From picking which game to make and building communities all the way through to presenting your games in digital stores... all the best stuff has already been done. So here's 25 ideas nicked from observing thousands of indie game launches.

Takeaway:

• How to build audiences for your game
• How to create great, sharable assets that explain your game
• When to start marketing your game

Part of a team responsible for securing multiple high-profile projects, Natalie discusses her methods for designing, creating and delivering successful pitches and presentations. Whether you’re pitching your own game to a publisher or trying to secure work-for-hire, a thorough and well-reasoned approach can make or break your project. The lecture will include practical advice on how to approach and create high quality documents, as well as talking about common pitfalls and easy-wins, with content ranging from high-level objective-setting, document design rules, presentation delivery and applying a product design methodology. The lecture focuses on objective-based design as a tool for creating contract-winning work.

Takeaway:

Objective-based design 

• How to define your pitch goals, your audience, and their needs
• How to design and present high-quality pitch documents
• How to avoid common pitfalls and eliminate risk

Releasing your first game on Steam can be a daunting prospect when you're a solo developer or a small indie team. What happens when you release a small game on Steam? What can you expect from Steam in terms of impressions and visibility? How does that affect sales? In this talk, Brian Shingles will attempt to answer those questions as he shares details and stats from his experience with releasing three small games on Steam through his microstudio, Bad Logic Studios. Brian will discuss the mistakes that were made and the lessons that were learned along the way, as well as offer advice and strategies for small indie studios looking to release their own games on Steam.

Takeaway:

At the end of this session you will

• Know what baseline level of visibility to expect on Steam and potential ways to increase it 
• Understand some of the common mistakes made when releasing on Steam and how to avoid them
• Possess strategies that can be adapted to your game/studio to increase your chances of having a more successful launch on Steam