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Game sound effects are a great opportunity to create a brand identity for a new game or press nostalgia buttons in the target audience of a sequel to a popular game. Here are a few examples of how I tried to do this in trailers I made.

Trailers are just one form of storytelling and there are lessons you can take from the much older storytelling medium of picture books! Here are a handful of lessons which I learned from picture books which can be applied to trailers.

Why wait until the announcement to make a trailer when you can make one before you’ve even started making the game? This can be a useful tool to assess the viability of your game’s genre and the strength of its hooks.

How do you judge the quality of a game trailer from the least experienced to most? This is my guide for what game trailers’ components look at a range of experience. You can use this to improve your own work and evaluate the work you see around you.

If you’re an inexperienced game trailer editor, don’t chase fast cut trailers made by Hollywood movie trailer editors. In some cases it might be what your project calls for, but in most cases it is not. Here’s my pep talk for if you feel like in your trailer editing you’re chasing legitimacy or the look of “real” trailers.

Some game trailers get the job done and do little more. Sometimes this works out if the game is hooky and unique enough, but in other cases it can make the game look worse and cheaper than it is.

What does it look like when a great game has a terrible game trailer? If the game is good enough, its qualities can shine through, but bad editing can really do a tremendous disservice to a good game. Most game trailers aren’t this ineffective at showcasing the game, but a lot come close.

Avoiding video filters and video transitions are the number one thing most amateur video editors can do to make their work look more professional. Here is why, and what to do instead!

When a trailer uses quotes they had to really dig to find, they’re kind of saying the opposite of whatever the quotes are saying. You don’t have to dig for treasure when it’s lying on the surface, so this is what you’re saying by digging…

The film movements Cinema Verité and Direct Cinema were dedicated to depicting documentaries with great authenticity, and there’s a lot they can teach us about making more authentic game trailers!

If you’re an indie game developer making a trailer, think twice before looking to the latest AAA game trailers from E3, The Game Awards, or similar caliber of trailer. In this essay I explain why it’s setting you up for failure, and how you can do better.

Part of being a good trailer maker is being aware of the current zeitgeist and conversations. At best, you can make something which contributes or responds to it, and at worst you could unwittingly release something very tone deaf. Here are some examples of movies and games which I think did a good job.

What is the balance of style and substance in a game trailer? Where is the line between making something look cool and looking like you’re trying to hide something behind all the flash?

What can ice cream, stand-up comedy, and first dates teach you about making game trailers? These are my most frequently used analogies and here’s why.

Some game trailers show footage which amount to little more than switches on a fidget cube being activated. There’s no rhyme or reason we can see that the player is using them. This is why that’s frequently insufficient for a well made game trailer, and what to do to remedy the situation.

A24’s movie trailers are highly regarded on the internet. How do their trailers differ from all the rest, and make people not only love them, but eager to watch more?

Based on YouTube’s popularity graphs, here are some reasons people went back to rewatch game trailers in whole or in part. This is all speculation based off my intuition and observations as a trailer editor, but I think there’s some good food for thought in here.