I Didn’t Want to Be a (Game) Marketer
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I want to work as a marketer or anything related to it,” I responded to an offer from a creative startup back in early 2014.
Probably that person whose offer I rejected wondered why I work as a Head of Marketing at one of the biggest indie game companies in Indonesia today. Even I myself still question my own decision.
I used to think that marketing was about telling lies. Being the number one product in the country, or being the most popular restaurant in the area… I didn’t like the sound of “marketing”. I don’t want the consequences of making people disappointed. I guess it’s a basic trait of a people pleaser, and I am a people pleaser.
In early 2014, I landed my first official job after I graduated from university. I studied graphic design, so I applied as a 2D artist at a mobile game company and I got accepted! However, I got bamboozled. They asked if I could cover for their Community Manager who at the time was leaving the company. Only for a while, they said. Then, over 2.5 years had gone by and I did more than just managing community. I learned about user acquisition, bizdev, a little bit of mobile game marketing, pitching to investors, and many other things that don’t involve using Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator…
Did I love my job as a mobile game marketer back then? Eh.
In 2017, after being an art teacher for a year, I got back into the game industry and became a Community Manager again. This time, I got the opportunity to work at a premium PC (and console) indie game company, which has a completely different business model compared to mobile games. I thought it’d be easy, but no. The community, the market behavior, the method that I had to use, everything was different.
But then I found something that I love about doing marketing for games. Specifically for premium games.
I don’t have to tell lies. I tell stories.
I was reminded again after reading Seth Godin’s All Marketers Are Liars (Tell Stories). I haven’t finished reading it because a friend of mine is currently borrowing the book, but it’s a good read so far.
I’m not going to talk about the book, I’m going to talk a bit about how I tell stories as a (premium) game marketer.
You simply cannot lie.
Having the experience of doing marketing for both mobile and premium games, I learned that you cannot lie to premium game players. Unlike mobile where people use fake ads to get downloads and the number of installs is what matters, premium game players can always ask for a refund or give bad reviews that cause your game to not be bought by people.
Gamers are smart. I was so amazed when I saw reviews on Steam compared to ones I used to read on Google Play or App Store where people gave one star and reviewed “Good game.” PC and console gamers can give constructive feedback and point out what they like about the game, what they think is good about the game, etc.
Just show them what’s good about your game.
Your game has a good pixel art? Show them how you made it and show them how cool your pixel art looks in your game. You think your game has the juiciest combat mechanic? Take a video and show it. Your game has a good music? Let them listen to the soundtrack.
But remember, in the end, it’s your potential players who will decide whether they like it or not… which you can use as market validation. (I don’t have to explain this because this could be an article of its own)
It’s about authenticity.
Authenticity is the key, especially when you want your game or your company to last long, to have a strong community or fan base, and to keep providing them with games that you love making.
I’ve been working at my current company for almost 7 years now, and if I have to “pretend” to be something I’m not or promote something I don’t like or enjoy, I don’t think I could last this long. I share what I know is good about the game, I tell them why the developers love creating this game… and I think I’m just lucky to be working at a company that creates great games that I also enjoy promoting and working on.
Does that mean I enjoy all the games my company develops? I’m a casual gamer. I cannot play strategy or turn-based tactic games or any games that make me… strategize? However, one of our flagship titles is a turn-based mecha strategy game. Even so, I know how much the team loves it, so all I do is I just need to observe and ask them why they like it and what is it that they want me to show to people.
So, do I love my job as a game marketer?
Well, not gonna lie. My dream is to stay at home all day with my cats, playing games, eating snacks, not having to work… but so far it’s the job that I enjoy doing.
What about you? What’s your story?
