Good signs in video game marketing

So we all hear non-stop about signs that let you know a game will be bad before release. Shit like:


are all signs that we're in for just another shitty game. But what are some good marketing/business practices that signal that a game will be good? Sure, you can't predict everything, but if there's signs a game will be bad then surely there are equally compelling signs that a game will be good. I think that things like:


are signs that the game might be good. Would there be anything else that would signal the coming of a genuinely good game?

ITT: signs that a game will be good

They're pro GG or better yet don't fucking engage one way or the other

I'd prefer they just stayed out of it completely. Like I appreciate a good game with a message but whenever a dev team takes either side as a whole the anti/pro-GG message seems to overtake everything else.

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The first footage that you see is to do with the actual gameplay

Also review copies, if they aren't sent earlier than the game has a 75% chance of being garbage

Not a single mention of "cinematic gameplay". I fucking hate this shit. If I wanted to watch a movie then I'll watch a God damn movie.

This would apply to pretty much anything honestly. Ghostbusters had a review embargo and we all know how that turned out.

Lack of aforementioned bad things is always a good sign

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If it's trailers actually get you excited for the game itself, rather than its story or graphics. No game besides RPGs should have its story as a selling point and no game aside from a walking simulator should have its graphics as a selling point.

There's a demo.

When's the last time you played a demo?

Undertale.

When they are showcasing the game they don't boast about the little things, those details should be left for the player to find out and be slightly amused by it, but amused nonetheless.

Take that part in Wolfenstein where you find those two soldiers talking (I don't remember very well the scene) as a good example.

Bad e.g.
You get the point.

It just feels like they're desperate for people to notice their game.

I'm sorry if I didn't get my point across well, it gets somewhat difficult to write a lot before I get confused about what I was talking about and drift off to something else.

The problem is, embed related hit upon the first part of this right on the mark. Game demo footage from that same E3 allowed you to actually play the game, with most, if not all the moves that occured in the demo available to you, as well as enemies teleporting away, forcing you into a rather fun parkor chase across the city.

Fuck Bethesda for shutting this down, due to the company not allowing Bethesda to purchase them. This would have been a godsend for the industry.

pretty sure Planet Robobot has one

Could Minecraft Classic be considered a demo? I remember playing that back in 2010 before buying Alpha. (Still not sure if the game was really worth $13.)
Also Valdis Story.

Undertale. It was worth it.

Undertale and The Iconoclasts, both had me sold.

Can this game count?

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The studio hired a modder/franchise fan to work on the game.

this too

This. Don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to plot in games, I think a good game with a good plot is a better game than a good game without plot.

But when you're first telling me a game exists, like with a trailer or something, the absolute first thing I want to see is actual live gameplay that establishes WHAT YOU ACTUALLY DO WHEN YOU ARE PLAYING THE GAME. As in, a live rendered cutscene isn't even good, because while it may be real in-game graphics, a cutscene doesn't show the gameplay. Absolutely start with that first and foremost, because if the gameplay itself isn't my thing, no amount of story setup will fix that. The gameplay is the make or break issue, after that's established as something I like, then you get into story and characters and such to make me even more interested.

Of course, even then, I care more about art direction and graphical quality than story and such, so starting with actual gameplay establishes my two most important front-end questions: Is the gameplay what I want, and is the art direction and style to my liking. So starting with real gameplay is what I want to see immediately for two reasons, and anything that isn't actual in-game footage of gameplay misses everything I want to know first.

Kerbal Space Program has a demo. It seems like it's a more common practice with indie games these days.

Having a demo and 0 political agenda on either way

Metal Gear Solid 5, but even the demo lied to me.