Monkeys Vs. Nazis: Getting Little-Game Publicity in a Big-Game World

Squaring off against the likes of Wolfenstein is a daunting prospect for just about any franchise. However, such a situation is downright terrifying when you're an independent developer trying to get noticed without the benefit of a marketing budget or big-name property. Dan Marshall, founder of Size Five Games, faced an uphill battle when announcing his upcoming project, Gun Monkeys. With the eyes of the gaming world shifted toward the next entry in the Nazi-slaying series, he decided to go with his original plan to debut Gun Monkeys despite the prodigious opposition that stood before him. For Marshall, this was not a momentous face-off; it was just another day trying to get noticed as an independent developer.

The premise of Gun Monkeys is incredibly goofy, which is a given considering its moniker. Time-traveling monkeys are sent to the future to gather energy that enables the human race to survive another day. Makes sense. But because energy is a finite resources, armed simians go paw-to-paw in bloody battle royals to determine which returns home in one piece. With procedurally generated levels and a strong multiplayer bent, this could be a fun pastime for those who enjoy shooting as a primate but are tired of the "humans with guns" motif that currently dominates. Even though the concept has inherent appeal to some people, getting noticed requires a fair bit of work.

On May 7, Marshall took to Twitter to find out if it was a good time to announce his next project. "JOURNOS: I'm planning to announce a game at 2pm so if there's a big embargo on a massive franchise that'd swamp me, please let me know." Little did Marshall realize that GameSpot was going to pull the curtain off Wolfenstein: The New Order that same day. This created a dilemma for Marshall, and initially, he postponed his plan. No matter how eye-catching his next project is, neither Marshall nor his simian combatants have the name recognition of Bethesda and B.J. Blazkowicz. Surely, only a fool would try to compete in such a lopsided matchup. But the perception changed once the unveiling took place.

"The news was, they're making a new Wolfenstein game, and there's only so far people are going to care about that."

"I'm not going up against Wolfenstein. That's a big game; it's not worth it." Marshall explained his mindset before GameSpot officially showed The New Order. "I'll get swamped. If that [reveal] had been gameplay video and previews and lots of meaty stuff for people to talk about and chew over, I don't think I would have announced. I would have left that for another day. But it came out with a prerendered video, and everyone sort of went, 'OK, you're making a new Wolfenstein.' And that was it as far as the news was concerned. The news was, they're making a new Wolfenstein game, and there's only so far people are going to care about that."

Because there wasn't much information about The New Order on May 7, Marshall felt confident that his game wouldn't be overshadowed. "There was still room to talk about Gun Monkeys. People weren't just obsessively talking about Wolfenstein," he said. And though Gun Monkeys didn't get nearly as much recognition as The New Order, it still carved out its own niche. Websites posted information, cobbled together previews, and conducted interviews with Marshall. Then it was just a matter of momentum. "The media response is only half of it, if that. The other half is getting people to talk about it on Twitter and Facebook, and getting people interested enough in the game to spread it on their own volition. Journalists get that ball rolling for you."

Health warning: monkeys should not be given guns.

Independent games have difficulty getting noticed, but that's not because of an inherent bias against small-budget games. Rather, there are two separate markets within the industry that cater to different tastes. Marshall doesn't take offense to this. "There are a billion types of games out there, and people focus on what they're interested in, and that might not be indie games." The simple fact is that cheaper games are not as popular as their expensive counterparts. "If you ran two stories, and one was about Call of Duty and one was about an indie game, the amount of click-through for the indie game one will be infinitesimally small compared to the AAA one."

"As an indie developer, you just have to shout twice as loud and twice as long to get a message across."

Social media is the great equalizer for independent developers. "I've never spent a single penny on marketing, and I wouldn't," Marshall says. So when you can't afford (or refuse to pay for) banner ads and television commercials, talking directly to those who care most is a great way to get noticed. "In terms of marketing, social media is brilliant. Instead of me telling people they should be looking at something, their friends are telling people they should look at something." People trust their friends much more than a monolithic corporation, after all, so the prevalence of easy communication has been an indispensible part of Marshall's strategy. "It's just me doing it all on my own, making it up as I go along," Marshall said, so he takes breaks from coding to say a few words on Twitter or send emails to public relations contacts, all in the hopes of getting noticed.

Marshall can spend time getting the word out and creating something that's worth playing, but success is ultimately not something that he can control. "You have to hope that good games get picked up by the general public," Marshall said. And that's the biggest problem. With so many choices, even great games get buried under the constant influx of new information. Independent developers may have an inherent disadvantage trying to get noticed alongside their flashier competitors, and Marshall combats that in the only way he knows how. "As an indie developer, you just have to shout twice as loud and twice as long to get a message across."