How would a professional pitch an indie game in development to publishers? GameLab students found out in a pitch review by Jasper Koning of Get Bent Games. He presented his game and pitch in a short lecture at GameLab.
The pitch was fresh: he had used it just a few weeks earlier at Nordic Game, one of Europe’s leading game development events. As a co-founder of Ronimo Games, Jasper has extensive experience in both making and pitching games.
His latest game has the working titles Chopkeeper and The Guild Trader. It centres on a kind of workshop where heroes collect weapons to fight monsters. As a true guildmaster, you must ensure your customers leave with the right gear to defeat the monster.
Jasper did not simply start making something: he first researched what kind of game had a good chance of success. “The genre is popular, and it is possible to make it with a small team.” Paying attention to that is important advice, especially when creating an indie title.
The pitch explains the main game mechanics and also introduces the team and why the game will succeed.
A prototype of The Guild Trader is complete, but much work remains. One lesson from the session is to start pitching and gathering feedback early, if only to gain experience and perfect your pitch deck.