Three Ways to Think of Game Trailers
Game trailer editing always comes back to: ice cream, stand up comedy, and first dates. These are the examples I use to explain the mindset for making good game trailers.
Ice Cream
This is about the essential information people need from a game trailer. If you like ice cream (who doesn't!?) you probably have a favorite shop or brand. New ice cream shops need to give you a reason to try them out. They can't focus on the typical features of ice cream like basic flavors, cones, cups, and toppings. Assuming they're not the only shop in town, they need to have a good hook. Like ice cream which is stretchy, rolled, all organic, made with liquid nitrogen, or frozen custard. Once people understand the hook, THEN it's time to talk about flavors and varieties.
How does this translate into game trailers?
A lot of trailers take a long time to even show you what genre the game is, either because of extended logo sequences, or slow camera moves through empty environments. This is like starting a pitch for your new shop but taking too long to say it serves ice cream.
Then the trailer skips to the "flavors" which for games is like discussing game modes, number of skins, and environment variety before learning the hook.
The lesson for game trailers is:
First say you're selling ice cream (establish the game genre)
Show what makes your ice cream different (show the game's twist/hook)
Then talk about the flavors (content numbers and features) and even then, oftentimes the trailer will be fine if you spend little to no time on these things.
Stand up comedy
Stand up comedy is about as brutal live performance gets. When you're a new comic at an open mic they typically give you three minutes of time. If you work hard enough, someone might give you five minutes as part of a show. If no one in the audience knows who you are, they have little to no reason to believe you're any good. If you're unknown, it is ESSENTIAL to open with a strong joke to get a laugh.
People who come to comedy shows WANT to laugh, but there's a tension and unease when an unknown comic comes on stage. It's extremely uncomfortable to watch a bad comic slog through a routine which receives no laughs whatsoever. A good opening laugh releases that tension and earns good will.
Give them what they want. They won't stand for anything less.
A bad way to start as an unknown comic is to give a long intro, talk to the crowd, or start with anything but your best material. A good stand up act should start strong and end strong.
Gotta grab that attention!
How does this translate into game trailers?
Starting strong as an unknown game means starting with gameplay. We watch game trailers to learn about a new game we might want to play. Starting with gameplay is the easiest way to meet that basic need we want to fill by clicking on a trailer.
Game trailers which don't start with gameplay need their intros to be EXCELLENT or BRIEF. For example: shiny production values, top notch 2D animation or CG, a hooky story premise, or a unique and arresting visual. This is like an unknown comic bantering with the crowd, but they're charming and entertaining.
No matter how good that non-gameplay intro is, I think there will still be building tension that can only by gameplay. The longer the trailer goes without the thing the audience is looking for, the more impatient they're going to get. If what you show before the gameplay isn't impressing, you're only going to build more tension. It's like an unknown comic bantering with the audience, but they're terrible at banter.
The lesson for game trailers is:
Get to the point.
Give people what they want. Respect their time.
Open strong and end strong.
First dates
If you're on a first date, the last thing you want to do is tell your date about your good qualities. Your date has no reason to believe you if you say: "Hi, my name is Derek and I'm the nicest guy in the world. I'm also really intelligent." If anything, this will make you look much more unappealing, because what sort of person needs to say this about themselves? This red flag will probably make them analyze your every move even more to prove or disprove what you said. For example, looking at how you treat the wait staff, how you treat them during the date, etc.
How does this translate into game trailers?
Don't use voiceover and title cards which say your game is epic, amazing, incredible, satisfying, mind-blowing, etc. People know the trailer is advertising, and the more you pump the game up, the less likely they are to believe you. It will probably dig you into a hole which you have to work your way out of by showing great footage. It's much easier to not dig that hole, and just show the good footage without the self-congratulatory words.
The lesson for game trailers is:
Show the game is good, don't tell.
If you take these three examples to heart, you'll avoid a lot of the major pitfalls I see game trailers fall into. They ultimately boil down to: No one has any reason to care, so give them reason to care by showing your game in its best light, and respect their time and intelligence.
Also, don't forget to get some great music for your trailer.
