Author Topic: From Chris: What do you want in a new video?  (Read 6706 times)

Offline x4000

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From Chris: What do you want in a new video?
« on: November 11, 2016, 04:20:59 pm »
Hey folks!

So I'm going to be putting together a new video with a new message completely from scratch coming up this next week.

Things it will definitely have:
- Some new ship graphics for various things, including showing an AI guard post.
- More of a story-like flow to it, at least for part of it, to hopefully get you "in the emotional state" of what it's like to play the game.
- Probably some interjection quotes from publications, like the AI War 3.0 video did.
- A different view of the galaxy map now that that's not solar-system-based anymore.

Things I'm not sure about:
- Not sure if there should be any of my talking head or not.
- Not sure if it's better for me to voice it for the personal touch, or if that should be Ben (from last trailer) for the professional touch.
- Not sure exactly what sort of arc to go for in the video yet, regarding the story bits.
- Not sure if I should touch on some stretch goal pieces at all, like the spire as a playable race, etc.

Thoughts?  Quite aside from those direct things, what do you have beyond that?
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Offline Sounds

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Re: From Chris: What do you want in a new video?
« Reply #1 on: November 11, 2016, 05:55:24 pm »
Hey folks!

So I'm going to be putting together a new video with a new message completely from scratch coming up this next week.

Things it will definitely have:
- Some new ship graphics for various things, including showing an AI guard post.
- More of a story-like flow to it, at least for part of it, to hopefully get you "in the emotional state" of what it's like to play the game.
- Probably some interjection quotes from publications, like the AI War 3.0 video did.
- A different view of the galaxy map now that that's not solar-system-based anymore.

Things I'm not sure about:
- Not sure if there should be any of my talking head or not.
- Not sure if it's better for me to voice it for the personal touch, or if that should be Ben (from last trailer) for the professional touch.
- Not sure exactly what sort of arc to go for in the video yet, regarding the story bits.
- Not sure if I should touch on some stretch goal pieces at all, like the spire as a playable race, etc.

Thoughts?  Quite aside from those direct things, what do you have beyond that?

If you going to show animated demos of squadron movement, please try and smooth them out. The ones on the first KS were very jerky, and looked half baked. Not saying to mislead, but they need a lot more professional polish.

In regards to voicing it - do voice it yourself. This personal touch goes a long way.

Not sure I like the sound of talking about stretch goals straight off the bat. Have that sort of thing in follow up updates. However keep it more focused.
« Last Edit: November 11, 2016, 06:23:24 pm by Sounds »

Offline z99-_

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Re: From Chris: What do you want in a new video?
« Reply #2 on: November 11, 2016, 07:14:03 pm »
If I recall, there were a few people on the KS page who complained that there was no 'gameplay footage' in the video - specifically, I think they wanted to see ships fighting. If you could show something on that front, it may be a good idea; maybe make a second video, where you could show a few minutes of action while you do a voiceover and talk about stuff?

Offline Draco18s

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Re: From Chris: What do you want in a new video?
« Reply #3 on: November 11, 2016, 08:12:17 pm »
Oh yeah. Combat footage would be glorious.

Offline kasnavada

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Re: From Chris: What do you want in a new video?
« Reply #4 on: November 12, 2016, 01:16:39 am »
It needs to show the game flow, that it's a strategy game.

For example, advertise the "coming back to kill stuff" feature, showing it invading a place, rebuilding stuff, with a voice-over like "be careless and the AI will retake all you've built", and so on. Also, a "build your base" screen, "prepare defenses", "crush your invader" or stuff.

Offline WolfWhiteFire

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Re: From Chris: What do you want in a new video?
« Reply #5 on: November 12, 2016, 06:25:01 pm »
Combat footage is a necessity, and I feel you should show some stuff from the stretch goals, but make sure it is clear that that IS part of a stretch goal and not guaranteed. Though some people might see that and think "if they can already take footage of that mechanic why is the mechanic a stretch goal", not quite sure.

Offline Captain Jack

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Re: From Chris: What do you want in a new video?
« Reply #6 on: November 13, 2016, 01:00:06 am »
My $.02: Please talk about what the AI War franchise is! Beating a stronger, better enemy, actually using strategy, and having an AI that doesn't try and pretend to be human.

Keep it focused on AI War. No silly little asides like the lead-in to the original video.

Offline havikryan

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Re: From Chris: What do you want in a new video?
« Reply #7 on: November 13, 2016, 04:18:43 am »
I'd say the footage was confusing when coupled with what the kickstarter mentioned, the kickstarter was talking about a rts however the footage in the video showed basically 3rd person flying in a ship, gameplay footage always helps a great deal when it comes to promoting games

Offline x4000

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Re: From Chris: What do you want in a new video?
« Reply #8 on: November 14, 2016, 10:40:55 am »
Got it, lots of good thoughts -- thanks!

edit: feel free to keep them coming, too.
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Offline garion333

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Re: From Chris: What do you want in a new video?
« Reply #9 on: November 14, 2016, 11:37:25 am »
My $.02: Please talk about what the AI War franchise is! Beating a stronger, better enemy, actually using strategy, and having an AI that doesn't try and pretend to be human.

This.

Asymmetrical is a word most gamers have heard but maybe don't really know what it means and why it's so cool.

Don't forget to mention co-op mp. It isn't competitive mp, which is what most people think of with strategy mp, but co-op. That could be a big selling point for those who aren't into, say, Starcraft, but might play MOBAs (ie. more about strategy and tactics than APM).

Offline garion333

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Re: From Chris: What do you want in a new video?
« Reply #10 on: November 14, 2016, 12:35:47 pm »
Looking through new design doc and it reminded me of the prior Kickstarter. I realize the design doc discussion isn't meant to be part of this thread, but it ties back into what was in the KS video and what could be in the new KS vid.

Quote
Our first purpose here is to go back and use that experience to "build it that way from the ground up" to fully support multithreading, 3D graphics, and modding.

Quote
Our second purpose here is to take this opportunity to "do it right" for the user interface, and to build a robust tutorial scripting system

These are both cool things for AIWC players, but even with a reduced scope for AIW2 and a funding goal that can be met almost entirely from Arcen/AIW fans (ie. those who hit Pledge the moment we saw it was up) please don't fall into the trap of forgetting to sell AIW to people. Yes, this a sequel, yes the changes are cool, but what makes AIW cool isn't now that it is no longer merely functional.

Nested tooltips? New tutorials? Better UI? Do I care about those things if I bounced off of AIW before? Not really. I never figured out why AIW was cool thanks to the poor playability.  So it's cool that the game is more playable, but it doesn't excite me to buy a new game. Frankly, these are things people expect from a sequel and are likely not terribly hot selling points.

Show, don't tell. I play against the AI in all my sp games. Why is this any different? How is playing this game different than me mowing down people in the latest Call of Duty campaign or whatever? (Hint: CoD has terrible AI, while a game like Halo has good AI.)

What does one do in AIW? Do I build bases? Can I turtle? Must I zerg? Customize units? Oh, all of the above?!? Cool.

Don't be afraid to show off a unit like you did with the Spire in the first video, except this time show/tell why that would be cool. (I know the Spire aren't a playable race in the new KS, just using it as an example.) The first video pretty much told me they had bigger ships and I guess bigger is better...? What can I do with the different ships or units? Heck, the video said "game flow is quite different" with the Spire. What in the what does that mean??

The first KS video says the "AI plays a board game like Risk" while "you're playing a grand strategic RTS". That is a LOAD of info to process in the five seconds it takes to say that. Shortly thereafter the video says "If you've played the first AI War, well, you know all that" and immediately follows up with "Well, what's new?" Record scratch. What if I didn't play it? Especially if I owned it but didn't play it?!? New features are cool, but I never fired the game up after getting it for super cheap on a Steam sale. Remind me what is cool about all this.

A personal touch to the video will go a long way, but if you can't get comfortable in front of the camera and act naturally then scrap filming yourself.

Offline x4000

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Re: From Chris: What do you want in a new video?
« Reply #11 on: November 14, 2016, 12:54:07 pm »
All very good points -- thank you!
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Offline PokerChen

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Re: From Chris: What do you want in a new video?
« Reply #12 on: November 17, 2016, 06:28:29 am »
Two things, if there's still time for opinions.

- Gameplay footage. Goals are to show general pacing and main activities of the game (e.g. mobile base, capture planets, hack, defending).

- Personal touch? Well, since you're camera-shy, is Keith willing to get in front of the camera? I would also prefer your voices rather than Ben's voice.

Offline garion333

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Re: From Chris: What do you want in a new video?
« Reply #13 on: November 17, 2016, 07:41:44 am »
Really, I think video suggestions best work if we're given some footage to review, much like reviewing the KS page.

Showing how AI War is cool is a bit of a tough proposition and I'm not sure how best to show it in a shorter video. Maybe begin with the player setting up a home planet, but then venturing out and alerting the AI, which then attacks. Then the struggle goes on. That's the basic flow, ya?

 

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