Hi there When it comes to reviewing apps, I guess most sites are eager to get an exclusive, a sneak peek before anyone else. I have seen that a couple of review sites saying that this can increase the odds of being reviewed. Does anyone know anything about this or have experience in this matter? How does one go about doing this? Has it worked for you? Which sites are most open to this? On a similar note, how about interviews? I'm thinking that my background and story might perhaps be of interest to others. How would I go about asking editors in this regard? Again, does anyone have experience with this? Cheers
Something to keep in mind is that a story being "exclusive" is rarely enough reason alone to cover it. First and foremost, at TouchArcade we're interested in covering cool games that would interest our community. Exclusivity is just the cherry on top, which it seems like a lot of developers don't understand. We're not going to break outside of what we usually post about just for the sake of exclusivity, as in my eyes, an "exclusive" story on a weird match three is just as uninteresting as a non-exclusive story.
Hi Hodapp Thanks for the reply. I can see your point perfectly. Having had some meagre success at publishing short stories, I have tried hard to understand what fiction editors are looking for, and I am trying to do the same with review sites now that I am an indie game developer. Let me ask you this, do you like it when people contact you regarding exclusives (assumig that the game is not awful)? Or do you consider it presumptuous? Also, would you mind giving a few words about what gets you excited as an editor. What kind of things are you looking for in a game/developer/story? What kind of approach do you prefer? And what are your turnoffs? What makes you roll your eyes? (here is you chance to rant ) I know that the three most important aspects are to be professional, be polite, and to have a polished product. Is there anything else you would care to add to that? Thanks very much
I think this is pretty simple. If you have something outstanding to show, in general, it's going to be easier to get some excitement drummed up about. What is "outstanding?" Look at the types of games which usually get front-page coverage in TA or a similar site. Heavy-duty tech usually helps (something that looks like it has a heavy production quality), or even just a very well-put together style, and if it's not a rehash of something "done several times already" then that will also work in your favor. Of course if you've already got a known brand to pimp then that will also help considerably, or some strong connection to things which will easily resonate with the masses (if you have a very sharp First Person adventure that "looks like a AAA game from early last-gen" well, that is something which your average iOS gamer would drool over at this point..) Simple puzzle and matching games, on the other hand, by unknown studios will usually not do much to generate excitement. Likewise if you have "another jumping or Tower Defense" game to show off, with the average degree of presentation. Hope that helps.. PS. your Angel Bounce link in your sig is busted :/
Hi headcase Thanks for the input. I find the crowded marketplace very interesting. Soul destroying and frustrating, but interesting nonetheless. Polish+originality goes a long way right? I'd better get back to work And thanks for pointing out my silly copy/paste error. Doh!
