Week 2 Part B - Business Research

Mossmouth

http://www.mossmouth.com/

    Mossmouth was created by an individual named Derek Yu as a one-man studio to release a game called Spelunky, back in 2009. Releasing Spelunky on multiple international platforms allowed gamers from around the globe to take part in the action. Currenly, Mossmouth is being expanded into a bigger studio with multiple employees.

    Derek Yu uses Twitter (@mossmouth - 53.3k followers) and Instagram (@bossquibble - 2082 followers) to promote his personal brand, and Mossmouth has a Youtube channel (@MossmouthGames - 3.99k subscribers) for promoting their progress in game development. To find this information, I had to do some Google searching, as the links for Twitter and Instagram are not readily available on their website. It appears Derek uses Twitter almost daily, and his last post was a retweet on February 7, 2021. On Instagram, it seems he hasn't been as active lately, as he has in the past. The last post was from January 15, 2021 about a Spelunky 2 speedrun competition. On their Youtube channel, they post gameplay trailers and other game dev related content. Their last video was a trailer for the live speedrun event about a month ago. As a business, Mossmouth does not seem to use social media for heavy marketing purposes, but rather to post about upcoming events.

Fullbright

https://fullbrig.ht/

    Fullbright is a fairly new independent game studio based in Portland, Oregon. They have released two games: Tacoma and Gone Home. Fullbright is in the process of developing their third big game called Open Roads. Released on multiple platforms, their games have become internationally available. 

    Fullbright's website does not have links to social media accounts, but after some searching, I was able to find that they have Twitter accounts specifically for the individual games that they create (@TacomaGame - 6008 followers, @GoneHomeGame - 9002 followers). On both accounts it appears they are active less than once a month. The last post was a retweet from December 10, 2020. From what I could gather, this business uses social media strictly for marketing and does not spend much time using Twitter for socializing. They use individual Youtube accounts to promote content for their games as well. I think Fullbright takes a minimalist approach to using social media, as their activity is very low, but they are still able to achieve a decent following with effective strategy.

Extremely OK Games

https://exok.com/

    Extremely OK Games is an independent game studio based in Vancouver, Canada that focuses on creating simplistic, yet aesthetically pleasing indie games. They have four games released, one being a remake. The business consists of a team of 6 individuals, all with a specific area of expertise in game development.

    Their website is user-friendly and has the business's social media links in the top right corner. Using Twitter (@exok_games - 15.1k followers), they post almost daily and engage with their audience frequently. On Instagram (@exok.games - 916 followers), they seem to be active about once a month. On both platforms, they post memes, game development related content, and inspiring quotes.

BLENDO Games

https://blendogames.com/

    BLENDO Games is an independent game studio ran by Brendon Chung. According to the website, he has been making games "since the ancient before-times." The company focuses on rich worlds, storytelling, and well-crafted gameplay in their games. They have released many games and are continuously developing.

    Right at the bottom of their home page of the website, they have links to their various social media accounts. They use Discord (Blendo Games - 666 members), Twitter (@BlendoGames - 60.1k followers), Youtube (Blendo Games - 2.79k subscribers), Twitch (BlendoGames - 1.4k followers), Facebook (@blendogames - 3876 followers), and receive Emails. Brendon Chung manages the Twitter profile and is constantly interacting with his followers, as well as posting content daily. They stream on Twitch every day as they continue to develop their new game. On Youtube, they post weekly updating their progress as well. On their Facebook page, they post updates for their games and other related announcements.

Ben Esposito

http://www.torahhorse.com/

    Ben Esposito is an indie game developer from Los Angeles and creator of "Donut Country," a game where you play as a hole in the ground. He has helped create other games in the past, including "What Remains of Edith Finch" (2017) and "The Unfinished Swan" (2012). He also spends his time making unlicensed fan games. There is a collection of them on the website printed above. 

    Ben Esposito has a Twitter account (@torahhorse - 21.8k followers) and Instagram account (@torahhorse - 1400 followers) that I was able to find. There are no links available from his website. All of his accounts are for promoting his personal brand. He is active on Twitter frequently and his last post was from February 4, 2021. On Instagram, he has not been active for almost a year, and his last post was in April 2020. I am able to conclude that Twitter is his platform of choice.

Conclusion

    After analyzing these indie game developers' online presence, I have walked away with more of an idea of how I can market my own personal brand. I used to be under the impression that Instagram was the best platform for marketing or spreading content awareness. Seeing the amount of followers that these users have on Twitter compared to Instagram, I can conclude that Twitter is a more effective platform for marketing an indie game studio or indie game.

    Youtube can be used to upload video trailers and gameplay footage, as well as competitions and live events. Using Youtube can be an easy way to maintain a playlist of game specific videos and trailers, or game development progress. I will most likely use Youtube as a low maintenance platform for sharing my more serious developments in the future.

    I have never been a fan of using Twitter, but the time may come where it will be a useful tool to spread my content across the internet and establish a following of individuals. Twitter has a much more interactive userbase, where the users have conversation and content is more abundantly available on-screen, over many other platforms.