How and Why to Conduct Trailer Research
Research can be one of the most rewarding parts of making a game trailer. It's often what helps me find the direction for the trailer, connect with the target audience, or at the very least find something to put into the trailer to give them a little bit of delight. I don't have an extensive and refined process for research, but I'll walk you through a handful of things which have helped me. First, let's go over why I'll do research when I start working on a game trailer. It's to learn:
Who are the potential fans of this game?
What are the game design pillars the fans care about?
What do potential fans want to see in a trailer?
What do they hate seeing (or not seeing) in a trailer?
What is the core play experience the fans want or have experienced in the past in similar games or prequels?
What do the fans of this genre value?
These questions are all about the audience of the game, but I'll also do plenty of research about the game itself, especially if it's an expansive game with tons and tons of content like The Long Dark. In those cases sometimes I learn about both the game and its audience as I watch "let's play" videos, guides, FAQs, highlight reels, etc.
Research can take a lot of time depending on the game ^_^;
There are a handful of places I'll do this research, which is not super scientific, but usually is enough to get myself going in the right direction. In the movie trailer industry there are people whose job is to get "real" people to watch trailers and spots, ask them very pointed questions and then draw up conclusions which will guide the design of the trailers, and ad campaigns. I don't have those sorts of resources, and I'm not sure I'm working at a level which that is warranted, so I feel pretty okay doing my internet research to at least get in the head space of some of the potential players.
I do this via:
The game developers, their marketing people and/or publisher
Forums (e.g. Steam, reddit, etc.)
Comments on YouTube, Gaming site articles, videos, trailers, etc.)
Social media (Twitter, developer communities, etc.)
Of course if the game developers have done their own research that is the place where I'll start. They've likely been monitoring all the conversations around either their game or similar games, so it only makes sense to ask them what they've learned. If they've done a good job they'll usually say something like "We think people who will like our game are the ones who are currently playing games like [list of similar games]"
I'll also read interviews with the developers where they've articulated their design goals and values. I did this when making the developer commentary trailer for Spelunky 2 linked here. Reading interviews with Derek Yu helped me write the questions I eventually sent him which formed the backbone of that trailer's script. Developer research is also what will lead me to parts of the internet where I'll personally read comments from players.
I want to know their favorite parts of the games they like, their pain points (e.g. "I hate it when games do [this] I wish there was a game where...), and what they choose to comment on when they see a trailer, read an article, or watch an interview with the developer.
Or if for example I'm working on a game where representation of a marginalized group is a core pillar, I want to be sensitive to how that particular game is doing its best to show they're (hopefully) representing in a way which is respectful, unique, and differentiated from stereotypical depictions of that group.
If I'm working on a sequel for a popular game, there will often be people speculating about what the developers are going to do next with the game, or what they hope they will do. Sometimes this will lead to very specific things I put into the trailer or just a general direction. For example, it was very important for me to show a lot of death and experimentation in the 1.0 trailer for Noita because that is a core part of the game which hadn't really been shown in previous trailers.
(From the Noita 1.0 launch trailer YouTube comments) I had already made most of the trailer by the time the previous trailer came out, but I did slightly change something based on negative feedback, and it was well received!
Every genre of game has its strengths and weaknesses, and reasons its fans are drawn to it. Knowing those things help me make a better trailer which will connect better with its target audience by addressing their needs and sometimes just saying: "I see you." That connection can make a HUGE difference if it's made in what is otherwise just an advertisement to sell a game.
Not all research will yield useful information, but sometimes it just takes one nugget which will make the trailer that much stronger for little to no extra effort when you're in full trailer production. Good luck!
