As mentioned previously, I enjoy creating creative content, whether this be making app icons, professional looking screenshots, video editing, photo editing etc...
I will be talking specifically about:
1) App Icon
2) App Screenshots
3) App Preview
4) Creative Videos (for advertising)
App Icon
There were many alterations made to the 'Rocket Road!' app icon. Removing/adding objects until we got the finalised version. Of course, the icon may be subject to change in the future. Each icon displayed below was created in Adobe photoshop. I am aware this is not always the recommended software to use for app icons, however, I am comfortable using photoshop.
For the first attempt at creating the app icon, I wanted to make sure I could show the user what to expect from the game. As you can see above, the icy environment in the background, the diamond in the top right - sitting next to a police car. On the left hand side, located at the top you will see a taxi. I also tried to give the illusion of movement throughout the icon. Upon researching and gathering feedback, due to the size of the image, it looked very complicated. The user wouldn't want to spend a long time trying to figure out what was going on in the small icon.
After researching and receiving feedback, I came up with the above app icon. From seeing the trends on the AppStore, it was evident the most simplistic icons were most attractive and therefore popular. Having a coloured gradient in the background seemed to grab the user's attention as well as emphasise the main object in the centre of the icon. Both of these app icons were designed in photoshop.
App Screenshots
When publishing an app on either the AppStore or GooglePlay, you must provide screenshots of the app. This will give the user an insight into the game - you should also want to show-off your game as much as possible! My screenshots, as displayed below - show some exciting scenes and scenarios which will help promote the game as much as possible. I 'screen-shotted' these scenes on my device, some may decide to screen-shot the gameplay on the Xcode simulator.
App Preview
On the AppStore, there is an option to upload a 'Preview'. A preview is a short video displaying how the game is played. The preview will be shown when a user taps on your app. I created my video in iMovie - as there is an option to export as 'AppStore Preview'. This video should consist of some attractive gameplay. See my video below.
Creative Videos - Advertising
Whether you decide to self-publish or pitch your app to a publisher you will want to make videos for advertising. A publisher will ask you to make 'creatives' which can be used to promote your game, from this they can get an idea of the audience and market. Will the game do well? Is it profitable?
Recently, the videos which seem to perform best are those comparing two types of game play - 'Mom vs Dad', 'Brother vs Sister', 'Pro vs Noob' etc... (Please see below for examples). It is a good idea to add a visual component - displaying the game mechanic, such as a hand switching from one lane to the other.
For the creatives, I used 'HitFilm Express'.
Thanks for reading!
For any questions or further information, please email: rocketfuelgames@gmail.com