How to make a great game trailer
Your trailer is among the first things people will see about your game. Within seconds it needs to catch the audience's attention and convey what your game is.
Preproduction
Here is a bullet list of tips on how you can set yourself up for a great game trailer.
1) Do your research
Watch a lot of indie trailers and make a list of what's good and what's bad. You can find a list of great trailers below.
Inform yourself about what a good trailer is. You can find some articles and videos in the resources section.
2) Find the emotional hook
Find the emotional hook of your game and communicate that within the first ten seconds. That can also be a unique art style or animations (for example: Cuphead). Open with the most emotion-rich interaction your game has.
If you do not yet know what a hook is then here are two excellent videos by Ryan Clark explaining the concept: How to Make Video Game Hooks Part 1 & Part 2.
3) Make a script
Don't just wait for something fun to happen while playing. Make a script for your trailer. Mark emotional highs and lows. Use the step below to improve your script.
4) Stay true to the game's content
Make sure the trailer accurately represents the vibe and tone of the game. Don't mislead potential buyers with a trailer that doesn't reflect what they should expect from the game.
Ballhalla is an example of a trailer that does not quite match the game. The trailer is well-made, but there is a bit of a mismatch between the vibe of the game and the tonality of the trailer. It features some epic (greater than life) voice acting, yet the game is "just" a ball-rolling puzzler.
5) Keep it short
The Trailer length should be about 30 seconds to 2 minutes. If you can not convey your game's hook within a minute then you won't be able to do it in 5 or 10.
6) Remember: Mechanics are hard to show
Concentrate on visuals and animation. Mechanics are hard to show and sell.
However, there are exceptions. For example, if your game does some innovation in game mechanics. An example of this are Baba is You.
7) Start strong
Imagine that people only see the first ten seconds of your trailer. What information (emotion) do you wish to convey? An excellent example of a strong opening is the trailer of Choo Choo Charles. Within three seconds you do see the antagonist and know what this is about.
8) Get to the point quickly
Skip the company logos in the beginning (unless it's a very well-known brand). No one knows your studio. If you have had a blockbuster hit previously then maybe add a short "From the Creators of X" screen. If you have won some awards you can show them to build trust but keep it brief (1-2 sec). A great example of how to do this is this trailer for Darkest Dungeon. Notice how even before the awards are shown there still are a few seconds of story and game art.
Skip the numbers. Nobody cares about those. What matters is how you make them feel. The playtime, world size, etc. is something for your store page to describe.
9) Focus
Avoid splitting the attention of your audience. If you have an action-packed sequence and some text shown at the same time then no one will ever notice the text. Audiences do NOT read more than a couple of words. If you can, avoid text in your trailers altogether (unless your game is about reading or dialogues). Good example: Reigns (they have text yet you do not necessarily need to read it to get what the trailer is about). Flawed example: Flat Heroes (did you notice the text at the bottom).
10) How you end is how you will be remembered
Try to end with a peak or a cliffhanger. People do remember the beginning and especially the end more than the middle parts. An excellent example of a cliffhanger ending is the Firewatch trailer.
Here is a nice article on the Peak End Theory. The data is pretty convincing. If we can, we should end strong.
Of course, the crux is that we don't really know when people will stop watching the trailer. Just another reason to keep it short to increase the likelihood that they'll watch it till the end.
11) End with a call-to-action
If you want to add a call-to-action then ask viewers to do just one thing at the end (not multiple).
Production
Make it easy to record great footage
In his GDC Talk Derek Lieu gave some very helpful tips on how to prepare your game for great trailer making. Budget some time for making the tools to record your footage
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVeihUFtEkg, https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1025079/Capturing-Great-Footage-for-Game
Trailer Recording Assets for Unity
Here are some assets we'd like to recommend for trailer recording and screenshot making.
Record in high resolution
Make sure you record your game at a high resolution (2k+) and at high fps (60+). Store it as raw uncompressed footage so you can go back to the source material in case you need it.
Get unbiased feedback
Show it to people who will not spare your feelings (Reddit). Showing it to your indie game dev friends on Social Media is okay. Just remember that they are not your audience and they are biased by default (devs commenting on stuff from other devs).
Get professional help
If you can afford it find someone with experience in film-making to help you or give feedback on your trailer.
Trailer-Making professionals:
- Kert Gartner: https://www.kertgartner.com
- High recommendation for his Youtube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@KertGartner/videos
- High recommendation for his Youtube Channel:
- Derek Lieu: https://www.derek-lieu.com
- Another Youtube Channel recommendation:
https://www.youtube.com/@DerekLieu/video
- Another Youtube Channel recommendation:
- M. Joshua Cauller: http://mjoshua.com
- On the off chance that he ever sees this. Please get a proper SSL certificate for your website ;-)
Excellent Trailers
Good game trailers can inspire and show you how it's done. While watching them try to think about why they work and what could be improved. Some of these are from pretty successful games, others from tiny Indie teams.
Skyrim
Even after more than a decade I still get goosebumps when I watch this. To me, this is the best trailer ever made.
With almost three minutes it is a bit long, but notice how it builds up to the very first emotional highpoint at around one minute. It could have ended there and still be a great trailer.
Also, in contrast to many other games, they actually have the content to easily fill three minutes. And don't forget about that music and the choir. There is something about the human voice that touches us deeply. It was such a smart choice.
Yes, they have logos at the start, but they are excused since it's Bethesda. People know that logo.
Gears of War Xbox 360
Ryan Clark said it is one of the best trails of all time. That contrast between action imagery and calm music is epic. This trailer is all about emotion.
Dead Island
Today, we are used to this kind of backward storytelling but back then this was a relatively new concept for game trailers. Notice how the music is interrupted with short bursts of violence.
We Happy Few
Leaning heavily on the BioShock aesthetic, smart play, people do remember that. I think this is an excellent example of how to harvest the audience waiting for another game like X (Bioshock in this case).
Negative: That darn logo, for nine seconds ... why, WHY?
Okay, enough with the high-budget trailers. Let's look at some indie stuff.
West of Loathing
If the music does not get you then the art style and animations will. That rattlesnake, omg stop it, :'D. This is how you show that you have a big world and lots of varied content without ever saying a word.
Negative: Logo at the start.
Wandersong
Just 27 seconds but chock-full of wonderful world-building. It's hard to not like this one.
Choo Choo Charles
Within three seconds you do see the antagonist and know what this is about. Cutting a trailer like this requires true mastery. The timing and camera work are impeccable.
Reigns
A unique art style accompanied by music that fits the world perfectly. Great voices.
No logos at the start, yay! Am I the only one who constantly confuses this one with "Yes your grace"?
Yes, Your Grace
Watch the Reigns trailer first. Similar premise, but a very different trailer.
And there they are again, logos. Logos everywhere.
Crypt of the Necrodancer
The beat will catch you. And it has a strong ending for sure. The most impressive is that it actually is a genre mix and it works. Notice how the testimonials are shown "Jesus, Christ, Finally!". That's some killer editing right there.
The only thing I am not certain about is those five seconds of testimonials at the start, seem a bit much.
Resources
Kert Gartner
Profit from a decade+ of trailer-making experience on Kert Gartner's Youtube Channel. He also has a website (kertgartner.com) showcasing his work.
Here is one of his talks about VR trailers called "Let's Create Better VR trailers":
Kert Gartner talk recommendations:
Trail-er Blazing: Creating the Trailers Your Game Deserves!
The talk by be a decade old but most of the lessons there still apply today.
Link: https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1015612/Trail-er-Blazing-Creating-the
Derek Lieu
Another highly skilled professional trailer maker who shares his knowledge on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DerekLieu
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVeihUFtEkg, https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1025079/Capturing-Great-Footage-for-Game
GMTK: How to make an indie game trailer
This video gives a nice overview of what constitutes a good trailer.
Source: Game Mater's Toolkit, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CSYA9R70R8
Article: Craft emotional intelligence into your game trailer
In his article M. Joshua Cauller talks about the importance of conveying emotions.
"Since most games don’t have human faces for emotional readability, you have to get creative at bridging that emotional gap."
You can find some of the trailers mentioned in the article under mjoshua.com.
Game Trailer Analysis (Clark Tank, sadly discontinued)
Sadly this excellent series by Ryan Clark has been discontinued in 2021. Within his videos, you can find some analysis of many different game trailers. He also included his approach to how to make a trailer in one of his talks:
In Clark Tank, there usually are about five trailers being watched per episode.
While the commentary on new trending trailers is certainly insightful for viewers it does not really facilitate the improvement of the prediction skill that Ryan Clark talks about in many of those videos. He himself accurately describes that the skill needs to be trained by predicting the success of new trailers and then comparing that prediction to the result later.
However, the show mostly looks at trending games on Steam. This means that we are observing the already successful games. In my opinion, Clark Tank suffers from the Survivorship Bias.
While watching these episodes we need to be aware that these games are already filtered three times. First, they are mostly Steam games. Second, the audience already made them trending. And third, the Steam ranking algorithm (and other external factors) surely had some influence on how well these games did.
Despite the critique mentioned above the show has a lot to teach. Especially the insights into the thought process of Ryan Clark are something we can learn a lot from.
Link: Clark Tank Playlist on Youtube
Below are the timestamps for when the trailer-watching begins in every episode of Clark Tank. If you want to make this a learning exercise I suggest you watch the trailers first and make your own assessment (ignore the reviews). Then come back and see whether or not your prediction was accurate and what Ryan Clark had to say about it.
- https://youtu.be/3wRJaeidkVQ?t=429
- https://youtu.be/ICz59TV-CeM?t=559
- https://youtu.be/U8kMwd7W4-I?t=412
- https://youtu.be/qVmcXMd9vKE?t=812
- https://youtu.be/C31Tc--oY1A?t=789
- https://youtu.be/CKsFFVCrMtc?t=932
- https://youtu.be/gUi3mO7rEB8?t=991
- https://youtu.be/m98o77ou6N8?t=483
- https://youtu.be/hC0bhrYQp8Y?t=581
- https://youtu.be/yPbljH0he_E?t=319
- https://youtu.be/KMios6hDolI?t=459
- https://youtu.be/fpvjWkZmrqk?t=1008
- https://youtu.be/qjpaq2ZYMZk?t=93
- https://youtu.be/X668vTlenqE?t=774
- https://youtu.be/X6oiitNc9Cc?t=1416
- https://youtu.be/6ZmJ6p90aH0?t=1010
- https://youtu.be/X_skUDML0z4?t=521
- https://youtu.be/F7a2v6jjzrU?t=863
- https://youtu.be/MLRM1ZSpQxs?t=191
- https://youtu.be/z_AQhUSIHOE?t=2022
- https://youtu.be/aieaDFqmYqY?t=1689
- https://youtu.be/D2VlC144zbk?t=1272
- https://youtu.be/v_Byf_B9vig?t=2606
- https://youtu.be/nlYEvaFu6eE?t=2744
- https://youtu.be/qwK3yuTEZK4?t=2002
- https://youtu.be/UgHHpoAqxrY?t=2070
- https://youtu.be/cUx6uPYjpgc?t=2382
- https://youtu.be/5xtJOjSPSpU?t=2634
- https://youtu.be/AHL_RNyB-K0?t=3149
- https://youtu.be/tjxd1pQ1BMs?t=2148
- https://youtu.be/SMipDto79AE?t=2978
- https://youtu.be/b7Eg3VC1O6c?t=3856
- https://youtu.be/S7riroEuUjU?t=3827
- https://youtu.be/XdmeoaLKwSU?t=3819
- https://youtu.be/lTbNe7ipCNU?t=3622
- https://youtu.be/gtiV4Y8k6AM?t=4113
- https://youtu.be/pCNfLtmfqjY?t=4400
- https://youtu.be/PrcjTlhHQFI?t=4237
- https://youtu.be/4KfoSWaVUbw?t=4184
Here are some direct links to some of the trailers to get you started:
- Northguard: https://youtu.be/3wRJaeidkVQ?t=429
- Berserk: https://youtu.be/3wRJaeidkVQ?t=502
- The Hunter: https://youtu.be/3wRJaeidkVQ?t=611
- 911 Operator: https://youtu.be/3wRJaeidkVQ?t=656
- Pixel Privateers: https://youtu.be/3wRJaeidkVQ?t=729
- Night in the Woods: https://youtu.be/3wRJaeidkVQ?t=772
- Blackwake: https://youtu.be/3wRJaeidkVQ?t=845
- Hellion: https://youtu.be/3wRJaeidkVQ?t=903
- Hollow Knight: https://youtu.be/3wRJaeidkVQ?t=1037
- Narita Boy: https://youtu.be/3wRJaeidkVQ?t=1152
- Loot Rascals: https://youtu.be/ICz59TV-CeM?t=559
- NieR Automata: https://youtu.be/ICz59TV-CeM?t=779
- PUBG: https://youtu.be/U8kMwd7W4-I?t=412
- Vikings Wolves of Midgard: https://youtu.be/U8kMwd7W4-I?t=723
- Afghanistan'11: https://youtu.be/U8kMwd7W4-I?t=984
- OneShot: https://youtu.be/U8kMwd7W4-I?t=1019
- Battle Princess Madelyn: https://youtu.be/U8kMwd7W4-I?t=1126
- Rain World: https://youtu.be/qVmcXMd9vKE?t=812
- Squad: https://youtu.be/qVmcXMd9vKE?t=1029
- Beat Cop: https://youtu.be/qVmcXMd9vKE?t=1145
- Oxygen Not Included: https://youtu.be/C31Tc--oY1A?t=789
Steam Shop Analysis (Chris Zukowski)
Chris Zukowski of HowToMarketAGame.com has a wide variety of talks about marketing. While most of his work is not specifically about trailers there still is a lot of useful information. Here are some videos in which he focuses on game Steam pages.
How People Shop for Your Game
In this video, Chris talks about what he found out while watching people browse the Steam store. It's not strictly about trailer making but there are some valuable insights like the fact that people will skip forward in trailers (past the cinematics) until they find the info they want (gameplay and UI).
Source: Chris Zukowski https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJiv14uPOac, GDC 2020 (Variation): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJiv14uPOac
30 Minute Steam Page Makeovers
While this is mostly about Steam page promo artwork the tips also apply to trailers (at least on Steam). Show variety and user interfaces!
Source: Chris Zukowski https://youtu.be/fATEHq4Zv_Y
How To Market A Game on Steam
The key lesson in this talk: notice the genre conventions (Hammers!!).
Source: Chris Zukowski https://youtu.be/WR2bpxd-EJw?t=1853
Some interesting findings (albeit based on a rather small sample size) are:
- People do not watch the trailer first nor do they watch it linearly. See: https://youtu.be/UJiv14uPOac?t=1006
- People like the familiar. They'll put your game into categories they already know. If they can't sort your game into a category immediately they are likely to discard it. See: https://youtu.be/UJiv14uPOac?t=1478
- Showing visual variety is important. Repetitions are bad. See: https://youtu.be/fATEHq4Zv_Y?t=359
- Don't be afraid to show menu screens. Players are very good at judging a game's genre by the UI. You can use that to convey what type of it is. See: https://youtu.be/fATEHq4Zv_Y?t=359
- Use established visual cues to communicate your genre. Use a hammer in your artwork for a builder game for example. See: https://youtu.be/WR2bpxd-EJw?t=1889
- Quote: "Your capsule has to (in a microsecond) tell people what type of game you have because people have genre preferences."
Trailer Sources
To get a feeling for good and bad trailers you should watch a lot of them. Here are some sources where you can find them.
List of ~400 indie game trailers on Youtube
If you want to get a wild mix of trailers to watch then this is a good start. You will find a selected list of good and bad trailers at the end of this article.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvV37MvLUzzPEFlB_TP-6on9kHf4UCchH
Kurt Gartner
Each of the trailers on https://www.kertgartner.com is worth a watch. You can learn a lot from these.
Post your trailer on Reddit and watch how other trailers are rated.
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/DestroyMyGame/
More Trailers to Watch
Here are some more trailers to learn from.
Good Trailers
Opus Magnum
This gem by Zachtronics is a worthy watch. It presents all the game´s hooks, one building upon the other.
Endless Legend
Negative: Logo at the start (at least with sound). I still have no idea what the actual gameplay is but I know I want this.
Limbo
Pure gameplay. A brave silent trailer matching the game.
Negative: The first 10 seconds are nothing but a little text. Though one might argue that this is done to set the mood of the trailer.
Bastion
Another classic. The narrator is in the trailer. Excellent choice!
Negative: Logo at the start (yes at well known-one but still)
Astroneer
Actually, they have a bunch of great trailers. A good lesson in how to vary game trailers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv7xbHkLdGw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6e-EgqAGq4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KXQZG7riEs
Omno
Look at how much you can do with just one stick.
Mable
“Wait. So you can't even lift your sword?” - It's such a small thing but that alone makes this trailer very memorable. It does not always have to be something flashy to make you stand out. The sound is a bit repetitive though and it is too long.
Darkest Dungeon
This one needs no introduction. Stellar artwork, killer hook.
Turmoil
Nicely narrated. A lot packed into just 37 seconds.
Mr shifty
Notice how around 0:32 seconds there is a slow section to give the audience a breather.
negative: Two logos at the start (yes, yes, tinyBuild, but still)
Tooth and Tail
Alternative (longer) version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC99U9cJGR4
That sound matches the imagery so well. Stellar game logo too. The longer version is also a nice example of a mini-trailer in front of the real trailer.
Negative: Logo at the start. Why do people keep doing that?
Sundered
A story told within one minute.
Alternative Version (short): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgdtkaXN8_0
Alternative Version (long): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBYar-6mJhw
Negative: LOGO!
Spiritfarer
Characters and animations that you won't forget.
Negative: 2:40 minutes is too long. It could have ended at the one-minute mark and achieved the same.
Guts and glory
Leans on some classical music to create contrast between gameplay and music. Old tricks are the best.
Negative: Logos, but at least there is some gameplay in the background. TinyBuild is learning?
Nidhogg 2
16 seconds and everyone knows what this is about .. GORE!
Hello Neighbor
The suspense is killing me! This is a master class in timing and cutting.
Negative: Logos, but this time in between. They are learning.
Thumper
Turn up the volume for this one. Also, the visual effects are great.
Circles
I did not know you can fill a whole trailer only with circles, that's impressive.
Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
Physics simulation, ragdolls, and a battlefield. What more do you need?
Alternative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jhC92ZFCkI
Cluster truck
Wanna see how one simple idea can carry a whole game (and trailer)? Then watch this.
Domina
Keeps your heart pumpin' all the way through.
Odyssey
People who played Myst will like this too. I think they have deliberately crafted their trailer to appeal to that audience, smart.
Negativ: Logo at the start.
Yono
A cute elephant baby goes on a journey.
Negative: Logos, It has quite a mood swing after about 20 seconds. I am sure that was done deliberately, though I am not sure it was necessary.
Untitled Goose Game
Notice the music that matches the gameplay.
Negative: Logo
Witchfire
Oh, this is a really pretty walking simu... OH SHIT
Heave ho
Those sound effects are such a nice fit for the game. Hillarious.
Negative: 7 seconds until the logos are gone, ouch.
Colt canyon
Close your eyes, listen and after three seconds you can already tell what theme this game has.
Teardown
The game mechanic sells this one. Sadly the original trailer is no longer online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3QO-Rex09o
Make Sail
Let's built a boat an sail away.
Noteworthy but flawed trailers
First off, I still consider all of these good trailers but some have serious flaws or interesting properties worth discussing.
GoNNER
The art style sets this one apart from the rest. It takes its time to get started and it could be shortened a bit. There are repetitions in the content shown. I am not sure if the zooming out and zooming back in was a good idea. Look at "West of Loathing" for how to show that you have a lot of content.
Thimbleweed Park
I was surprised they did not plaster the name Ron Gilbert all over it. They should have mentioned it at least once at the start not at the very end. Humor is always a big risk but that's what people do expect from a Ron Gilbert game, so, well done.
Fugl
Another one with a unique art style. A voxel bird in a procedural voxel art environment. If that game was sold as a 1-2 hour game for quick fun then the trailer is okay. It lacks a bit of variety.
Pepper Grinder
This one has had an interesting progression. See the first version vs the final release version of the trailer. Which one do you like better?
Old (calm): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8k2ocRWGZs
New (excited): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkxNejWRGsA
Ghost of a tale
Logos at the start. It should have skipped those and started at 0:15.
Ballhalla
It's a riddle game trailer going that goes for an epic mood. That's hard to pull off but I think they did it.
Negative: Those darn logos again. I don't think the tonality of the trailer matches the game but I respect the balls* to try it. *pun intended
Burly Men at Sea
Logos and awards are shown for too long. What's the gameplay gonna be?
Flat Heroes
The trailer is the tutorial. I like that idea. Did you notice the text at the bottom? No one watches the action and reads the text at the same time.
I am sure I have missed many excellent trailers (especially newer ones). If you think you know one that absolutely has to be on the list or has some interesting quirk then please let me know.
Asset Recommendations
Here are some assets we'd like to recommend.