We Need Your Help! [RESULTS]
Hello, guys!
Last week we asked for your thoughts about the best fitting Store page screenshots types for the upcoming game Strategic Mind: Spirit of Liberty. We were pleasantly surprised by the amount of feedback we got. You have provided a detailed analysis of existing screenshots for previous Strategic Mind titles' and useful ideas for future screenshots. As developers, sometimes it is hard for us to see the game through the players' eyes, so your feedback is invaluable for us. Now we want to believe that we understand you a little bit better. So we appreciate all of your efforts, guys! We will try to heed your advice when working on the Strategic Mind: Spirit of Liberty screenshots revamp soon, as we now have more materials for them.
We want to share with you some quotes from the community on Steam and on Reddit about the Strategic Mind screenshots. Maybe it would be interesting for you to read and compare your ideas with the other players' perceptions, or even find your own commentary here:
[h3]1. Zoomed-out strategic view type of screenshot:[/h3]
Likes: 5
Quotes:
-I like #1 - it shows a strategic view or something like that? I like to know what kind of tools a strategic game offers.
- The first one should be a little less zoomed out
- Looks like a different game.
- Don’t highlight interesting parts of the game.
- #1 is lovely. it shows you can have different combat arms of the army (air, navy, land/marine), and shows you can have more than just tiny snippet of forces.
[h3]2. HQ room type of screenshot:[/h3]
Likes: 9
Quotes:
- #2 is something I would not appreciate on a strategy game page. That's a neat visual for a menu but that's not what I'm going to actually play, so it's kind of just noise.
- I'd avoid anything like 2. that sort of stuff could just be done with photo likeness written dialogue like other games have handled it.
I know it seems like some sort of special feature of these games but for me personally it is a put off a bit as I'm more interested in the challenge of the scenarios or the campaign than wading through some sort of' 'marionette' cut scene where a simple military style 'old school' dossier of the assignment or objective would be more immersive if done authentically maybe with a voice over like some game leaders in this field have done in the past because it's efficient for the player and adds enough immersion to get to the 'real' game
- Some people are looking for fast-casual playing similar to multiplayer game but many other people when play a single player campaign don't want just a chain of battles with a poor and forgetable introduction between them. They look for a full story and want to "make the difference" with their choices and actions. On the other hand, most games just show an "intro video" and a final "victory video". I love the work you made to create a screenplay and a background to connect every battle and the consecuences of the previous clashes like the image of Picture Number 2 and the mini-videos between battles. Screenshots should reflect that your game is more than a chain of battles with an "excuse-plot".
- Looks interesting, Using that would be good.
- I love this shot. Shows that there is more to the game than just standard RTS fare and clicking/moving units.
- Great, but maybe highlight the campaign map though instead of a general.
- I think this kind of image should always be included to the screenshots. Player spends a lot of time in this room, so it should at-least be represented (also it would remind the player that it's mostly story-driven).
[h3]3. Battlefield view with No UI and No hexes type of screenshot:[/h3]
Likes: 7
Quotes:
- I always appreciate when a strategy can boast atmospheric screenshots like #3 and #7. As much as strategic games are about maps and figures, many people still prefer games that let you feel "in the moment" rather than being purely schematic.
- Beautiful.
- Looks like an animated sequence? This one is confusing. Because there is no grid.
- This shot looks very Indie. Some people like that, some people don't.
- Not a fan sadly. It looks without UI like it's just a image where we arrive into, when departing from a cut-scene.
[h3]4. Equipment UI type of screenshot:[/h3]
Likes: 9
Quotes:
- This is really good and helpful picture! It shows you have plenty of options to customize your units (and their secondary roles due to it).
- I think #4 is a great UI screenshot - it's not too simplistic like basic overlay, and it looks like it's well-readable.
- I like your efforts to customize units with skill upgrades, special equipment addition, etc. as it can be seen in Picture Number 4.
- I can't read or undestand that info so I wouldn't use that one.
- Obligatory "under the hood" shot, but a good one, I think. Gotta let people know that there is depth to be found here and this pic does it.
[h3]5. Battlefield view with UI and without hexes type of screenshot:[/h3]
Likes: 15
Quotes:
- From my point of view 7 and 5, this gives me more information about features of the game, such as the grid system, the types of buildings in the game, as well as these are the most atmospheric pictures for my taste
- I liked 5 the most. Not too less, and bot too much information clustered at one spot.
- Seems to be another good shot of the game.
- Show me exactly what kind of game this is.
- This pic covers what you'll be seeing most of the time, I believe, and that's important. A great "first-impression" shot. I would lead with this one.
- Might suggest injecting the mouse cursor, showing some highlighted units or something, show me a little more of how the game works.
6. Close up units view type of screenshot:
Likes: 8
Quotes:
- I'd probably go for looking up close and detailed like in 6.
- I wouldn't use that, doesn't seem like the game you will be playing.
- Pretty but not something I care about. Some others would though!
- In your provided examples the 2 and 6 ones really call out to me.
- Graphic quality is not the most important for hardcore and veteran players (if we have played with prehistoric 3D graphics of "Alone in the dark" or "Colonization" pixels we can play everything) but for casual players and young people it could be a decisive factor so you should include some screenshots like Picture Number 6 showing units closely with zoom to satisfy these people expectations about graphics.
[h3]7. Battlefield view with No UI and with hexes type of screenshot:[/h3]
Likes: 19
Quotes:
- Me personally I like screenshot 7 the most:
1) it shows (at least that's what I assume) where your game camera is mostly focused;
2) It looks pretty polished and clean (not to much the viewer can focus on);
3) Would be a good image to place a logo on top or something.
- Image 7 makes the game look best imo.
- I think this is my favorite. Another grand-scale pic showing the expanse of the map, along with the grids on the ground showing me a little bit of how the game works and a tiny piece of what to expect. This one makes me want to try the game.
- This should be your lead off shot IMO.
- 7.
- 7 looks the most attractive for me.
- I like the 5th one and the 7th.
- Is really nice screen shot, even for one without an UI. It's atmospheric. It shows more nations than one (telling that there's a chance to fight more than just Germans/Soviets!) And in general looks good, but it probably better to let fans take these ones than to have at a store front?
[h3]8. Battlefield view with UI and without hexes type of screenshot[/h3]
Likes: 10
Quotes:
- Looks like how you'll be playing most of the game?
- This one shows exactly what type of game it is with a little extra complexity.
- This image is way too early taken. Everything is in their static starting positions and it looks more like a chess game than how the game plays. Please let at-least one turn be done before screen-shots as it looks more like a staring match than an active battlefield.
Please, let us know what you think about this whole discussion. Do you agree with the fellow players?
Is there any screenshot type that is really needed but is missing from our selection? Looking forward to further discussion.
Starni Games team
Last week we asked for your thoughts about the best fitting Store page screenshots types for the upcoming game Strategic Mind: Spirit of Liberty. We were pleasantly surprised by the amount of feedback we got. You have provided a detailed analysis of existing screenshots for previous Strategic Mind titles' and useful ideas for future screenshots. As developers, sometimes it is hard for us to see the game through the players' eyes, so your feedback is invaluable for us. Now we want to believe that we understand you a little bit better. So we appreciate all of your efforts, guys! We will try to heed your advice when working on the Strategic Mind: Spirit of Liberty screenshots revamp soon, as we now have more materials for them.
We want to share with you some quotes from the community on Steam and on Reddit about the Strategic Mind screenshots. Maybe it would be interesting for you to read and compare your ideas with the other players' perceptions, or even find your own commentary here:
[h3]1. Zoomed-out strategic view type of screenshot:[/h3]
Likes: 5Quotes:
-I like #1 - it shows a strategic view or something like that? I like to know what kind of tools a strategic game offers.
- The first one should be a little less zoomed out
- Looks like a different game.
- Don’t highlight interesting parts of the game.
- #1 is lovely. it shows you can have different combat arms of the army (air, navy, land/marine), and shows you can have more than just tiny snippet of forces.
[h3]2. HQ room type of screenshot:[/h3]
Likes: 9Quotes:
- #2 is something I would not appreciate on a strategy game page. That's a neat visual for a menu but that's not what I'm going to actually play, so it's kind of just noise.
- I'd avoid anything like 2. that sort of stuff could just be done with photo likeness written dialogue like other games have handled it.
I know it seems like some sort of special feature of these games but for me personally it is a put off a bit as I'm more interested in the challenge of the scenarios or the campaign than wading through some sort of' 'marionette' cut scene where a simple military style 'old school' dossier of the assignment or objective would be more immersive if done authentically maybe with a voice over like some game leaders in this field have done in the past because it's efficient for the player and adds enough immersion to get to the 'real' game
- Some people are looking for fast-casual playing similar to multiplayer game but many other people when play a single player campaign don't want just a chain of battles with a poor and forgetable introduction between them. They look for a full story and want to "make the difference" with their choices and actions. On the other hand, most games just show an "intro video" and a final "victory video". I love the work you made to create a screenplay and a background to connect every battle and the consecuences of the previous clashes like the image of Picture Number 2 and the mini-videos between battles. Screenshots should reflect that your game is more than a chain of battles with an "excuse-plot".
- Looks interesting, Using that would be good.
- I love this shot. Shows that there is more to the game than just standard RTS fare and clicking/moving units.
- Great, but maybe highlight the campaign map though instead of a general.
- I think this kind of image should always be included to the screenshots. Player spends a lot of time in this room, so it should at-least be represented (also it would remind the player that it's mostly story-driven).
[h3]3. Battlefield view with No UI and No hexes type of screenshot:[/h3]
Likes: 7Quotes:
- I always appreciate when a strategy can boast atmospheric screenshots like #3 and #7. As much as strategic games are about maps and figures, many people still prefer games that let you feel "in the moment" rather than being purely schematic.
- Beautiful.
- Looks like an animated sequence? This one is confusing. Because there is no grid.
- This shot looks very Indie. Some people like that, some people don't.
- Not a fan sadly. It looks without UI like it's just a image where we arrive into, when departing from a cut-scene.
[h3]4. Equipment UI type of screenshot:[/h3]
Likes: 9Quotes:
- This is really good and helpful picture! It shows you have plenty of options to customize your units (and their secondary roles due to it).
- I think #4 is a great UI screenshot - it's not too simplistic like basic overlay, and it looks like it's well-readable.
- I like your efforts to customize units with skill upgrades, special equipment addition, etc. as it can be seen in Picture Number 4.
- I can't read or undestand that info so I wouldn't use that one.
- Obligatory "under the hood" shot, but a good one, I think. Gotta let people know that there is depth to be found here and this pic does it.
[h3]5. Battlefield view with UI and without hexes type of screenshot:[/h3]
Likes: 15Quotes:
- From my point of view 7 and 5, this gives me more information about features of the game, such as the grid system, the types of buildings in the game, as well as these are the most atmospheric pictures for my taste
- I liked 5 the most. Not too less, and bot too much information clustered at one spot.
- Seems to be another good shot of the game.
- Show me exactly what kind of game this is.
- This pic covers what you'll be seeing most of the time, I believe, and that's important. A great "first-impression" shot. I would lead with this one.
- Might suggest injecting the mouse cursor, showing some highlighted units or something, show me a little more of how the game works.
6. Close up units view type of screenshot:
Likes: 8Quotes:
- I'd probably go for looking up close and detailed like in 6.
- I wouldn't use that, doesn't seem like the game you will be playing.
- Pretty but not something I care about. Some others would though!
- In your provided examples the 2 and 6 ones really call out to me.
- Graphic quality is not the most important for hardcore and veteran players (if we have played with prehistoric 3D graphics of "Alone in the dark" or "Colonization" pixels we can play everything) but for casual players and young people it could be a decisive factor so you should include some screenshots like Picture Number 6 showing units closely with zoom to satisfy these people expectations about graphics.
[h3]7. Battlefield view with No UI and with hexes type of screenshot:[/h3]
Likes: 19Quotes:
- Me personally I like screenshot 7 the most:
1) it shows (at least that's what I assume) where your game camera is mostly focused;
2) It looks pretty polished and clean (not to much the viewer can focus on);
3) Would be a good image to place a logo on top or something.
- Image 7 makes the game look best imo.
- I think this is my favorite. Another grand-scale pic showing the expanse of the map, along with the grids on the ground showing me a little bit of how the game works and a tiny piece of what to expect. This one makes me want to try the game.
- This should be your lead off shot IMO.
- 7.
- 7 looks the most attractive for me.
- I like the 5th one and the 7th.
- Is really nice screen shot, even for one without an UI. It's atmospheric. It shows more nations than one (telling that there's a chance to fight more than just Germans/Soviets!) And in general looks good, but it probably better to let fans take these ones than to have at a store front?
[h3]8. Battlefield view with UI and without hexes type of screenshot[/h3]
Likes: 10Quotes:
- Looks like how you'll be playing most of the game?
- This one shows exactly what type of game it is with a little extra complexity.
- This image is way too early taken. Everything is in their static starting positions and it looks more like a chess game than how the game plays. Please let at-least one turn be done before screen-shots as it looks more like a staring match than an active battlefield.
Please, let us know what you think about this whole discussion. Do you agree with the fellow players?
Is there any screenshot type that is really needed but is missing from our selection? Looking forward to further discussion.
Starni Games team