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Analysis of a series of promotional videos for the game Spin Voyage



We have released a series of commercials for the advertising campaign of the game Spin Voyage. In the course of work on the series, we tried different scenes and used a variety of methods: from animating flat graphics to editing live shots. Why do we need this story cocktail? How did the audience adopt diverse concepts? What techniques can be used to reduce the budget and production time? Let's look at examples!

Article written in Alconost

About the game


Although Spin Voyage is based on slot machine mechanics, spinning reels and collecting coins is only the beginning. In Spin Voyage, players travel across a colorful world map, gradually expanding their geography. Users collect resources, build their own cities, and also compete with other players in tournaments and even treacherously attack the wealth of their neighbors. Spin Voyage is a carefree and gambling atmosphere, petty pranks and a mischievous parrot Laki, which will not let you get bored.

About the commercials


We prepared teasers for the Spin Voyage advertising campaign in three languages: English, German and French, and in three format variations: with different aspect ratios, depending on the requirements of the advertising platforms.

Each video took about 10 days, sometimes less. We managed to reach such a pace due to the fact that the concepts offered by the client were formulated very capaciously and were accompanied by references. From the moment you familiarize yourself with the concept to the start of the animation assembly, sometimes less than 48 hours pass.

About customer


We at Alconost have been working with this client for a long time; one of our previous projects is a mini-series of videos about the Monster Hustle game ( we wrote about it in early March). A common language and understanding at a glance give much more than just the pleasure of working together. Due to mutual understanding, we avoided unnecessary corrections during approvals, certification of intermediate results took a few hours from the client, and production went smoothly.

Although all the work was done online - it seemed that we were one team that worked on a common project in one office.

Teasers concepts and their implementation


At the moment, we have implemented six concepts: briefly describe them and note the features of the implementation.

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  • Teaser # 4 : The gameplay shown in this video has nothing to do with the real game mechanics of Spin Voyage. This time, the viewer is invited to watch an attempt to solve a trivial puzzle. Not too clever actions of the off-screen hero lead to the fact that the charming fairy suffers from rockfall. But to give the fairy riches with wealth was easy! The objective of this video is to encourage the viewer to solve the puzzle correctly, into the science of an unlucky hero, and so that no fairy is harmed.


Each of these teasers lasted 15 seconds.

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  • Teaser # 6 : another live-on-camera situation that even a parrot has infused this time. You really need to go to the restroom, but your soulmate is sitting there with a smartphone? One can only guess what love will outweigh: to the neighbor ... or to game treasures! Here you can also hear the voices of the heroes, subtitles duplicate their replicas.


The duration of these teasers is 23 and 25 seconds, respectively.

Teasers # 5 and # 6 are connected by a common drama. The hero asks for something, the heroine refuses him, but why does she act like that? The heroine's replicas and animated parrot hint that the reason is in the game. We intentionally do not talk about game mechanics, nor about special “tricks”: the teaser encourages the viewer to install the game and find out why it is so catchy.

Comment by Spin Voyage publisher spokesperson:
- Different creatives “burn out” differently in different territories and channels, with different volumes of marketing budgets. Some stories can be played for weeks and months, and some for a couple of weeks. Everything is very individual and depends on the volume of traffic purchased, the coverage area of ​​the campaign and the marketing strategy as a whole.

How the audience reacted to the concepts


Comment by Spin Voyage publisher spokesperson:
- Teaser # 2, with rivals in live shooting, was originally aimed at an audience up to 35 years old. But practice has shown that it causes more response from an even younger audience, which for us is inappropriate.

From the video with emotions on avatars - teaser # 3 - we expected more, but in Europe he showed average results. It is very possible that our expectations will be met in other markets.

Why so many stories in one campaign


Change of concepts during the campaign is needed not only so that the videos do not become boring to the audience. After all, new stories can attract a new audience.

Are you completely not attracted by the prospect of throwing rockets at a cozy rival settlement? Did you finish building virtual towns back in high school? But maybe the situation with a girlfriend stuck on the phone will seem so familiar to you - and make you smile and tap on an ad with the feeling that you are not alone in the universe.

Comment by Spin Voyage publisher:
- In our experience, you need to test raw ideas without stopping. You can start testing with static banners. The ideas that the audience will most warmly accept can be transferred to video.

What are the advantages of creating a series before releasing videos separately?


  1. The target audience may have different interests, different tastes and different sense of humor. Make a series of videos with different concepts to catch the maximum number of viewers.
  2. Thanks to the minimal pauses between releases of the videos, you can carry out the campaign intensively, often refreshing it with new creatives and remembering the audience.
  3. It is best to speak with the audience in her own language. Localize the video into the languages ​​of your target audience and conduct a multilingual campaign.
  4. You can experiment with the content of the videos on the fly, taking into account the performance of previous videos when creating new ones. You can improve the campaign continuously, without putting off new experience in the long box.
  5. By using the same visual style and repeating elements, you can reduce labor costs and speed up the production process.

Comment from the creators of Spin Voyage:
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  4. If videos are needed in several languages, provide a place for inscriptions in the frame that will duplicate or replace the voiceover. Replace the label - faster than recording and synchronizing a new voice acting. By the way, the issue of the need for voice acting in commercials about games, we examined in detail here .
  5. Work on multiple videos in parallel. For example, start production of all rollers in one series or the first roller of each of several series. So you minimize downtime on the side of scriptwriters and animators. For the Spin Voyage campaign, teaser # 1 was done at the same time as teaser # 2, and the fifth was done in parallel with the sixth.

We talked about other life hacks that make life easier when ordering outsourced videos here .

Comment by Spin Voyage publisher:
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***


The continuous process of working on a series of videos that are not similar to each other is a creative challenge: an occasion for brainstorming, testing the team for the ability to work smoothly and effectively. Of course, doing the same things is much easier. But to give in to the fear of failure is an impermissible luxury in the modern world, where the bold wins.

Alconost team thanks the guys from the game’s publisher team for their trust, mutual understanding and contagious courage, on the wave of which each video was done as an inspiration.

about the author


Material written in Alconost . We have been creating advertising and educational videos for 8 years , including trailers, teasers and prerolls for mobile games and applications. Case videos are examples of our work. We also localize games , applications and services in 70+ languages.

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