When To Go Public?

[CuddlySpider]

I have been trying to decide on this and planning out how I want to start and manage publicity during development.

I am unsure how prepared I should be before going public on social medias. Should it be different for each stage of development? How frequently should I try post updates?

Some seem to start making social media accounts for their projects right after they get a solid idea of what they want to make. However, it also seems some other wait until they have official and final visual content being made and have future update posts made and ready to go in a queue to create a s steady flow and they continue to work on more update posts. Everyone seems to do it drastically differently and it's hard for me to tell which path and course of action would be the best for my situation.

Right now I assume that It would be best for me to wait to get enough resources on my own so I can pay for starting official visual content out of my own pocket and then work with the hired artist and writer to create at least a month's worth of queued update posts before starting up on social media so that updates can be flowing in at a consistent rate.

This is because if I make social media account for my project right now, the updates will be scattered and inconsistent time wise. I have no idea how that will effect the public's opinion on the project or if they will take it seriously or not. There will be times I can post updates once a day/week due to getting a spark of inspiration, but I am only one person, I get art blocks and have other things to do so will have stretches of time where i just cant think of what part is should work on now. Or I feel stuck since maybe something I thought would work together just doesn't seem to fit together and I need to fix it to continue, but I can't at the time come up with a solution so need down time to think on it. Which might lead to disinterest or people feeling doubt. (even though, in my honest opinion, down times are normal)

What I am thinking now however is a third option. A more semi-public option where I post logs instead of updates. This will help me keep track of things I have done and changes I have made, but also give me something to show people if they ask. I'd just have to make it perfectly clear that it is in the idea stage and not ready for full blown development yet so will most likely not be getting constantly paced log updates. On top of that since it won't be technically official my not so appealing writing style won't really be a problem since I'd only be sharing the logs with friends or people who directly ask or people who are interested and just want to stop by on their on volition to see what has been added.

That might help me have something out in public while I work on getting a more solid idea to work with and save up my own funds to hire people to help me make official project posts in social media. I might still have those pre-planned and made in a queue to keep a consistent flow going and try to avoid long hiatuses. I am unsure how long or how much out of pocket money i'd need for that to gain enough interest and ready content for a kickstater (need a videographer for that too, that is not my specialty at all). Planning approximately how long that will all take and how much money I need to save for it is in my list of things to do for planning ideas and preparing things to show whoever I hire so they have something to work with and discuss.

I'm terrified of going public too soon and make people feel skeptical because of inevitable hiatuses in the idea phase while it's just me working on this. I rather avoid getting a bad public imagery right off the bat. I have tried making my process for other much smaller project public and found many leave and loos interest if you don't update fast enough. They fail to understand that as one person working alone it's hard to have ideas to add in a constant manner. That's no one's fault, it's just stressful and disheartening. At least that has been my experience.

So what stage of the development process is best to start going public? How much should you have prepared before posting updates? Should I find someone to help answer questions too since not many like how I word and explain things? Should I be this worried about my own lack of skill with writing when it comes to going public? (ie. do enough people even care how correct your English is in your updates). Should I find a bigger name to help promote my social media?

I apologize for all the questions I am just trying to prepare for every possible hurdle I can think of that I might encounter or have encountered with smaller projects that I would like to avoid.

EDIT: I think i'm overthinking things, as I tend to do. But yeah right now i'm just making a course of action for me to take and probly over complicating each step and wondering about the order of events and such.

 

[Hasi]

Probably not the answer you are looking for, but- it depends.

Some developers enjoy an open development style. I imagine it's really difficult due to the reasons you mentioned (possible lack of updates after initial excitement, etc.), but it's not to say it can't work. I personally feel, especially during early stages, time that would be sent on public announcements/contests/social media can be better spent focusing on development. I suppose it can work.

Occasional updates (something like quarterly or bi-annual updates) can work great if you like to keep a following and build hype, but I feel like they work better once you have some solid assets (as in it's no longer just "an idea" and development has physically commenced).

I have a belief, though, that it's often best to go with gut feeling. You mentioned thinking it best to wait until you had solid assets- maybe start there. As for the idea of logging updates - that's a great idea! even if it's kept private, it's an excellent way to note bugs, features, etc. - and nope, I don't think language matters terribly for development notes/logs.

 

[hurricaneviolet]

I'm a strong believer in not going public at all until you have a firm opening date (by which I mean the game is basically done and you're just putting finishing touches on). If you're opening for testing, I recommend also not opening for that or advertising for it when the game is still in an "unfinished" state so you can have people test the complete product and not bits and pieces.

I say this from my own experience (I've gone public too soon on lots of projects, and it's never paid off), but also from watching other games do their thing. When you start talking about it, and then something happens and opening gets pushed back, or it takes longer than you thought, or whatever the case may be, the hype dies down. It's hard to keep the lid on things because it's exciting, but I think it's worth it in the end.

I would recommend making your social media accounts now though to save the name. But I would just make them and then save the logins for later use.

 

[CuddlySpider]

@Hasi @hurricaneviolet,  Thanks your advice was helpful! I'll keep my push back my official going public back a  bit and just do my best to be able to pay for the programmer also in full or partial if they agree since I could code some of the main site layouts myself, it'd just need help with implementing java mostly. May need their help find a host and best place for the domain since since there are just too many options for me to narrow down. I could ask on programming and web design social sites myself tho.

Thank you again I feel I have a clearer course of action now c:
I think i will make that semi-public log so I can keep better track of things I have done and changes I have made in case. So only people who understand that I am still new, and this is a large project so i'd need to take breaks to make smaller projects to learn and experiment with any road blocks or concerns I encounter.

 

[SingSong]

I think deciding when to start making your project visible to the public eye depends on what your own goal is for sharing your game and its development. I can think of a few reasons why people publicize their projects:

1. To build a following and get the idea out there.

People will have to know your project exists in order for your game to have anyone playing it when it opens. However, your development stage and its updates will reflect on the project itself. People will see how committed you are and whether the project is one they can trust to be a success or not.

2. To create hype and get people excited about the game's release.

This works best when the project is close to completion and has an opening date already decided. It's hard to maintain hype for your project if you consistently have setbacks or need to change any art or features once you've declared that that is what people have to look forward to seeing on your game.

3.To help your team meet deadlines.

Sometimes, the best way to push yourself to get things accomplished is to have a way of holding yourself accountable. Once your project is out there in the public eye, you must be committed to the idea and make it a reality in a timely manner or you will damage your project's reputation.

4. To begin fundraising.

The only way people will spend money on an in-development project is if they have a reason to back it, so putting out information and sneak peaks is the first step toward creating a Kickstarter or other fundraising strategy. Again, how your game is presented through updates will either encourage people to donate or turn them off of the idea.

5. To gain input and suggestions.

As important as it is to create a project to mimic your own vision, you also have to consider what your future players want from the game. They may be able to help you come up with new ideas or improve on the things you thought were perfect as is.

6. Because it's hard to stay quiet when the developers are excited.

Many people share their game development for this reason, but it should be a secondary reason to share it and not the main one. It's easy to think your project is great when you have a way of visualizing the finished project. But unless you give your followers all the pieces that are floating around in your head (like art that they can see and coded functionality of the game), they are unlikely to be as thrilled about the project as you are.

It's best to keep your project to yourself until your updates can easily show people what they can expect from your game. Like it's already been mentioned in this thread, posting updates will require time and focus, things that may be better spent on completing the project itself. Eventually, you will have to reveal your project to the public, but holding back on doing so can help you polish the game on your own without the added stress of needing to post updates and meet deadlines when you and your team are not ready to do so.

I have witnessed developers that post every single update that they have accomplished in the background, such as showing off one new item drawn for the site. I don't believe that this is all that interesting or exciting to followers. Updates are better done as groupings of completed work, such as a reveal of all the starter pets. But in order to do updates like that, you'll need to have a lot of the work already finished. That's why it can be best to start posting updates when the project is close to being completed. Your updates will be a lot more meaningful to followers, and you will not have to think so much about what to post because you'll just slowly release aspects of all the main and side features instead of fumbling to complete 3 items just to have something to show.

 

[CuddlySpider]

@SingSong, thank you so much for the list format!

I was actually thinking of making forms for people to vote on and very briefly add words if they want . I was not going to attach the name or the core reason behind the data collection. But do plan on making it short but to the point so I can gather information on what people like and don't like about the few games with similar concepts. That way I can indirectly ask people's onions on it with out directly yelling out "hey I'm making a game" I have seen some people do this (tracked down the earliest origins that i could of some other indie games) and seemed many have asked questions and asked people to fill out some questions to help the progress without directly saying why.

Not many people like filling out random questions about their opinions, but it seems enough do like giving their input (I know i'm one at least, I don't care if it's for a school project or just for fun, I like helping add to the statistics and data being gathered) Might do that with inconspicuous test runs on my personal social media accounts and just be like "hey i made this mini game for fun real quick, what do you think? But have it be a part of the or for a concept of my larger project for people to try out and tell me how they feel, again without putting the official name tag on it. It think only my closest friends will see the pattern of what I am doing, but most of my other followers probably will just think i'm messing around with small game design, which will be true.

But yeah that's gain more in the future I need to plan out the order of which these happen and what I want them to contain.

 

[Imperial]

I'm a strong believer in not going public at all until you have a firm opening date (by which I mean the game is basically done and you're just putting finishing touches on). If you're opening for testing, I recommend also not opening for that or advertising for it when the game is still in an "unfinished" state so you can have people test the complete product and not bits and pieces.

I say this from my own experience (I've gone public too soon on lots of projects, and it's never paid off), but also from watching other games do their thing. When you start talking about it, and then something happens and opening gets pushed back, or it takes longer than you thought, or whatever the case may be, the hype dies down. It's hard to keep the lid on things because it's exciting, but I think it's worth it in the end.

I would recommend making your social media accounts now though to save the name. But I would just make them and then save the logins for later use.

I completely agree with hurricaneviolet!  Experience is the best teacher and I personally did not go public at all until about one month before my opening date.  I felt my time was better used in development and it actually took a year and a half to get all of the game programmed so I can't even begin to image how much time I would have spent trying to keep the game development updated to the public to keep they hype going.  Development is a long road and it doesn't happen overnight and although some developers can produce a game in 6 months, it is usually those that have had a lot of experience in game development and have all the unknowns already figured out.  Additionally, I have seen a good game design explode into so many "suggested" features from potential players that the development gets pushed further and further back.  I suggest getting your game designed and working initially and then once the game is on-line and bringing in funds, then any enhancements or new features suggested by players can be considered.