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How To Market A SHMUP (Bullet Hell, Arcade Shooter, Shoot'em Up)

If you're a game dev making a shmup and you're NOT finding an audience for your game, then here's what you'll learn after reading this guide:

Don't be like most game devs whose only marketing strategy is to put their game on Steam and hope Steam will find an audience for them.

If you want to find an audience for your shmup so that you have a successful game launch, then here's what you need to know...

What You Need To Know To Successfully Market Your SHMUP, Bullet Hell, Or Arcade Shooter And Find An Audience

To successfully market your game, and find an audience, you need to know how your market works.

To know how your market works, you need to understand the main "desire" that is driving the shmup genre. You need to know what players want NOW and not what they wanted few months ago.

The shmup market is a very hard market to break into. It's probably one of the hardest. That's because it's not only a very small niche market... but also what players want changes faster than it takes to finish a game.

So to be ready and make sure your game isn't ignored when you launch, then you need to know these "3 Key Elements of The Shmup Market". Here they are...

By getting a DEEP understanding of who your player is, what they want, and what they don't want, will help you understand how your market works. And this in turn will help you with your marketing efforts.

How? Well, let me show you an example...

In 1978, Space Invaders came out in Japan. This started the "Golden Age Of Arcade Video Games". But as the market flooded with "copy cat" games, this Golden Age died.

But in 1983 - 1994, a subgenre emerged from the Arcade Shooter. This new genre was called "Run and Gun" and "Rail Shooter". Instead of a ship, you had a character on foot.

That died out, and then in 1995, another subgenre emerged: The "Bullet Hell" genre. CAVE popularized this genre with their first game, DonPachi.

So for example, say you're in 1996 and you're making Run and Gun shooter. You don't know it, but "desire" has shifted. In 1995, Run and Gun shooters were all the rage. But now in 1996, everybody is playing this brand new subgenre, Bullet Hell.

Mass desire has SHIFTED.

And because you had no idea this "mass desire" has shifted from Run and Gun shooters to Bullet Hell games, you're game will pretty much fail. And no amount of marketing, PR, branding, advertising is going to convince a player to play your game. That's because the "desire" is no longer there.

This is very important to understand...

If we don't know how our genre works, and we don't know what the current state of a player's desire is at this moment, then we'll end up making a game that has no appeal anymore.

And this is what is happening TODAY.

Most game devs are NOT aware of any mass desire that is occurring in their genre right now. They have no idea what is the current "pulse" in their genre. They have no idea who their player is, what they want, and what they don't want.

So, if you want to find an audience for your shmup, you need to find out this "desire". You need to deeply understand your market so you can be sensitive to any shifts in desires.

And just know, we CANNOT control this desire. Desire can't be predicted. And desire can't be manufactured. Desire happens outside of us.

But! If we can be sensitive to any changes in player "desire", we can quickly adapt and be one of the FIRST to take advantage of this desire.

So how do you "tune in" to this "shifting mass desire" in your genre?

Let's go there next...

Who Is Your Player

If you want to find an audience for your game, you need to be sensitive to any changes in player's "desires".

To do that, let's break down who your player is.

I've done a lot of market research in the shmup market, and I came up with two types:

Player 1: Hardcore Shmup fan. This is somebody who grew up playing old shmups, like the ones CAVE studios use to develop, or NeoGeo. They are probably over 35 years old. They can tell the difference between Ikaruga vs. Ketsui. They know the subtle differences in gameplay, mechanics, and visuals between all of these games. These players have a well defined idea of what a shmup should be and shouldn't be. They aren't fans of accessible shmups like Vampire Survivors because they feel games like that are too "watered down" and easy.

Player 2: Normie Shmup fan. This player is a casual. They are probably under 35 years old. And it's hard for them to distinguish the differences between say Ikaruga vs. Ketsui. In fact, to the Normie, almost all of these hardcore shmup games look, feel, and play the same. They assume that the old shmups have never evolved from Space Invaders. And they don't know there has been a lot of innovation and refinements in the shmup genre since the Space Invader days. And they don't care because hardcore old shmups look difficult. They only care about shmups that look cool, are less difficult, and are more accessible.

This is a VERY important difference. And if we try to market to BOTH of these shmup fans, we'll just alienate everybody.

For example... say I open a pizza restaurant. I can't just make a generic pizza place if I'm gonna survive. The pizza industry is oversaturated. I need to find my niche and what makes me stand out.

To do that, I need to break down the pizza industry into categories. Some categories are: Speciality pizzas. Classic pizzas. Neapolitan. Chicago Deep Dish. Detroit Style. And then each category is broken down even further: meat lover, vegan, ham and pineapple, etc.

I won't get any attention if I try to make a pizza for everybody. For example, a "meat lovers vegan pizza" is not going sell to the meat lover group or the vegan group.

And neither will our game sell if we try to appeal to every shmup fan.

When marketing, you need to choose who you speak to directly. If you try to appeal to everybody you just alienate everybody.

So this is why it's very important to understand WHO is your player. Is it Player 1: Hardcore Shmup fan? Or Player 2: Normie Shump fan?

So if you want to grab the attention of a player, and find an audience, you need to know: Who Is Your Player.

Ok, let's keep going...

What Does Your Player Want And Don't Want...

Once you found out who your target player is, you need to go even DEEPER and understand what they WANT and don't WANT.

And remember, we're doing all this work because we want to "tune" our senses to any shifting desires.

We don't want to be making a game in a market where desires have shifted. If we make a game in a market where there is NO desire for anymore, then no amount of marketing or PR or influencers is going to help attract players when desire isn't there.

If we find that "desire" then all our marketing, PR, branding, etc, is going to be a lot more successful in grabbing attention and finding that audience.

So the second and third Key Element is to know what potential fans want and don't want. Because if we don't have a DEEP understanding of the needs and wants of our player, then we'll be "shouting into the void".

In other words, all our marketing efforts will fail if we don't speak to the right audience.

So to "tune" your senses to the "pulse" in your genre, let's find out what your player wants -- and doesn't want...

Player 1: Hardcore Shmup Fan, What They Want And Don't Want

Like I said, this fan probably grew up playing the old shmup games made decades ago. Nostalgia is what is driving their desire to play new shmup games.

But, this shmup fan has a very clear, well defined idea of what a shmup game is and is not. So if you change the "formula", you'll miss grabbing their attention.

Let me explain...

Want #1: Dense Game Play

The BIGGEST appeal to Hardcore Shmup Fans is how DENSE the gameplay is. What I mean is, when you jump into a shmup game, there is NO idleness... there is no walking around exploring... there's no inventory management... there's no skill trees... its just action RIGHT away.

You jump right into conflict. You struggle in that conflict. And if you survive, there is a payoff. The gameplay loop is IMMEDIATE: Fight. Struggle. Struggle. Struggle. Reward.

Want #2: Game Mastery

Hardcore Shmup Fans love the appeal of mastering the controls. They want to improve their mechanical skills. They will spend 200 hours on a 6 minute game. They will memorize an entire game's bullet hell pattern. They will practice and practice so they can improve -- even if it's a 1% improvement, they're happy.

They do this because EFFORT is the reward.

Want #3: Stick To The Formula

A lot of modern shmup devs see a problem in the shmup genre, and they try to fix it by adding new and innovative features. But these modern devs are not mindful of what Hardcore fans really want. And anything new and innovative gets rejected by this group of fans.

That's because Hardcore shmup fans have a well defined idea what a good shmup should be. They don't want devs to change this formula. Yes, they want uniqueness, creativity, and refinement. But they don't want modern devs to change the core idea of what a shmup is.

Let me show you what I mean...

Here's a "formula" of what makes a good shmup game according to Hardcore fans:

What Hardcore Shmup Fans DON'T Want...

What they don't want is for game devs to mess with this formula. Sure, refine it, add some creativity, but don't touch the core of what makes a shmup fun for them.

For example, remember how I said they love the DENSE gameplay loop? You Fight, Struggle, and get a Reward. And there should be NOTHING in between that. There is no inventory systems, no story time, nothing. The gameplay is dense and not stretched out.

So any feature that interrupts this dense gameplay loop is going to get complaints from the Hardcore fan.

That's because when game devs stretch out this gameplay loop, they are missing the entire point of why this fan base loves this genre.

Hardcore fans play this genre because it is difficult, and it requires 100% of your attention at ALL times.

And by stretching out the gameplay it no longer is a game about depth, but a game about length. By adding features like inventory systems or leveling up, you're stopping the action and making things easier. All the features Hardcore shmup fans don't want.

Now compare that to...

Player 2: Normie Casual Shmup Fan, What They Want And Don't Want

What Hardcore Shmup Fans love, the Normies HATE.

Let me explain in detail...

Want #1: Inflated Game Play

Remember how Hardcore fans want "dense" gameplay? Well Norimes want "inflated" gameplay.

To them, they value the length of a game rather than it's depth. They don't mind inventory management. They don't mind picking out a new perk. They don't mind breaking the action and going into a menu screen. To them, these little features are "mini games". And they NEED a break from the action. They can't put 100% attention into so much action. They need a break. And this "downtime" is a reward for them.

So they don't want a dense game. They want a game that is stretched out. They want the gameplay loop of "Fight, Struggle, Reward" to be inflated with other "mini-games" like inventory management and skill tree decisions, etc.

Want #2: Power Fantasy

Normies won't put in the time and effort it takes to master a game. And they don't want to progress through a game using sheer mechanical skill.

They want assistance to help them progress.

They need upgrades, skill trees, inventory, powerups. etc. They need help to compensate for their lack of mechanical skill.

What Norimes DON'T Want...

A Normie shmup fan doesn't want to memorize bullet patterns. They don't want practice modes.

Sure, they want difficulty... but they also don't want the entire game to be based on their "mechanical skills". They don't want to memorize an entire game's bullet pattern. They don't want to be stuck in a spot because their twitch reflexes aren't fast enough or that their focus isn't sharp enough.

They want a little of both: mechanical skill AND extra help like power ups, perks, weapon upgrades, skill trees, etc.

Also, they don't want a dense action game. They don't want a 6 minute game that takes them 20 hours to beat.

Ok, all of what you're learning right now is eventually getting to an important point... so let's keep going...

You Can't Be Everything To Everyone

I'm not saying that one type of fan is better than the other. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with Normies or Hardcore fans. I'm not "gate keeping". I'm trying to show you there is a HUGE difference between two types of shmup fans.

One wants to beat the game through sheer mastery and mechanical skill (Hardcore). One wants to beat the game through upgrades and perks (Normie).

One wants a dense, fast action, no plot, difficult game (Hardcore). One wants some relief from all the action so they can manage their inventory, level up, upgrade weapons (Normie).

This difference is VERY important because when you go market your shmup, you can't reach both types of fans. You can only talk to one type of fan.

And in a moment I'll give you some tips on how to market a shmup, bullet hell, arcade shooter...

But...

...This is why it's so important to figure out who your target player is: If you want to find an audience for your game, if you want to market your game successfully, you need to address the right player.

If you're not sure which is your target player, then you'll be the person trying to sell "vegan pizzas" to a crowd of "meat lovers". And no amount of marketing, PR, branding will help convince meet lovers to try your vegan pizza. If you get your target wrong, nothing will help.

So just remember: You can't appeal to both Hardcore Shmup Fans and the Normie Casual Fans. If you try to appeal to everybody, you'll just alienate everybody.

All right...

Let's move on to some concrete, tangible step by step methods. First I'll show you mistakes you need to avoid when marketing your shmup. And then I'll show you how to market your shmup in 3 easy steps.

Here we go!

3 Mistakes To Avoid When Marketing Your Shmup, Bullet Hell, Arcade Shooter, Shoot'em Up

You've learned a lot about your market. It wasn't easy. So great job.

Now, let's move on to some actual, concrete things you can do to help you find an audience for your shmup, and successfully market your game so that you dramatically increase game sales at launch.

First, let's talk about 3 mistakes you need to avoid. Then later I'll show you 3 steps on how to AVOID these 3 costly mistakes so you can successfully market your game.

Mistake #1: We Avoid Asking For Player Feedback Because Fear Of Rejection

Maybe like me, you're introverted and sometimes shy. And that's ok.

But if you are to succeed in growing your game studio so that you make profits... enough profits so that you can work on your next game, and hire people to help you finish games faster... then you NEED to talk to people one-on-one.

A lot of game devs fail because they code in "isolation". They put on their headphones and code. Or draw. Or design. And because of fear of rejection, they never go out and see if what they're making is something the market wants.

And then when these game devs release their game and they only get 27 sales, they blame Twitter, or Steam or whatever. They blame algorithms. They blame the market. And yes, they blame themselves and say they didn't do any marketing.

But if they just talked to people before they spent years on their game idea, then they would have seen all the danger signs showing them they're in the wrong market. And they would have avoided making a game nobody wanted.

So, if we want to build an audience, we can't just sit, put our headphones on, code, draw, design, finish our demo, get on Steam Next Fest and watch the wishlists roll in.

We need to overcome our fear of rejection and talk to players, and get their feedback. This is the only way to make sure we make a game that the market wants.

Without talking to players, we are only guessing and hoping. And if we want to make profits and income from developing a game, we can't guess and hope.

Mistake #2: We Misjudge The Resurgence In Retro Gaming

Desires shift. And desire shifts faster than a game can get finished. This is why I'm so instant on you to understand who your player is, what they want, what they don't want, and to talk to players one-on-one.

I want you to get a DEEP understanding of your market so you know WHERE the desires are.

What I mean is, right now there is a resurgence in retro gaming. Tower Defense. Rogulikes. Shmups. The desire for these games is coming back.

But desires are fickle. And you have a small window to take advantage of this resurgence. For example, you don't want to go TOO hard into making a shmup when Roguelikes are more desired.

This is another reason you need to speak to potential players. By talking to players you'll discover insights that will help you make a game that people will want to buy.

Maybe you'll discover that Normie shmup fans are getting tired of playing Vampire Survivors, and they want LESS roguelike elements.

Maybe you'll discover that Hardcore shmup fans are "hungry" for games inspired by the NeoGeo era shmup games, and not inspired by CAVE shmup games.

We don't want to misjudge any shifts in people's desires. If we do, then we'll spend years making a game for which there is no desire.

#3: We Rely On Other Platforms To Do The Marketing For Us

The business strategy is simple:

  1. Get your demo / prologue done. Make sure it's polished
  2. Get into a Steam Fest (maybe TWO Steam Fests!)
  3. Get massive exposure during the Fest
  4. Watch the wishlists flood in

This is a great plan. And it should be executed. However, as more and more devs learn about this strategy, the MORE saturated each Fest is going to get.

It's like what happened on Twitter. In 2018 you can post something cute about your game, you get 11k likes:

twitter use to help indie game devs

Twitter is no longer a place to discover new indie games...

Of course, this wasn't always the case. But a few years ago, players were excited to discover new games on Twitter. But this rarely happens today. The algorithm has changed. And players got tired of seeing every dev self promote and market.

This happens to almost every platform: They get overstated. One thing works for a small few, and then the majority jump in in droves. This oversaturated the platform. And normal users are now bombarded with marketing and self promotion and advertising. So they tune out. And what worked before doesn't work now.

It's happened to Reddit. Redditors are getting more and more hostile to game devs who are self promoting.

It's going to happen to Tik Tok. Game devs are telling other game devs that they're using Tik Tok to promote their game. But as more game devs flood Tik Tok with self promotion and marketing, the more people will tune them out.

And it'll happen to Steam Festivals. It'll get over crowded. Only the popular games will be featured. The lesser known game will be buried. And it'll be harder and harder for small games to get noticed.

But there is a better strategy than relying on platforms to do the marketing for you...

Let me show you that next...

3 Steps On How To Market Your Shmup And Find An Audience For Your Game Before You Launch

If you want an audience for your shmup... if you want your marketing efforts to lead to more wishlists... if you want to avoid releasing your game to an "empty void", then here's what to do...

What you're about to learn is my "secret" in how to find an audience. This is a method I figured out and used to successfully create 3 startups from scratch.

And it's NOT about pumping out content everyday. It's NOT about posting on Twitter or YouTube or Tik Tok everyday. It's not anything you've already heard about when it comes to marketing your game.

What I did is very simple. And I call this method, the "Audience Accelerator" method. Here's how I know it works...

Like I said, I've had the good fortune to create 3 successful startups. And for each one of them I never used paid marketing, paid ads, or social media to build them.

What worked was talking to potential customers, one-on-one.

Hold on! Let me explain :)

For my first startup, how I found an audience was simple: I went to online forums in my market, read and listened to what they said. I also talked to my coworkers at my day job, and tried to gauge their interest in my idea.

From talking to people online and IRL, I started to get a deep understanding of my market. And I found a niche.

Talking to people landed me my first customer.

And as I talked to more people one-on-one, I started getting enough customers and profits that I could quit my day job. I no longer had to work a day job and then work on my idea at night.

So as I talked to people online, in real life, and to my current customers, I slowly built a community and an audience.

And in that small group of clients, some of them owned their own businesses. So as word-of-mouth spread in that business community, I started getting more high profile customers.

And those high profile customers knew even BIGGER high profile people. And as word-of-mouth spread, I started landing multi-million (and in one case a multi-billion) dollar clients.

clients from my first startup

Clients from my first successful startup

And I took this "Audience Accelerator" method, and did it again, two more times -- and created two other successful startups.

It works because you leverage PEOPLE not platforms.

I didn't rely on a platform like Twitter or YouTube or whatever. Instead I relied on people to do the marketing for me. I found my target customer. I talked to them. I found out what they wanted and needed. I used that feedback to improve my product. And as I kept talking to people, I started getting a following and getting customers. And those customers talked to other people, and word-of-mouth spread. I didn't have to do any marketing or selling or advertising or social media.

And remember, I'm an introvert. I'm a bit shy. I'm not a sales person. I'm not schmoozy. I mumble when I talk. I slur my words because I get nervous when talking and talk too fast. I keep quiet most of the time.

But I learned that the only way to be successful is to find out what people want, help them, listen to them, be genuine, and they will spread word-of-mouth for you.

So what does my story have to do with YOU? How does my story translate into you finding an audience for your shmup game?

Let me show you, step-by-step...

The "Audience Accelerator" Method: 3 Steps To Dramatically Increasing The Audience For Your Shmup Game

The way this method works is simple. And it's designed so that you leverage your community to do the marketing for you. Let me show you how...

Step #1: Go To The Following Forums And Spend 25 Minutes A Day Reading What Players Say

If you want to build an audience for your shmup, you need to deeply understand who your players is, what they want, and what they don't want. You're doing this because you want to find a desire that no other game is tapping into.

So what you do is in the next week or two, spend 25 minutes a day going to the following forums:

Just read the newest posts. And read the comments. You're not marketing your game. You're not advertising. You're just listening to understand who your players is, what they want, and what they don't want.

Also, keep a Google doc and write down anything that sticks out to you. For example, problems players have with the genre, what they wish the genre added, what they don't like that has been added, words and phrases you keep hearing said over and over again.

Keeping a log of what people say will help you come up with ways to improve your game, and make your game more appealing.

Again, you're doing this because you want to make a game the market wants.

Step #2: Participate In These Communities And Build Rapport

As you read and listen to what players have to say about the shmup genre, you'll notice some people will ask questions. This is your opportunity to help.

Remember, you're in a unique position. You're a "producer". You develop shmup games. You have a very different insight than a "consumer" does. So share your angles, insights, insider info.

As a dev, this is your opportunity to offer something different than just "player opinions".

But DO NOT market. Do not advertise. Don't talk down. Don't lecture. Don't come in like you're an expert and know more than everybody else. You're genuinely helping others out. You're listening. You're adding insightful ideas. You're adding a different angle. Your goal is to build trust and rapport with these fans.

Step #3: Ask Them This Question

As you build rapport and trust in these communities, and as more and more people recognize you in this community, then you can ask them this:

"Hey, I need your opinion. I'm making a shmup that does [your unique feature here]. What do you think? [Link to your demo, Steam page, screenshot, YouTube video, etc]."

Almost everybody you ask will be receptive and won't feel you're bothering them.

In fact, they would love to help you out. And those who will help you out WILL become your biggest, passionate fans.

These are the people who will spread word-of-mouth for you. These are the people who will have access to "high profile" people and get your game in touch with them.

The best part is, you don't need a lot of people to get the momentum going.

I talked to maybe 90 people. And as the ball got rolling, I didn't have to keep talking to people. Eventually my reputation was well known without me doing all this one-on-one work.

And that's the idea here: You don't need a lot of people to get mass momentum. It only takes 50 - 100 people you speak to personally to help you reach mass momentum.

And this is why I say it's simple to do. You're not doing any hard sales. You're not spending time making marketing content for Twitter or YouTube. And you're not posting on Reddit and getting angry feedback because you're self promoting. All you're doing is connecting with your fans in a genuine way -- one by one.

You're finding out what they want and need, and you're telling them that YOU have what they want and need.

You're not trying to convince anybody. You're not interrupting them with self promotion and ads and marketing. You're making something THEY want, and you're telling them where they can get what they want.

And this is how you build word-of-mouth. If you can genuinely help them get what they want, they will want to help you and support you. They will become your passionate fan, that will vouch for you and help you your game get "out there".

It's a lot easier and more efficient to market your game when you have 100 or 1,000 people doing it for you.

But what most game devs do is they pump out marketing content on Tik Tok, Reddit, YouTube, Devlogs. They're a "one-person" show. And it's VERY difficult to get attention if it's just you doing it.

So leverage your marketing efforts by approaching players one-on-one so you build an "army" of passionate fans that will market your game through word-of-mouth.

What To Do Right Now To Get Your First Audience Member

The best way to learn anything is to take action. So what I'd like you to do right now is to go to any of these forums:

...and in the next 15 minutes, just read through the posts. See what players are saying.

And open a Google doc. Call this Google doc, "Player Insights". And as you read the forum posts, copy and paste any words, phrases, or questions that stick out to you.

So do that right now because I promise you you'll get an idea or insight that you can use to help you make your game better.

And then tomorrow, do the same thing. And if you feel like it, comment on people's posts. Get involved. You're not selling. You're not marketing. You're not a "producer". You're a "consumer". You're just being a genuine fan of the shmup genre.

The goal here is: You want to find out what they want, so that later you can tell them where they can get what they want. And where they can get what they want is from you, your new shmup game!

Still Stuck? Get Free Help

Imagine trying to teach me everything you know about game dev in just one article. It's very hard to do.

But that's what I just tried to do here. I tried to teach you everything I know about marketing in one article. Well, to be fair, development is way more complicated than marketing. But still... I can't teach you everything in just one article.

So if you're still stuck, and you have some unanswered questions, and want more in-depth, advanced free help, then take here's how to contact me...

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Dariusz Konrad
Email: dariusz at mainquestmarketing dot com
Discord Username: dariuszkonrad
LinkedIn: My entrepreneurial successes
Work: Game devs I've helped so far