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Gamasutra has posted a new article on a recent speech at GDC Austin by Wolfire Software's John Graham. During the discussion the developer revealed the company's methods of advertising its software through a variety of internet outlets and identified how other independent developers could make use of the same techniques. Wolfire is known for its action martial arts game Lugaru and the title's upcoming sequel, Overgrowth.

He pointed out that, with indies, you can practice 'open development' - divided into making noise, making friends, and building a community. Starting with 'making noise', Graham stressed openness at all times. Discussing things such as piracy helped some indies get a lot of extra attention, for example.

Sharing content on your website that isn't just game-related is key, noted Graham. If you add posts on game design or even personal experiences -- or perhaps even April Fool's jokes, such as Small Tank, which was picked up several places on April 1st this year. Wolfire's David Rosen also made video-based 'design tours' for a number of indie games like World Of Goo that got picked up by many outlets.

Cross-promotion is also key. The main rabbit character in Overgrowth now appears, in various styles, in other indie games such as Cletus Clay and Gratuitous Space Battles. And getting the word out to the press, both via email and in person at conferences, is key to your product becoming recognizable and well promoted.

In addition, the Overgrowth creators noticed that only 30% of its traffic was coming from the U.S., and only 50% was from countries where the primary language was English. So they started their 'Overt Ops' program, with translations into 20+ languages and some notable pickup by Russian press.

Gamasutra: GDC Austin Wolfire PR Discussion

Wolfire Software (add to watch list)

Overgrowth (add to watch list)

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