ANIMA MUNDI

Marketing Executive for Anima Mundi

Here I will be documenting my Marketing Progress for Anima Mundi.

PLAN

To market Anima Mundi to the best of our ability I have created a plan on how to do so.

WHAT'S NECESSARY?

Instagram Account and possibly a Twitter too - this would be great to reach wider audiences and promote/advertise Anima Mundi through a digital platform. This will require regular posting and updates for followers as well as documentation of development progress and behind the scenes information.
Our own Blog - Anima Mundi must have a separate Blog to advertise our vertical slice and potential full game. On this blog we will have different sections for relevant information which will include:
Trailer
Posters
Logo
'Meet The Team' section - advertising the developers behind the game and taking recognition for our hard work!
Women in Games - this is something we (5 female developers) are very passionate about and it would be great if we could write a few sentences on what being women in the industry means to us. This will reach another target audience and it would be great to showcase this.

EASTER - 24th March

Today I have made an Instagram for Anima Mundi - this is where I will document our development progress and offer insight into development.

WHY?

Doing this builds a relationship with consumers/market beforehand which guarantees an audience and consumers for when the game is released.

HOW WILL I APPROACH THIS?

I will post regularly to ensure I keep followers updated and engaged. The information I post must be relevant and I must post tactically to ensure we gather a reasonable number of insights from one post. Essentially, this all adds up to gaining a strong audience/foundation.

I will be using the relevant hashtags to ensure our work reaches similar audiences. For example using #Games and #IndieGames to reach those interested in similar topics, this way we can target a specific group of people.

As well as this I will make sure to follow accounts with similar themes, resulting in a follow back and to appear on other followers 'suggested' list, meaning we will gain an audience quickly.

@GAMEANIMAMUNDI

(Feel free to follow us on Instagram)

I have set up the Instagram with the handle as seen above.

PLAN

Integrate Logo for Anima Mundi - found on Josh's GDD.

Firstly I need to organise the 'bio' section of the instagram and only provide eye-catching information to guarantee people will read it.

"Experience a journey of self-discovery, by completing puzzles and restoring beauty within your environment" - This is the pitch I have used for our Instagram Bio, similar to the one from Josh's GDD, but more suitable to our adapted gameplay.

As well as this I have tagged the main development studio (@WindieGames) which you can find in my other section of this page.

Our Blog is also available as a link in our biography allowing people to make one click and be taken to more information.

I have also followed our team of developers and other game project accounts/developers from our class.

CREATING OUR FIRST POST

I plan to post our first piece of information outlining the objective of our game with a small hint of the visuals from Anima Mundi. Additionally, I intend to create a post named 'Meet the Team' where I provide an image and a picture of each team member to share with our followers who we are and what we do.

In order to do this I have messaged the team for permission to use their full name and an image of them for this specific post and they all agreed.

Next I will gather the images and begin creating our two first posts:

FIRST POST

This first post showcases a few visuals (first draft) for Anima Mundi and a short pitch.

I aim to post this photo on the 27th March with a suitable caption and relevant hashtags. These hashtags should allow us to reach an audience to begin with, and to encourage sharing so that we can reach more followers.

I will also be promoting our account on my other Instagram accounts to gather a range of people.

!27th MARCH - Our first post

FIRST POST - WHAT DID I DO?

"Welcome to Anima Mundi's Official Instagram Page" - On the first post I kept it sophisticated yet fun to outline the basis of our Instagram account and the pitch of the game. I also included the relevant hashtags to allow people that follow similar accounts to become aware of our account. This also means the followers of these specific hashtags will be shown our work in their 'feed'.

Our next post will be 'Meet the Team'. This will consist of the names of our teams developers and an image to display who they are!

This builds a relationship with our followers allowing them to get to know us on a personal level.

Before I do this I need to get permission from the team to include their full name and an image of them on our Instagram Page.

SCHEDULE FOR NEXT POST - I am to create the next post in 3-4 weeks time. This is because our vertical slice is scheduled for completion on the 20th May and promoting it too early before this can bore and drain potential users/readers.

PERMISSION FROM TEAM

The team has given me permission to use their full name and an Image of them for our Instagram.

I have asked for them to send a photo to me via Slack as well as a fun fact! I asked specifically for their favourite game, which is a fun way to introduce ourselves to the public. Most of our followers will consist of game enthusiasts.

'MEET THE TEAM'

APRIL 22ND - MEET THE DEVELOPMENT TEAM

I have posted the following to introduce the 5 members of the team alongside their name and favourite game. I have also used the relevant hashtags to reach a wider audience.

My next steps involve posting our development work and 'sneak-peeks' into asset creation. This will give followers insight to the kind of theme and art style Anima Mundi has which will interest and engage viewers.

Below is a video flick through of how this appears on Instagram:

Next posts will consist of development work which the team has made and are happy with posting on the Instagram including:

Videos of game in Unity
Scene mockups
Asset Creation
Animations in play
Development, making changes, final outcomes

CAPTIONS / MARKETING STRATEGY -

The captions of the post will consist of brief information to outline the purpose of the post as well as a small interaction with our audience. This can be done by asking our followers questions which encourages interaction with our account and increases the number of likes and comments, such as:

Which one is your favourite?

Do you like this?

How does this look?

Which asset do you like the most?

Can you guess the theme of Anima Mundi yet?

NEXT STEPS -

Link Instagram to Blog
Improve and develop appearance/design of website/blog and add necessary information.

Wednesday 5th May - BLOG/WEBSITE SET UP

Today I will be working on developing our team website/blog. This will include linking our Instagram Account, Game information, Development Info and Team Information on separate pages.

LINK TO WEBSITE: https://animamundigame.wixsite.com/website

PLAN FOR WEBSITE

The purpose of this blog is to document our development process but also as a Marketing method to reach a wider audience. Providing visuals and information from the process will fascinate users and give them insight into how the game was produced. Additionally, the blog is a great way to showcase the final outcome alongside information about the developers themselves. This is a personal way to connect with potential consumers/users and build a relationship with them on a personal basis rather than just 'the developers that made Anima Mundi'.

The website should consist of a promotional page, to advertise the final outcome of our verticals slice. This can consist of promotional material such as posters, trailer and link to the game.

LAYOUT/DESIGN

The design of Anima Mundi will give players insight into the game by using a similar colour palette and style to the vertical slice. This teases readers/visitors and hints to them the aesthetic of the game.

HOME PAGE

Our home page consists of our game name and Pitch as well as a small introduction to our Website and how to navigate around it. Once we produce more visuals I will update the cover photo to a screenshot taken from the vertical slice.

INSTAGRAM ATTACHED

I have also linked our Instagram page below where visitors are able to hover over our posts to read captions, zoom in and see more.

This gives viewers insight into the creation of Anima Mundi and if they'd like to see more, can be directed to our main Instagram Page.

'MEET THE TEAM'

I have included a 'Meet the Team' section, allowing for readers to get to know the developers themselves! This section outlines who we are as individuals and the people behind the game.

I will gather information from each team member as well as a photo to include in these sections or provide the team with a link to write this up themselves.

WEBSITE WALKTHROUGH

This short video demonstrates the organisation of our blog so far. I plan to add another page for 'Development' to showcase the process of development including unfinished assets, concepts and designs etc. As well as this I will provide more information on the game itself such as an overview and more visuals.

PLAN FOR BLOG

THE GAME -

Poster
Game Overview
Potential Trailer
Link to Vertical Slice

MEET THE TEAM -

Information on each team member - Gather images and 'about info'. Fun facts, introduction to developer.
Ask team for image and about info at a later date.

WOMEN IN GAMES -

A few lines from each team member based on the importance of being a Woman in Games and what it means to us.
Outline the importance of this as a whole.

GAME DEVELOPMENT PAGE -

Show pipeline, demonstrate timeframe and plan etc
Progress images of development
Visuals - Unfinished assets, concept designs, UI mockups and sketches.

15th May - Collecting Information from the Team and creating promotional material

To complete the team website I need to collect the last few bits of information from the team e.g. about information/image and 'Women in Games' statements.

PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL - Creating a poster to promote Anima Mundi and advertise our online arcade event.

REQUIREMENTS

Poster to advertise new game
Include pitch or basic overview/summary of vertical slice
Advertise online arcade event - date, time location

I have created this Poster as promotional material for our vertical slice. This is to be posted on our Instagram and Slack channels to promote the development of our new game.

PROCESS

The poster promotes both Anima Mundi and the online arcade event, but also gives viewers insight into the appearance and theme of the game. This prepares viewers for what is yet to come and also excites them for the release of other games.

I haven't included too much information based on gameplay in order to keep potential users in the dark, to create suspense until the release date. This way people are more likely to keep up with updates and want more information. (From being interested/intrigued)

I tried to capture the mood of Anima mundi through the use of a similar colour palette to the game, involving tones of red and orange. The 'Tachi' font used was Charismas find and also reflects the font used in the Play screen at the beginning of the Vertical slice. This typeface also reflects our Japanese-themed art style and environment. I have used a subtle italic font in a pale pink to correspond with the blossom tree and represent the tone of the game as warm and display a sense of relaxation.

UPDATING THE WEBSITE - 15th May

Using my new promotional material and extra information I have updated the team website with the following:

'THE GAME'

I've incorporated the poster onto the 'Game' page which is the first thing users will see on this page. This is to promote/advertise the event before they continue and see anything else. This allows them to take note of the date.
A game overview to briefly summarise the game objective and a bit about gameplay.
I've defined the tone of game within this summary to make players aware of the kind of experience we are providing.
Josh's original Anima Mundi trailer from his GDD.
A bit of information on how to access the game and more information about the arcade event.

'THE GAME' PAGE

COMPLETING 'MEET THE TEAM'

I informed the team with what I need from them and expect it in the next few days.

TEAM PAGES - 16th May

To complete the 'Meet the Team' and 'Women in Games' pages I need to collect the necessary information from the Team.

This evening I collected the necessary information to complete the 'Meet the Team' page, to provide readers with insight into who we are individually and as a team. This builds a relationship between the developers and the consumers/users.

INSTAGRAM - 16th May

Over the past few days I have been regularly posting on our Instagram page @Gameanimamundi and providing followers with behind the scenes development process, including photos and videos.

I have been using what I learned from my marketing blog and applying this to my own material. On Instagram I have been using the story feature to interact with followers as well as posting everyday using the relevant hashtags.

We have gained 65 followers in just over a week!

I have been posting animations, concept designs and clips taken from Unity.

Behind the scenes images and videos engage followers and excite them for the final outcome - this guarantees a follow from new account visitors.

I continue to use the same hashtags to reach an audience with similar interests and tag @gamesdesignart on instagram too.

FINALISING WEBSITE PAGES- 17th May

WOMEN IN GAMES

I have collected personal quotes from each team member to promote 'Women in Games' and to share the importance of this with readers.

The team collectively decided this would be a great idea to include in our website to also inspire and encourage other individuals to take pride in what they do and in an industry like ours, encourage diversity.

By doing this, as a team we fulfill one of our team goals, by inspiring other young women to pursue their goals and to not let things hold them back.

NEXT STEP

I have completed all but one page of the team website. I am to complete the last page 'Game Development' by today, and have our website published by the time our game is on Itch! This way I can link the game on our website to provide readers with easy access.

'BEHIND THE SCENES

I have named this page 'Behind the scenes' to capture the most significant parts of development and to share with readers the behind the scenes process of Anima Mundi. This will not only fascinate readers, but showcase the beautiful work made by our incredibly hard-working team.

WHAT TO INCLUDE:

Prototypes, the puzzle interaction build
Concept designs
Final outcomes
Videos of design
Asset creation
User Interface mockups
Unity work/code
Animations in action
Testing
Final results

I have documented a summary of the development process onto our 'Behind-the-scenes' page alongside a short explanation of how we did things and recommendations from the team. This can be seen as an educational element of our website, and can influence the way other people develop or design! I have included videos of the process to keep readers engaged and to provide them with more insight on this.

NEXT STEPS

I have successfully completed the main pages for our team blog and can continue with marketing via our Instagram account, and for Windie Games too.

I will be focusing on this as well as creating an Itch.io page for Anima Mundi providing we complete the full vertical slice by the 20th. We are currently on schedule with tasks and this goal should be attainable.

INSTAGRAM - 18/19th May

We have gained quite a few followers since I last documented the progress of our Instagram account!

WHAT HAVE I LEARNED?

Tips for my future self

Post everyday
Make use of Instagrams 'story' feature.
Follow people with similar posts.
Always use tags!

STORY FEATURE - Keeping our audience regularly in the loop

TIPS

Posting stories increase engagement
People tend to interact with stories more than they do with posts
Polls are a fun and interactive way to build relationships with followers.
I have been regularly posting stories of behind the scene progress and sharing posts from the Windie Games Instagram account too.
Stories are a great way to share information for a maximum of 24 hours.
Can post polls and Q&A's.

I kept our audiences updated with development progress such as when we carried out playtesting or when I proceeded with Sound Design. My strategy was to keep our audience engaged for as long as possible, and to regularly post new stages of development to attract new potential followers/consumers.

I will continue updating the Instagram account up until our arcade event, in the meantime I will be also working on marketing our arcade event and posting on the Windie Games account everyday.

FINAL TOUCHES, ITCH, HAND-IN! - 20th May

Today is the last day for the development of Anima Mundi! Our vertical slice is on schedule for hand-in this evening and is almost ready for release via Itch.io! My task for today is to finalise the website by attaching our game link and to set up the Itch page.

I provided Charisma with the specific dimensions for an Itch cover Image and she created a beautiful front cover as well as promotional poster. I have attached this to the main game page alongside the game overview from our team website.

I will post Charismas promotional material on our Instagram a week before our arcade event (post tomorrow) as this way we can prepare potential guests and give them time to fit it into their schedules!

OFFICIAL ITCH PAGE: https://gameanimamundi.itch.io/anima-mundi

ANIMA MUNDI IS NOW LIVE!

Our game has been uploaded to Itch and is now available for download on Mac and Windows.

I have also linked our team website on our main Itch page so viewers are able to get to know the development team and read up on some of the behind the scene action.

20/05/21 - We have successfully completed a functional vertical slice for Anima Mundi!

SURVEY

I have created a survey for players to complete after playing Anima Mundi and have attached this to our main Itch page. This way we can collect feedback and suggestions for improvement, as well as outsider opinions to evaluate what we did well and not so well.

https://emilialaurenpoy.typeform.com/to/oesdEXsw

This also allows us to evaluate if we have achieved our team goals and purpose of the vertical slice.

UPDATING SOCIAL MEDIA:

Now we have a functional vertical slice which can be downloaded via Itch, I must proceed with promoting Anima Mundi and our arcade event.

I have updated our audience on Instagram with links to our Itch page, posters and more information regarding the event.

Our team website has been published with the Itch link to our game within the main game page.

I will aim to post everyday up until the arcade event, after this I can continue to post however not so regularly, but I'll always be sure to keep a look out for feedback, comments and suggestions that may benefit us.

Make sure to follow @gameanimamundi on Instagram if you haven't already!

REFLECTION

I am happy with the outcome of my marketing work for Anima Mundi. In a short period of time I have managed to gain a good number of followers and a foundation for the audience of our game. I used Instagrams interactive features to reach a wider range of people in a short timeframe which increased our engagement and gathered a lot of interest. My marketing research (found via blogs) influenced the way I approached this and even just using the relevant hashtags underneath posts made a huge difference. I will definitely apply this knowledge to future projects, and I am excited to proceed with the marketing for Windie Games!

We have a beautifully displayed team blog consisting of all the necessary information and extras, which will appeal to readers and hopefully keep them engaged for a long period of time! As for the outcome of Anima Mundi I am very proud of my development team and I'd love to work with them again.

By creating a survey this means we will be able to continue to gather feedback and use the advice or suggestions from players to influence and improve the way we develop or design games in the future!

WHAT HAVE I LEARNED?

I have learned how to successfully promote and advertise a new and 'upcoming' game which I will apply to future projects. I definitely feel confident enough to take on the responsibility of marketing again. This project has taught me how to organise marketing for a product/brand/service and provided me with insight into how to do this effectively within a short period of time. I have learned to take advantage of the functions of social media such as polls, to gather anonymous feedback to improve the development of the project.

I will continue promoting Anima Mundi after the hand-in and keep track on Itch downloads, feedback, comments and suggestions!