game. But quite often that isn't the case.
That or they show you literally just the most boring parts of the game. Like some guy fiddling with his inventory for about 30 seconds. Or show you things that would only be interesting to those who are already playing the game, like talking about newly implemented features before they even tell me what kind of game it is. Like "Wedding System Unlocked!" Yeah ok fine, but what kind of game is this? "Fishing System Implemented!" Is it an MMORPG!? I dunno what I'm looking at!
Maaaaaan I really disagree with the "Dont show the HUD" advice. I think the hud is a nice detail that really teases aspects of the game especially if there's stuff on the hud that the viewer doesn't have any idea about. "What could that star icon mean in a first person shooter? Oooooo I can't wait to find out!" It also adds a rewatch value for your trailer, I know I for one watch trailers without pausing the first time through and then go back and watch it to try and divine what I can from the tiny details and the hud is a huge factor for that.
As I'm developping a FPS, I took a look at some FPS trailers and noticed they don't show hud, and the action look super cool, and at the same time it kinda screams "I'm playing with every cheat enabled". of course it's less fun when you show you can get hurt and miss shots, but it's also what will happen when you play.
I totally understand this sentiment! I think the HUD is very much a “second read” or “third read” element, but in the context of a trailer they can come at the expense of the “first read.” I think a lower percentage of people are going to rewatch and freeze frame, so I try to make my trailers so the broadest audience can understand what is going on at the most basic level.
That said, I think it’s important to serve the needs of as many players as possible, and for those who are looking for HUD, it might be a good idea to make a video which is more raw. Like how many big games make 101 trailers.
trying to think of a memorable game trailer right now- mind drawing a blank
- what I look for is gameplay footage the showcases the game mechanics
from dust's narrative trailer for me was memorable despite having no(?) gameplay. I think bc it builds up to the end-of-game apocalypse and sets the stakes & builds intrigue into where the game will go that the game's gameplay mechanics don't do on their own
I have an ongoing playlist of my favorite game trailers! There’s a mix of gameplay and cinematic, but I focus on gameplay th-cam.com/play/PLIGLRMCk1Wi_Ygpfd6Jz4nSl6sAIFqZKQ.html
@@tabula_rosa ah interesting. do you find yourself getting into the 'lore' of a game more than skipping the cinematic elements like myself?
You know, now that you mention it- I did upload my reaction to the Boundary trailer. I think it did a good job of combining cinematic elements with showcasing gameplay mechanics in development.
I suppose what works best is choosing the method that works best with your specific targeted audience.
For instance: with doom - don't tell me deep stories, show me the weaponry, foes and maps with some rocking music. likewise, with a building game like Minecraft; show me how the blocks fit together and examples of things you can build.
really you can't replace knowing your target audience with a template that works for everyone. as the saying goes- you can't please them all right? ^.^
I'll have to check out that from dust trailer - I don't recall if I've seen it
Battlefield 3 trailer always come to my mind because of the music/pacing/editing.
No Man's Sky...
A good game.
Are speakers required to mention to the audience to silence their phones? I've heard quite a bit of them mention it and I wonder if it's that big of an issue at GDC
It's part of the standard procedure and has been for years. It's a big conference (29,000 people this year) and people can be forgetful. That said though, I've never heard a phone go off in the 7 years I've been.
Worst thing about this talk is the shadow on his face.
It says a lot about the quality of the content (meaning, this is fucking great (and I like to make things obvious (and open a lot of parentheses (only to close them all with a single one at the end (to piss off programmers like me).
Shut up and take my money :)
I watched this video for the CATS ! now I 'meow' outta here
BWEHHHHH.
Just study Kojima's trailers lol
Don't. Kojima's a legend in the industry and he can allow his trailers to be full of Kojimaisms, but for any newcomer a trailer like that would be suicide.
I really enjoyed this content and learned a lot
Thanks for sharing such valuable information!