What are the best tips for pitching your game idea in a competition?

Let me share how I nailed my pitch for the most budgeted game in my country at the young age of 22: Genre Knowledge:I made sure they knew I was a genre expert, boosting confidence among stakeholders. Simple, Concise, Precise: My pitch was short, sweet, and straight to the point. It showed I could explain my ideas clearly to the team. Confidence: it was key. I presented my idea with unwavering belief, and you could tell I was stoked about it. My body language showed them that this was the biggest idea of the century and if you dont do it, someone else is gonna take the glory. In 2012, I secured over a million for this project. (It was scrapped 3 yrs later though ?? not something that i am proud of, but talk about the power of pitching)

This is lesson #001 in any presentation for any proposal, not just gaming - get everything fully prepared and get ready to exploit the potential negatives as well as emphasising the positives. The time spent researching at the front end will be minimal in comparison to having to backtrack or tapdance when stuff goes pear-shaped.

Make sure you have prepared a well designed presentation that sets out a brief 30 second pitch of your idea. Then move into the main presentation that covers the USP (Unique Selling Points) of your design proposal. Design is key!

Winning Strategies for Game Pitch Competitions 1. Captivating Concept: Begin with an intriguing game idea. 2. Clear Vision: Define your game's purpose and unique selling points. 3. Engaging Storytelling: Craft a compelling narrative. 4. Visual Prototype: Showcase your game's visuals. 5. Playable Demo: Offer hands-on experience. 6. Market Analysis: Demonstrate market potential. 7. Monetization Plan: Highlight revenue strategies. 8. Team Strength: Emphasize your capable team. 9. Practice Pitch: Rehearse your presentation. 10. Passion: Let your enthusiasm shine. Remember, a winning pitch combines innovation, business acumen, and persuasive storytelling.

Also depends on your game. If you look at indie developers such as Jonathan Blow, Tommy Refenes, Edmund McMillen and Phil Fish. There audience is themselves they created games that amassed millions of sales and revenue because they created games for themselves not for other people

Remember that you're not just pitching a game, you're pitching a product! Don't just talk about why you think the game is great - talk about why other people will think the game is great, too. Who's your player? What will their experience with your game be like? Try to envision the lifetime of your game extending beyond the competition - what does that potential look like to you?

Having the Unique Selling Proposition - the thing that makes your game unique - very clear, from the beginning, is very important. I know, your game have a lot of features, etc, but, first, try to figure out what makes your game different from the others. May be one specific thing, may be a combination of things. Having that clear makes it easier to your audience to know where to focus and for you to tell your story as the slides pass. Once you have that figured out, find an interesting way to show it.

The hook that gets people interested in your game idea or pitch should be as technically-agnostic as possible. Avoid technical, developer language - the same way that most game trailers or advertisements avoid showing controls. Your hook should create a mental image in the audience's mind, and give them an idea of the experience that they'll have when they play the game. None of that should involve "well, we have to click in the Steam library to install the game" or "this game needs X amount of RAM to run", but instead things like "we'll adventure across a lively world doing ABC amazing things"!

One simple thing: try to make your entire presentation have, from the beginning to the end, the mood and tone of voice from your game. Is it a horror game? Make the deck darker, start with a spooky story related to your game, show environments and characters. One other thing: understand the remarkable aspects from your game, so you can make the right choices of what to show. Is it gameplay? Use gifs or videos. Is it story? A well written text or a storyboard may be the key. Is it the artwork what sets your game apart? Have all these cool drawings all over the presentation.

For a pitch, it is always preferred to show more than talk. Even if that means leaning on a lot of concept art - if it looks engaging or intriguing and helps sell the game idea, use it! Prototype, ugly games are only effective if the audience can actually play it for themselves. Games like Splatoon began with grayscale, blocky basic pitches - but they were playable. When the idea is presented, it needs more than blocky basic graphics. So, if you're presenting to an audience instead of letting the audience get hands-on with a prototype - make sure you present something that looks engaging!

Highlighting what you've done in the past and how it can help build your next big game pitch can be useful - but you don't want to spend too much time talking about yourself! Everything you talk about regarding your team needs to highlight how that directly helps with the game pitch. Something like "our lead artist has experience with X art style and our game's target audience loves that style" can carry a lot of weight. Or "our programmers have built networked games for the last Y years and have plenty of experience shipping these features, with these recent published titles in their portfolio" can be impactful too. Just remember to highlight how any of that is useful to your game pitch!

When presented with questions or criticism, do not let your passion get in the way of being polite. I have seen many developers get visibly angry when their ideas are given any kind of criticisms. This will make you look like you are un-willing to cooperate with others. Remember, any organization that gives you money is going to be a project stakeholder. And thus, will be entitled to suggest or change any aspect of your game. So when presented with criticism: take a deep breath, answer calmly and politely, and remember that they are only trying to be apart of the process and help.

As a game developer, use personal experiences to create a compelling narrative. For instance, a developer could relate their game idea back to their childhood love for mystery books. They could describe how this love shaped their project, making it more than just a game. This story-telling approach makes your pitch relatable and can captivate potential investors, transforming a pitch into a conversation.

A good way to show your passion when pitching a project is to start with an emotional hook. State why YOU personally want to make this game. I would suggest you include a personal story about why you want to make this project. This will help tie your passion to the project. Additionally, remember to engage with the audience you are pitching to as well. This will help tie your audience to your passion and thus, your project.

Have a great one liner. If you can't explain it in one line, it will not stick. Don't be the game that tries to do it all. Have clear a design ethos, what is it and what is it not.

I think of a game as a story the participants become part of. Tell the story of the game. Why is it themed the way it is. How is the game play supported by the story. This is especially important if the game play is simple. Consumers choose a game based on the story portrayed on the package.