So I officially stopped investing time in promoting The Sha Man(iTunes) and see it as a first step which I had good learnings off.
It will stay in the Developer Portfolio in iTunes. So when ever I create a Success It will benefit from that and maybe get some Attention too.
The new project
Here a list of what I will do different and what I will do the same.
What I will do again:
I will be using Gamesalad to develop the Game and take 3-4 months developing time.
I will do my own Graphics, Sounds and Music and the same Core Gameplay again.
Marketing wise I will create a Twitter, Facebook Page and contact Youtubers for Gameplay Videos since I see them as an existential minimum if you want to be successful in the online world.
What I will do differently:
The Game will have a clear understandable level by level Progression Layer not as detached from each other as I had it with The Sha Man. As a new addition the Game will have a simple Narrative structure to give Player additional Motivation/Reasoning to progress. Overall I will go for a less „nerdy“ Game Setting and go a little bit more into the girly direction. I will change from full Price Game to In-app purchase model including an In-game Currency.
The end of the game will be left open for more Content, so I can patch new Content and over longer time create a News stream which I can push through Marketing Channels.
The next Game will get a real website, a one Page Website for the Game, like a business card with all links (iTunes, Blog and Social Media) this enables to practice search Engine Optimizations.
My Girlfriend has taken over a lot of PR Work and has created lists with cooperative press Partners. And another list where you can get cheap paid Reviews. We will send Promo Codes and Information to the press 2-3 Weeks before Release this Time. Additional I got a Tip of a Gamesalad Community Guy which suggested prMac for Marketing which I also will use.
More Details I will post here soon!