Intro

Game jams are an excellent opportunity for devs of all skill levels to try new things and get feedback from players about their games, but marketing strategy is also needed to get players to actually play the game in order to get that feedback. The concepts are presented here in terms of promoting a game for a game jam on Itch.io, but many of them are also applicable more widely in game marketing. Analytics can be found on the game’s itch page, and by using this tool.

Problems & Fixes

It’s possible to produce an excellent game, but end up with a terrible score because users dropped off before ever playing or reviewing it. To leave a review, these things need to happen:

1) Itch decides to show game to user
2) The user decides to click on the link to the game
3) The user decides to play/download
4) The user starts the game
5) The user plays through the game
6) The user leaves a comment/review

The user can drop off at or between any of these points. The following section will help you match up the data you have about your game with the specific point that people are leaving before they review. If you encounter an unfamiliar term, there is a list of terms and instructions on where to find information about them under the “Concepts” heading later in the article.

Impressions Are Low or The Game Doesn’t Have a CTR stat

Itch is not showing the game to people.

1) Itch decides not to show game to user
2) The user decides to click on the link to the game
3) The user decides to play/download
4) The user starts the game
5) The user plays through the game
6) The user leaves a comment/review

The game is delisted - It no longer shows up in searches. Jam games will still show up under submissions for the jam if they’re delisted. You need to contact support to fix this.

The game is not tagged - It’s not showing up for players that might like it when they search for the tag. Add tags to your game on the game’s edit page, and make sure that they’re accurate to what the game is.

The game is not promoted - Share the link to your game and communicate with your fellow devs from the jam. More interaction with the page means itch will show it to more people.

Click Through Rate (CTR) is Low

People are not clicking on the links to the game. Users see the game appear on their pages, but they choose other games or leave instead of clicking yours.

1) Itch decides to show game to user
2) The user decides not to click on the link to the game
3) The user decides to play/download
4) The user starts the game
5) The user plays through the game
6) The user leaves a comment/review

The game’s cover art is not competitive - The first thing most users will see of your game is the picture in the “cover art” section of the game’s edit page. This needs to quickly communicate what your game is about, and why the user should click on it instead of another game.

The game’s description is not effective - The short description that appears when the game is linked needs to convey why the user should play this game, and why it should be chosen over another option. It needs to be concise and needs to hook the player.

Conversion Rate is Low (High Views, Low Plays/Downloads)

People are reaching the game’s page, but they’re leaving without playing/downloading the game.

1) Itch decides to show game to user
2) The user decides to click on the link to the game
3) The user decides not to play/download
4) The user starts the game
5) The user plays through the game
6) The user leaves a comment/review

The game does not run in the browser - Many players will not download a game at all because of the extra time it takes to get to gameplay or a hook and the malware risk. Running in the browser will usually result in about twice the engagement with your game when compared with being download-only.

The game’s page is not convincing them - The itch page needs to be designed to match the game and show it off. Changing the colors of the default page and adding a few screenshots of the gameplay are the bare minimum. Players are much less likely to download/play if they have no idea what they’re getting.

The time to gameplay/hook is too long - You have about 10 seconds after the moment the game page loads before you start losing a lot of people. The player needs to be in control of gameplay, or needs to have hit a compelling hook within this window. The longer it takes to get to gameplay, the more people will leave.

Reviews are Low

People are starting the game, but they’re not playing it.

1) Itch decides to show game to user
2) The user decides to click on the link to the game
3) The user decides to play/download
4) The user does not start the game
5) The user plays through the game
6) The user leaves a comment/review

The game is broken - Players try to play, but the game does not work. They leave without leaving a review because they didn’t get to play the game.

The game looks like malware/triggers scary warnings - The game causes a windows defender warning or otherwise gives the player the impression that it is unsafe. They decide not to play in order to be safe.

OR

People are playing the game, but they’re not reviewing it.

1) Itch decides to show game to user
2) The user decides to click on the link to the game
3) The user decides to play/download
4) The user starts the game
5) The user does not play through the game
6) The user leaves a comment/review

The game is not engaging enough - Players are getting to gameplay, but they don’t find it engaging enough that they play through the game. They drop off and don’t review the game because they lost interest.

The game is too frustrating or annoying - Players will get tired of things like repetitive sounds, jumpscares, and game design that feels unfair. They will stop playing because they’re not having fun.

People are getting stuck - Players are engaged with the gameplay, but either encounter a bug or don’t understand how to progress. Fixing this can be as simple as better directions or fixing bugs.

The game is too long - Players are engaged and playing the game, but the playtime is too long for them to play enough of the game to leave a review. Generally shorter, more polished games perform better in game jams.

What Else can I do?

These are some more actions you can take to increase the traffic to your game

Itch Community

Rating for Rating (R4R) threads - The majority of developers who made a game for a jam also want other people to play and review their game. In the “community” section of the jam, you will see threads posted by other developers.

Recommendation Threads - Some people will just ask for recommendations in threads in the “community” section of the jam. People will go down the list of games in threads like these when they’re looking for something to play.

The Jam Discord - Many game jams will have an associated discord. These can be great for both posting your game for others to play and review, and finding other games with active developers that you can play. Many devs will be happy to play your game if you play theirs.

External Community

Content Creators - Content creators are increasingly creating content about game jams. If you see somebody advertising “looking for games to play on stream” it’s a great opportunity to get your game some more exposure, as well as seeing live feedback about the game.

Other Communities - You can post your jam game outside of the jam to drive its popularity up. Your game is more likely to be noticed by the algorithm if more people are interacting with it.

Jam Submissions

Play Other Games - Just searching for games in the submissions, playing them, and leaving a rating or review is a good way to get more eyes on your game. Some devs will review people who review them, so ensure you leave a comment so they can find your game.

High Karma - “Karma” is a measure of how many games the developer has played versus the number of people who have played their game. Games with high karma mean their developer reviews many games, but has not had their game reviewed many times. If you play these games, it’s more likely that the developer will review yours.

Concepts

Understanding what these terms mean is important to being able to understand what users are doing and identify problems.

Impressions

This is the number of times that a link to your game has appeared on somebody’s screen on itch.io in the last week.

Views

This is how many people have opened your game’s page.

Browser Plays

This is how many people have clicked the “play” button on your game’s page.

Downloads

This is how many people have clicked the “download” button on your game’s page.

Reviews

Found on the right side of the game’s jam page, this is just how many people have reviewed the game so far as a part of this jam.

Click Through Rate (CTR)

This is the percentage of people that clicked on the link to your game when it was shown to them. If this is low, people are seeing the game but are not clicking on it very often. This is usually because the capsule art and description of the game are not effectively getting users interested in the game.

Conversion Rate

This isn’t shown directly on itch, but it’s important. Conversion rate is the sum of your game’s plays and downloads divided by the number of views on the page. This will tell you the percentage of players that actually play or download the game after opening its page.

Cover Image/Capsule art

This is the image that itch shows people when it presents your game to them. This art is the first thing that users see of your game, and it is crucial in communicating why they should click on your game instead of another one.

Store Listing Card/Capsule/Open Graph Embed

These terms are used loosely and interchangeably within the game dev community, but they refer to the block of information pictured above, which includes the game’s cover image and tagline. The settings to change this are found on the game’s dashboard.

This card needs to quickly summarize what the game is about, and why the player should click on it instead of one of the other games on their screen.

Time to Gameplay/Hook

This is a measurement that begins when the page first loads, and ends when the player is given control of gameplay or presented with a hook of some sort to keep them invested in the game.

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