The idea was to use the game's own Doodle Studio to produce a number of special custom levels (i.e. doodles). To be precise, we created an individual custom doodle for each of the main game review sites, incorporating the logo of the site into the doodle. And when giving out the review copies of the game, we would also give the reviewer the matching custom doodle for the site that he (or she) writes for, together with the suggestion to use that level for their review, and to also make it available for download to their readers, so that they too could play it.
Our hope was, that this would have several effects:
- We were hoping that the individual custom level, with the site's own logo, would increase the interest of the reviewer in the game, so that he would feel motivated to play (and hopefully review) the game in the first place.
- Also we thought that the reviewer might like the chance to offer his readers a free goodie, in form of the downloadable doodle. This too would hopefully convince a few reviewers to write a review who otherwise might have passed.
- And of course we imagined that getting a free custom level from the review site would motivate a few readers to also download the trial version of the game, so that they would be able to actually try out the free doodle. (And hopefully they would then like the game enough to actually buy it.)
All in all, it sounded like a great idea and several people at Blitz 1UP put a lot of effort into creating these custom doodles. And I would like to use this opportunity to thank them again for this great help!
Well, it still sounds like a good idea, in my opinion. Only for my game Your Doodles Are Bugged!, it turned out that it didn't actually work like we hoped.
None of the reviewers made the doodle available to their readers as a download, and only a very few even mentioned it at all. For example the reviews at the larger sites like IGN and Gamespot, even though quite positive, did not mention the custom doodle at all.
So the question is: Was it worth the effort to create the custom doodles? We don't really know. It seems as if those doodles were largely ignored and did not have much effect. But of course they still might have had some effect behind the scenes, like sparking an interest in the game in the first place, even if the reviewer did not end up using or mentioning the doodle in the review. It is really hard to tell.
But that's how it goes when you try to promote a game: Some ideas work out and some don't, and for some, you just don't know.
The one thing that is frustrating though is, that all these lovingly crafted doodles did not end up where they would do the most good: In the hands of the players, who could enjoy them in the game.
So let's fix that!
Download the custom doodles here: [Download]
The above link downloads a ZIP file that contains all the custom doodles that we made for the review sites. This are 22 new doodles in total!
To play these doodles, unzip the 22 doodle files to a temporary folder and then import them (one by one I am afraid) into the game by using the [Import] button in doodle studio. Note, that these doodles are "DLC-style doodles", i.e. you can only play them, but can not edit/change them in doodle studio yourself. But on the other hand, there is also no "minimum-level" requirement. Everyone who has unlocked the doodle studio will be able to import and play these doodles.
Have fun!
Hi there, reviewer here (haven't reviewed or even played YDAB yet so not one of the reviewers in question).
ReplyDeleteI think it's a lovely idea, and obviously the right intentions went into it, but I can fully understand why sites didn't acknowledge it. For starters, readers would have no way of knowing 100% that the custom doodle was the only involvement a site had with the game. If I was reviewing the game and waxed lyrical about a lovingly-crafted, personally tailored level for the publication I write for, I'd fully expect readers to lack trust in the review. As the sites in question weren't complicit in the levels' inclusions, from a reviewer's perspective it's an awkward situation to be put in. On certain sites in the past, it's been policy not to review a game if the site/its writers have had any influence on the content, and I think that's a good policy overall. Destructoid opted out of reviewing Raskulls because their mascot appears in it, for instance. Had I been one of the reviewers in question I'd have had to think long and hard about reviewing it /at all/, as much as it would've pained me to do so.
Again, I think it's a really nice idea and shows the level of care from the developers, but from the perspective of both reviewers and consumers it's easily misconstrued.
any news on new content for XBLA?
ReplyDeleteI guess you mean XBLIG? In that case, sorry but no, I have no plans to expand the XBLIG version of YDAB!
ReplyDeleteThis still sounds like a great idea to me. Thanks for sharing! Anonymous makes a good point about the potential for brand confusion. I wonder whether it would be more effective with less centralized web communities(?). Not sure the cost/benefit would always pay off, but I really like the gesture behind this strategy.
ReplyDelete