Poll: Femdemic PR
Hey everyone,
The Alpha release of v0.5.5 is done and I'm currently working on bugfixes, while this is happening something else has come up. Before you continue reading, I want to assure you that my main focus right now is on BMO TV. The Femdemic release is a test-case for a future release of that, but I want to really focus on BMO TV development next.
I still have a very difficult decision to make and wanted to hear your input. For the past month I've been looking for a PR agency to represent Femdemic upon Steam launch. This is common practice in the professional games industry, if you don't have a publisher that takes over that job. Most agencies weren't interested, though, possibly because of the NSFW nature of the game. I finally got back the response of an agency that looked promising. The downside is that they want about $12,000. That is both this and next month's development fund combined (after taxes), which of course is a lot to ask.
The question here of course is, how big of a gamble is this to maybe get a bigger return on Steam sales because of their service. They did seem to know what they're talking about, but then again the budget doesn't even contain any ad spending yet. That'd be extra.
Honestly, I have no idea if these numbers are competitive, but they are promising a lot of services. For reference, the last time I did this with my old indie company, we spend about half of what they're asking, but that company was completely new and then failed miserably. If the result of this company is similarly bad, at least I'd know to never trust these businesses ever again.
For the money, they're going to Play the game and do quality control checks, Send out two press releases, Handle all media relations with follow-ups etc, analyze the launch, write up a "strategies & tactics domument" whatever that means, for six weeks after launch they'll handle social media, do community management, community outreach, and handle the advertisements (spending on ads not included).
Needless to say, that sounds like a lot of work, and I've been through this before. It really is such a big workload, but then again, my previous game had won awards and stuff. I think Femdemic turned out great for an idle game, I really do, but it's a lot smaller in scale than my previous steam game. Can they really get a better result for this than somebody else did with an already critically acclaimed game? Then again, small scale is not necessarily a bad thing. It still offers a lot of hours of content and the gameplay loop here is a lot easier to understand. I think the hook for this game is good enough, but it's also not the best thing I've ever made, right? Is it worth that much money to spend on?
The Femdemic release is supposed to be mainly a test-case for a future BMO TV release, so I‘m really trying to find out as much as I can on how to handle the BMO TV release at some point. I think this is one of the most important reasons to do it.
There's another factor, that I'm considering. How positive will the press look upon our little bubble of tfgames? If they are going to cover it, are they actually going to be positive, or are they just going to make fun of us? Femdemic is a bit goofy, isn't it? But it's also more sex-positive than BMO TV, I guess, so it's more likely to get a less harsh reception. Still... Do I even want to be the one that brings the press here? Then again, my biggest goal with Rel.Pink is to help destigmatizing fetishes, so... this could either be a step towards that, or not, but it could also be one of those cases where I'll keep wondering what would have been if I had done it for the rest of my life.
It'd be possible to spend this month's and next month's money on the release, so the funds do exist. I actually have already paid for most graphics that are needed for the next two releases, but I guess I'd need to stretch things by another week or so during this time. Then again, if I were to handle the release all by myself, I'd have to put a lot of my efforts into the services that they'd be handling otherwise. It's completely impossible to know how much time that'd be, but I really really want to keep my full focus on BMO TV for the next months, and this would help me with that.
One thing you can do to help with the release right now is to wishlist the game on Steam. Steam has a very weird system of popularity threshholds where a game can only gain visibility on their page if it has a certain amount of popularity already, completely disregarding the quality of the game on the way. It's the free enterprise economy at it's finest, and also total bullshit, but the only way to make the game visible is to gain about four thousand more wishlists before release. Yeah, as if, but we can try, so please consider helping towards that goal:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2195390/Femdemic__An_Idle_World_Feminization_Game/
So... What do you think? I've given you almost all of the information and thoughts I have on the matter. I'm not going to follow the result of the poll strictly, but I want to see the general community feeling about this. I consider this a really really difficult decision, so I want to do it together with you all.
Best,
Rel
Update: One more thing I forgot to mention is that the Femdemic release is supposed to be mainly a test-case for a future BMO TV release, so I added that above. Can't believe I forgot that, since it's the main reason I'm doing this.
Comments (23)
(Cactus) The main thing to consider is "How do you judge 'Success'". There are many companies that will offer to handle the "manual" work for you for a pay - that's normal. But at the end of the day it is all success to them, since they handled the manual load. But what is success to you, when working through them? What are the "conversion rates" and at which point are those rates can be a "success". Speaking from personal experience on non-gaming apps - I would try to self-publish because: - This is not the main game but a testbed - Lessons learned from self-publishing will give you an idea what is truly necessary, so when you really publish - you can bargain for what is most important to your kind of games - Either Failure or Success - you can apply lessons learned to publishing BMO "properly". (If you hire a company here, there is no "up", just "down" from what you might achieve) If you need help in any of the items they've mentioned - you can hire some help in that region only for, hopefully, a more reasonable sum. But on the other hand... have you tried bargaining with them? Saying that this is a test and there is a bigger game later? Maybe they can cut you a better deal, if you mention that there is a bigger project coming out later that you'd like to work with them on. The main pitfall I dislike personally is the "legal" part of publishing, since it is not my strong point... For that I would consult your attorney.
They are not a publisher. I’m publishing myself. They just help with the PR.
frankly- if someone isn't already interested in feminization, they're not going to be interested. It's niche fetish porn in a game- you know the audience better than any PR firm
I agree, but that doesn’t mean that everybody who‘s into it knows about tfgames.site
I tried the beta a while back and I personally am not that much a fan of a clicker. I'd concentrate on BMOTV and go with the big guns on that one. I have no idea if clickers make much money in terms of sales, so I don't know if you'll have the kind of return that you are looking for. Did you study the market a bit?
At least with Femdemic, the genre is clear. BMO TV will have some problems when it comes to defining what it is in comparison. Clickers are not for everyone, but they do have a substantial following. This is like combining two niches together, of course, so it's not like I expect it to become some sort of super hit. I don't expect that for BMO TV either. However, as I mentioned many times, this is mainly to learn for a future BMO TV launch, so not doing anything will mean no preparation for a launch then.
On the subject of press....I think in the current 'climate' anything in this bubble (gender flexibility, trans, crossdressing) is going to illicit a reaction out of certain people. I don't think it's anything you can do anything about or is something really worth worrying about. The only thing I *do* think might put off consumers who otherwise might be into the game, depending on how its marketed, is some of the cultural aspects. It's never made me uncomfortable, but I can see some aspects of the current story (asian prostitute/masseuse, latina maid, etc) could be seen as both fetishizing race, or making fun of the way some non-native English speakers speak. Do not mean this in anyway to be a "scold", just to be clear. But since you ask about the PR side of things I could see those as being things to potentially consider.
That's not part of Femdemic though.
I think the bottom line is really just that. If you expect to get $12,000 of extra revenue because of the services provided by this firm, then it's worth it. Judging from your level of engagement with the NSFW gaming community up to this point, and the name recognition you have within the base that will be most enthusiastic about the release, you don't need a publisher or advertiser to capture that market. The question will be the casuals - the ones who aren't on Patreon or TFGS. I don't know that anyone here could answer that value proposition without some solid market research to back it up.
I don‘t think it‘s just a financial decision. Them making me $12k is not likely but also not completely impossible. The more important part is learning for the BMO tv launch in the future and that‘s aguarantee.
I'll try not to be a doomsayer or naysayer, but I voted against it. I have this internal alarm saying that it sounds like they try to sucker money out of you then leave you non the wiser. I know the market for adult games are filled with negative voices, and it's sad, hoping to see a change in the future
Sure, it‘s a possibility. I‘m fortunate enough that I could try it one more time and then we know that we need to take a different route for BMO tv. That‘s the main goal - to know what to do when BMO tv is ready.
The Steampage for your Game (like many other NSFW Games) is blocked in Germany.
Yea steam is not interested in following the law of checking customer ages through Postident. I‘m German myself, I know. ;)
I voted against trying it. I don’t know anything about games publishing and I honestly don’t know much about games, either. But I am a creator of TF and fetish content, and my answer directly reflects both my perception of the wider world’s attitude toward TF erotica and my personal feelings about the emotional and psychological consequences of navigating this. It just seems like too much to take on all the layers of this sort of by yourself. It’s hard to imagine this other company is really going to take the weight of all the misunderstandings, the potential for hostile notice if you do break through, and so on with only a financial/contractual commitment. I think of what the furries go through in their interactions with the wider world and they at least have a large nonsexual aspect that can be presented in SFW contexts. I really admire your bravery so far Rel, and I feel like you know more about navigating all this than I do. I hope you can ignore me, burst through it all and prove my fears unfounded, with or without this game PR company. But I’m also afraid for you and I don’t want this to ruin what looks to me from the outside to be a very impressive, steady success that you have built for yourself.
Thanks for your feedback. The thing is though... this is my goal. Destigmatizing tf content won't work if we don't try.
I work in games marketing so I wanted to give my POV. Breaking down the services you listed... QC - You don't need this. You've been doing this already. Playtesting - This absolutely boggles my mind. What kind of marketing team is playtesting? You don't need this because you have a tight-knit group of players already with a wider range of systems than any team this company may have. Recommended changes - No. Just no. They are here to market what you have, not suggest you change things. Again, boggled. Two press releases - Send them out to whom? You can do this yourself with the same efficacy. Follow-ups and analytics - This is the only actual service so far. Unfortunately, they may try to lock you out of your Steam dashboard so you can't see your own analytics. You seem like a hands-on type of person so I'd hate to see you go through that as a self-publisher. Strategies and tactics doc - This is another smoke and mirrors bullet point. All they are going to do is compile feedback from users, distill it (hopefully correctly), and put it in front of you. While this may save you time looking through Steam reviews, Twitter, Reddit, etc it also effectively makes you blind to your own users and beholden to this company. If you're going to be reading these things anyway you will already have a pulse on what users are talking about most. Social media, community management, and outreach - This is the bulk of the time and the bulk of the effort they will be putting in, however your mileage may vary. Are they relying on you for art assets or are you giving them raw PSDs to compile into banners, PFPs, etc on their own? How much community outreach are they doing and to which communities? Many marketing campaigns I've been on have thrown a net so wide that it made no sense so make sure you know before purchasing what they have in mind. This is a very niche community already so I'd be surprised if they could meet you with an answer here. Handling ads - Are they making the ads or are you? Which platforms are they doing ads on? You want platforms that make sense for your game. Let's say things go well with this $12k and you want to stick with them and you give them a great game trailer and allocate another $12k spending for ads. If they throw all those ads on the US mobile play stores it's going to be gone in a blink of an eye and you're going to get zero return. TL:DR - Don't spend your money on this company. Either keep looking or spend some time looking into potential ad networks you want to advertise on that make the most sense for your game and do it yourself. Target regions, genders, and age-groups that may be the most interested in the game. Push static ads versus videos on these platforms as they typically cost a lot less. I hope this helped. If you want to talk more please reach out (I'm not selling anything). Good luck, Rel!
Thanks for the detailed feedback. I have to say that I obviously shortened a lot of it here, especially the reasoning on some of the bullet points, but there are also some specifics that I left out because it'd be too much information. In general, I have had a much better feeling talking to them than with my previous pr partners. I agree that I don't need the QC part and I talked with them about it. They are mainly playing the game to get a feel for it themselves, and I think that makes sense if they are going to . Their suggestions along the line are just a goodie on the side. I can see them having to give reality checks to some indie devs that hire them and then they realize the game isn't really done. Again, I don't need this, but I don't think it's a huge part of the budget. Them playing the game, however, makes sense to me. The playtesting and recommended changes bullet points go hand in hand with that. You're right, though. I'm going to ask for a quote without that and see if they respond. I've handled press releases myself before, so I know that just shouting into the void is not going to have any effect, and also, just sending them out to anybody doesn't either. They did say they'd be targeting specific outlets, if I remember correctly, but I honestly don't think a press release will do anything anyways. It's still something I wouldn't want to handle myself. I did that before and I don't want to do it again. :D They can't lock me out of my Steam Dashboard since it's in my name. They'd be the ones getting access to it from me. I agree that naming something a strategies and tactics document is a bit smokes and mirrors, but I also don't think it has to be that. They did seem more knowledeable than the list of bullet points suggests. For ads and social media posts the package contains an asset creation bulletpoint. For the platforms they were saying that they'd create a specific plan. They were also agreeing with the notion that something like adult advertisement could work here. So I did feel like they wouldn't just use the same service they always use and not target it specific to the needs of this project. And no, they are not doing mobile game ads. ;) I think that's the general thing here. This project won't work if it's just a default way to handle pr. It needs to be specific to the needs of the project. And I felt like they'd be offering that. A list of bullet points will never look like that's the case, but also I wouldn't expect them to give me a list of hundreds of targeted pages before paying them. In general, I think a lot of your points were about this possibly being a scam, but I don't think that's the case here. They are a bigger agency and talking to them kind of made most of your points less likely.
I'd probably do it, based solely on the fact that you are looking at the same question for BMO TV, so better to give this a try now and find out if it's worth it later on for (what I assume to be) the larger release than be blindsided once you release BMO TV
It depends ... How NSFW is it? If it's as NSFW as BMO TV, it may be too much niche to get that investment back through sales. If it's tamer and just a "quirky", sexy look at pandemics, better PR could be a good investment.
Hm... NSFW games don't make less on Steam sales. I think it's really the other way around or Steam would have banned them already. But of course the media is less likely to pick them up, which is why community outreach is the more important part of the deal. They will write in reddit communities and forums and such. It's not as NSFW as BMO TV for sure though, and is going more of the sex-positive route. You can play the game right now if you want. It's on the Patreon download page.
Tough choice tbh. However, it's indeed quite a sum to invest. Femdemic is fun, and iddle games like Cookie Clicker have been successful before, but I'm not certain an adult iddle game will be able to reach that level of popularity on Steam. That sounds risky, so if it was me, i'd refrain from trying. With that said, I can't say I'm not curious about how the PR team would handle this, and it would relieve you from a lot of work.
Agreed. Another thing to remember though is that the release is supposed to be mainly a test-case for a future BMO TV release, so this would help me gain some insights, and also see if hiring a company can even be an option. The BMO TV release will be a lot more important so a test-case like this could help. Forgot to mention that in the text I guess xD. Updated.