GAME TRAILER RESEARCH

WHAT IS A GAME TRAILER?

A game trailer is were game developers can showcase there new game to the public by creating a montage of clips from the game or creating an Animated clip from the game showing off what could be the outcome of the final product. This makes the audience want to buy their product. These trailers can sometimes have music playing over them.

HOW ARE GAME TRAILERS CREATED? Game trailers are made by either: Taking short clips from actual gameplay of the game and

rearranging them into a montage. Hiring actors to play out a certain key plot in the

storyline. Or by showing a cutscene in the game or a couple of

minutes of gameplay. This is called a teaser trailer.

WHAT IS THEIR PURPOSE?

A trailers purpose is to whet the audiences appetite and make them want to preorder/buy the game. It also shows off what the game is starting to look like and what its shaping up to be. And to show to the publishers of the game how the development crew are coming along with the game.

WHERE/HOW ARE THEY NORMALLY SHOWN? Trailers can be shown in numerous places, including: Magazines (pictures) Billboards The internet TV Mobile devices DVD’S Interviews for branded companies They are also shown to the games publishers so they can

see how the game is coming along.

ARE THEY TARGETED TO PARTICULAR AUDIENCES? Games like GTA are targeted at 18 years and over.

Whereas a game like Lego Batman is mainly targeted at children, although some adults will still play it. Overall different games have different age ranges even though some kids games also apply to adults.

The majority of all games are unisex but are stereotypically targeted at boys even though there are some games that are meant for girls like ‘Barbie hair dresser’.

DO THEY FIT INTO CERTAIN GENRE’S OR STYLES, CAN THEY BE CATEGORISED?

All trailers can be categorised, depending on what type of game the trailer is about. For example a trailer of a fps game will have a lot of gameplay clips in the trailer. However a trailer for an rpg game would have half gameplay and half cinematic footage to show off the story.

DESIGNING A GAME TRAILER TO INCLUDE MUSIC PART 1 If the trailer was about a FPS or an action game the music

should be rock, dubstep or heavy metal music. However if the game was a platformer, the music should be very happy and gentle. This is because the trailer must be suitable to the games audience and must fit in with the the style of the game.

DESIGNING A GAME TRAILER TO INCLUDE MUSIC PART 2 If there is music in a game trailer it is usually synced up

to the clips in the trailer. For example in the ‘Battlefield 3’ trailer the music is quieter when there is no gameplay and gets louder when the gameplay footage is shown. In my opinion this trailer was put together so well that It made me want to get the game.

REFERENCES

Slide 1 image Battlefield 3 trailer on slide 9

ILLUSTRATED STORYBOARD

The intro should show a part of a cutscene that leaves the viewers in suspense. Like the main character waking up in a train that is dangling off of a cliff. The first scene of a trailer should usually get the viewer interested in the story.

ILLUSTRATED STORYBOARD PART 2

The next scene should show some of the characters that are in the game, whether they were in the previous game or are entirely new characters added to the story.

ILLUSTRATED STORYBOARD PART 3

The next scene should show quick snippets of gameplay from the game with lots of action scenes and gunfights to draw people into wanting to buy the game.

ILLUSTRATED STORYBOARD PART 4

The next scene should show off some of the multiplayer features of the game. But not as much as the single player gameplay.

ILLUSTRATED STORYBOARD PART 5

The final scene should return to the first scene and show the main character about to die. Straight after that the trailer should end and the logo/title of the game should appear, with the release date shortly after it.

MUSIC IN THE TRAILER

The music playing throughout the trailer should be very suspenseful and dramatic to show the drama and the action in the trailer. This will make the viewers want to keep watching to see what happens next.