Trailer Made: What Makes a Successful and Memorable Game Trailer

In this 2019 GDC session, trailer editor Derek Lieu teaches you what makes a successful game trailer and the key questions to ask during production. Lieu also sketches out a list of the easily fixable, but extremely common pitfalls many game trailers fall into.
Register for GDC: ubm.io/2yWXW38
Join the GDC mailing list: www.gdconf.com/subscribe
Follow GDC on Twitter: Official_GDC
GDC talks cover a range of developmental topics including game design, programming, audio, visual arts, business management, production, online games, and much more. We post a fresh GDC video every day. Subscribe to the channel to stay on top of regular updates, and check out GDC Vault for thousands of more in-depth talks from our archives.

Пікірлер: 45

  • @Tbjbu2
    @Tbjbu24 жыл бұрын

    - Show mood, mechanics, experience. - Show how the game is different. Focus on what is unique. - What would someone tell a friend about your game after seeing your trailer? Usually one big thing. - Trailer should explain how to play. - Introduce the new ideas early. - You want the audience to see your game's potential "omg I can do this and this and this!" - Good music. - Actions/cuts on the music beat. - Does your trailer tell a story? Or is it a bunch of random scenes together? - Turn off the HUD / only show important parts to the shot. - Show your trailer to someone who doesn't know anything about your game. - Don't show everything in the trailer. - More information can be less interesting. 1. Cold Open: Hook the audience. 2. Introduction: Educate the audience. 2. Escalation: Draw the audience in. 3. Tease. 4. Call to action.

  • @Lunareon
    @Lunareon5 жыл бұрын

    A clear and compact guide for making effective trailers. Also, this 29:27 long trailer definitely made me want to play with the cats!

  • @DerekLieu

    @DerekLieu

    5 жыл бұрын

    My plan worked 😹

  • @erickednaldodelima
    @erickednaldodelima5 жыл бұрын

    I love how his presentation is full of cats!

  • @worldserpent731

    @worldserpent731

    Жыл бұрын

    I hate that

  • @SSukram_

    @SSukram_

    2 ай бұрын

    ​@@worldserpent731I hate how some people are entitled to opinions

  • @worldserpent731

    @worldserpent731

    2 ай бұрын

    @@SSukram_ cope

  • @SSukram_

    @SSukram_

    2 ай бұрын

    @@worldserpent731 I am

  • @Ferret440
    @Ferret440 Жыл бұрын

    Derek is the man, people looking for more useful info should check out his youtube channel!

  • @thomasbrown7912
    @thomasbrown79123 жыл бұрын

    This was a great talk. Super informative, thanks so much for sharing what you know!

  • @nuclearbeeberman
    @nuclearbeeberman2 жыл бұрын

    phantastic talk thanks!

  • @WhiteNorthStar1
    @WhiteNorthStar1 Жыл бұрын

    Excellent ❤

  • @TheAlison1456
    @TheAlison14565 жыл бұрын

    Check out his Noclip podcast appearance as a guest. I knew it was Derek Lieu from there, even before I checked the video's description.

  • @DerekLieu

    @DerekLieu

    5 жыл бұрын

    I've never been on Noclip (though I'd love to be!), so it must've been another show you're thinking about. I'm pleased to hear you assumed it was going to be a talk by me 😄

  • @TheAlison1456

    @TheAlison1456

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@DerekLieu Oh, yeah. It was actually The Spelunky Showlike, episode 4. Misremembered!

  • @ArseniyShved
    @ArseniyShved5 жыл бұрын

    What would someone tell a friend about your game after seeing your trailer? People generally when they're sharing they don't go to their friend and say 'oh it has... 100 guns' Hundred? no. One billion? YES! =)

  • @DerekLieu

    @DerekLieu

    5 жыл бұрын

    Haha, yes THAT is a good message, but anything less than that is going to be less noteworthy 😂

  • @jgodden8022
    @jgodden80225 жыл бұрын

    This is about the 4th time that GDC have posted a video about a particular topic within 2 weeks of GMTK posting a video of the same topic. One might think that the person in charge of disseminating GDC content was trying to piggy-back...

  • @GMTK

    @GMTK

    5 жыл бұрын

    They took a bit longer than usual this time :)

  • @jgodden8022

    @jgodden8022

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@GMTK Haha well you are certainly a trendsetter Mark.

  • @SimonCarless

    @SimonCarless

    5 жыл бұрын

    (I do subscribe to GMTK and work at GDC, but Bryant, who schedules these videos, does not, so this is definitely rando synchronicity!)

  • @antzpantz
    @antzpantz5 жыл бұрын

    SO MANY CATS

  • @UrielManX7
    @UrielManX74 жыл бұрын

    A good game.

  • @TESkyrimizer
    @TESkyrimizer3 жыл бұрын

    9:23 "So yeah it's pretty cool you can turn enemies into leather hats and sofas and there's cannibalism and stuff."

  • @enkiimuto1041
    @enkiimuto10412 жыл бұрын

    As a player, the only thing I disagree is hide the HUD thing, it is really frustrating to hunt for it on the pictures and videos

  • @REDACT3D
    @REDACT3D5 жыл бұрын

    trying to think of a memorable game trailer right now- mind drawing a blank - what I look for is gameplay footage the showcases the game mechanics

  • @tabula_rosa

    @tabula_rosa

    5 жыл бұрын

    from dust's narrative trailer for me was memorable despite having no(?) gameplay. I think bc it builds up to the end-of-game apocalypse and sets the stakes & builds intrigue into where the game will go that the game's gameplay mechanics don't do on their own

  • @DerekLieu

    @DerekLieu

    5 жыл бұрын

    I have an ongoing playlist of my favorite game trailers! There’s a mix of gameplay and cinematic, but I focus on gameplay kzread.info/head/PLIGLRMCk1Wi_Ygpfd6Jz4nSl6sAIFqZKQ

  • @REDACT3D

    @REDACT3D

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@tabula_rosa ah interesting. do you find yourself getting into the 'lore' of a game more than skipping the cinematic elements like myself? You know, now that you mention it- I did upload my reaction to the Boundary trailer. I think it did a good job of combining cinematic elements with showcasing gameplay mechanics in development. I suppose what works best is choosing the method that works best with your specific targeted audience. For instance: with doom - don't tell me deep stories, show me the weaponry, foes and maps with some rocking music. likewise, with a building game like Minecraft; show me how the blocks fit together and examples of things you can build. really you can't replace knowing your target audience with a template that works for everyone. as the saying goes- you can't please them all right? ^.^ I'll have to check out that from dust trailer - I don't recall if I've seen it

  • @MuriloMielke

    @MuriloMielke

    5 жыл бұрын

    Battlefield 3 trailer always come to my mind because of the music/pacing/editing.

  • @fabricebacquart

    @fabricebacquart

    3 жыл бұрын

    No Man's Sky...

  • @thegatso
    @thegatso5 жыл бұрын

    Maaaaaan I really disagree with the "Dont show the HUD" advice. I think the hud is a nice detail that really teases aspects of the game especially if there's stuff on the hud that the viewer doesn't have any idea about. "What could that star icon mean in a first person shooter? Oooooo I can't wait to find out!" It also adds a rewatch value for your trailer, I know I for one watch trailers without pausing the first time through and then go back and watch it to try and divine what I can from the tiny details and the hud is a huge factor for that.

  • @LeFaucheur

    @LeFaucheur

    5 жыл бұрын

    As I'm developping a FPS, I took a look at some FPS trailers and noticed they don't show hud, and the action look super cool, and at the same time it kinda screams "I'm playing with every cheat enabled". of course it's less fun when you show you can get hurt and miss shots, but it's also what will happen when you play.

  • @DerekLieu

    @DerekLieu

    5 жыл бұрын

    I totally understand this sentiment! I think the HUD is very much a “second read” or “third read” element, but in the context of a trailer they can come at the expense of the “first read.” I think a lower percentage of people are going to rewatch and freeze frame, so I try to make my trailers so the broadest audience can understand what is going on at the most basic level. That said, I think it’s important to serve the needs of as many players as possible, and for those who are looking for HUD, it might be a good idea to make a video which is more raw. Like how many big games make 101 trailers.

  • @jesterowl1615
    @jesterowl16155 жыл бұрын

    Are speakers required to mention to the audience to silence their phones? I've heard quite a bit of them mention it and I wonder if it's that big of an issue at GDC

  • @ConoftheDead

    @ConoftheDead

    5 жыл бұрын

    It's part of the standard procedure and has been for years. It's a big conference (29,000 people this year) and people can be forgetful. That said though, I've never heard a phone go off in the 7 years I've been.

  • @rei1789
    @rei17895 жыл бұрын

    Oh man, Asian game trailers are so bad at this. Especially mobile games, but a lot of PC games are like this too. They tend to show you so many scenes, sometimes the entire trailer, that aren't even from the game. Animations (some even Flash animations) that don't exist in the game, that don't actually even tell you what the game is really like. And it'd be fine if it's an animated representation of the story for an RPG or maybe the cool characters for a fighting game. But quite often that isn't the case. That or they show you literally just the most boring parts of the game. Like some guy fiddling with his inventory for about 30 seconds. Or show you things that would only be interesting to those who are already playing the game, like talking about newly implemented features before they even tell me what kind of game it is. Like "Wedding System Unlocked!" Yeah ok fine, but what kind of game is this? "Fishing System Implemented!" Is it an MMORPG!? I dunno what I'm looking at!

  • @minimatamou8369
    @minimatamou83695 жыл бұрын

    Worst thing about this talk is the shadow on his face. It says a lot about the quality of the content (meaning, this is fucking great (and I like to make things obvious (and open a lot of parentheses (only to close them all with a single one at the end (to piss off programmers like me).

  • @KnightCrown
    @KnightCrown5 жыл бұрын

    Just study Kojima's trailers lol

  • @drugmate9710

    @drugmate9710

    5 жыл бұрын

    Don't. Kojima's a legend in the industry and he can allow his trailers to be full of Kojimaisms, but for any newcomer a trailer like that would be suicide.

  • @mopeybloke
    @mopeybloke5 жыл бұрын

    BWEHHHHH.

  • @SoultrailStudio
    @SoultrailStudio2 жыл бұрын

    Shut up and take my money :)

  • @spellweavergeneziso
    @spellweavergeneziso4 жыл бұрын

    I watched this video for the CATS ! now I 'meow' outta here

Келесі