Today I have finalised the marketing script however, instead of showing a step by step guide of how I made and edited the script, I will provide snippets from the script and discuss them.
The overall concept of this marketing trailer was to mimic the propaganda within our game and therefore provide a unique edge compared to other marketing trailers. To do this, I emphasised the cheesy appeal within old American advertisements and took inspiration from my research, such as Fallout’s approach to marketing.
By one of the first lines posing a rhetorical question, it intrigues the viewer and hooks them into watching the rest of the advert to find the answer as to what he means. Using this vague language within this question also reinforces the mystery behind the advert – engaging the viewer and making them want to finish the advertisement in order to find the answers. If viewers were to watch the trailer in its entirety, not only would my scripting be successful but they would have a better understanding of our game/demo, therefore providing enough information about the game to help them decide if they would be interested in it.
Trying to ‘sell’ the viewer a spot within our game’s dome, also informs them of the setting and environment to be expected from our game. Learning from my Dungeons & Dragons focus group, instead of stating that a meteor hit earth, the animation of it would elude it to the viewer whilst keeping them visually stimulated – therefore not providing a ‘wall of text’ for the viewer to read/listen too. Eluding this would also make the viewer interested within our game/demo, by hooking them with questions asking why or how they would want to play the game to answer these questions, much like the text it accompanies.
Using quite positive language, with various positive connotations, the presenter would make the domes seem more desirable whilst also displaying to the viewer that domes seem to be the most dominant option within our setting. This language is also commonly used within commercials and will be easily identified by the viewer as for them to see this technique and my mimicry of it – appealing to their humour. By using this humour, it also reinforces the light comedy throughout the game/demo. These descriptions also build an idealistic picture for the viewer, much like how it would for a viewer of the commercial within our games setting.
After building this appealing image in the viewers mind, the scene that follows is made more effective. By building an alluring image then suddenly breaking it’s concept, the viewer will shocked at this revelation and would be enticed further.
By presenting the idealistic side of our game’s setting first, the viewer’s expectations were set and therefore the reveal of the real/present setting is more shocking. Displaying the ideas in this order also shows the viewer how abruptly dome society became corrupted and unpleasant.
Using our slogan and logo as one of the finishing lines also allows for the viewer to have a catchy phrase to remember the trailer/game by - making our advertisement more memorable then others.
By clearly stating that this advertisement was for an exhibition playtesting our game’s demo, the audience doesn’t have a false perception of either our game or exhibition and will be more likely to enjoy themselves – aiding the success of our game.
Overall, I feel that my marketing trailer script was very affective but cannot say for certain until produced by the marketing team. Using several techniques learnt from my research, such as showing vs telling our audience information. This technique was applied early on and throughout my script – allowing for the audience to not disassociate with our product. If I were to write this again in the future, I would extend the length of the trailer to allow more information to be communicated however, with time restrictions, I feel that the extra work would not be approved by the animator editing over this script.
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