After meeting games developers in Dublin and Belfast, it is clear there is a gulf between them. We will publish the results of this research for free but require your help to make it as accurate and representative as possible. The full report will be available via Wee Man Studios and McGarry Consulting with summations and periodic updates availble via SyncNI. 

We are particularly interested in comparing NI with RoI in terms of talent, industry and government support. any thoughts greatly appreciated. We are not being funded for this work and are looking at this completely independently. 

1. Learn from others, you've one launch and little money - make the most of both. No one's going to market the game for you...
2. Spend time, engage with players/buyers - giving them something they can't get easily elsewhere. Allowing players to talk to developers, learn more about the background and with the potential to influence future updates is something the big publishers can't do
3. Everyone says "Social Media", but be realistic about what you can manage and how effective it is as a forum
4. If paying for adverts, pay for targeted gamer audience, and animate your ad
5. When contacting reviewers, if you don't know them already consider third party applications that allow you to contact multiple reviewers. If you do know reveiwers, before releasing consider offering exclusives that will encourage them to feature you (can't do it afterwards)
6. Use all your contacts, if you've used sound, animation, 3rd party software providers ask them to help show off your game (they'll be helping to show off their own work as well!), call in all the favours.
7. Realise that your game/app can remain on the app-store for a long time, and it may take time for you to get a lucky break or mention, keep at it!
8. Consider working with third parties (e.g. publishers, entertainment companies, other app-stores, promo sites), approach them first. Also talk to marketing/ad companies, they may be able to help and if not you might get 1 or 2 ideas off them and at least they'll know about you after
9. Consider putting app on various app-stores, porting it to different platforms or licencing it to third parties, you have the content, maximise it
10. Price - you have the opportunity to change the price, offer promo codes, make it free and use ads, consider freemium, you have an awful lot of power as a developer

We've also come across some great links:

Three key factors when marketing an app

Want to work with other Self-Publishers (Over 350)

How to tell the world about your game (HogRocket)

Quick tips (ignore book, scan to bottom of page)

Brilliant 5-Step Guide to Marketing an App/Game (Must Read!)

Our marketing plan will be finalised soon, we'll know a lot more - good and bad - after Galactic Racer has been released for 2 months. We've made a few mistakes to date, but we promise to keep you posted. We'd love your feedback and any tips, thoughts or links you may have. Give us a shout via the blog or contact us details

The video was shot to show the updates in the game and to act as a promotional piece for First Minister/Deputy First Minister visit to California this week. Check it out and let us know your feedback

We'll be showing off Galactic Racer, and keen to learn about what's happening in the amazing world of the web, particularly to hear from the highly profitable Zynga!!

More to come...

In addition to our much adored 3D mobile games, we can now offer clients Facebook Games. From simple quizzes, to major projects involving characters building up skills and integrating with social media - we can offer your brand something new. Contact hello@weemanstudios.com to find out more...

To help meet demand, we're keen to talk to contractors with experience of facebook applications and games - if this is you, drop us a line

Google is hoping to launch a challenger to Facebook and realises it needs games. Zynga is not only the biggest maker of games on Facebook but is also the biggest advertiser on Facebook, and the biggest driver of virtual currency on Facebook. Google realises it needs Zynga to take on Facebook... If even Google realises it needs games, shouldn't you consider it too

They criticise the cost of the apps (£10,000) but fail to compare it to the massive cost of government websites, huge government IT costs (NHS alone, over £1.6bn in 2009) the large amount of app users, the general shift to mobile/web as the preferred medium of communication for government, desire for innovation, skilled nature of app development nor how much has been spent on BBC apps.  Typically another over-reaction, especially when the US is ramping up its mobile app development with over 100 apps in the pipeline

Apps are being used by Universities, and many other public funded bodies to good effect. For a relatively low cost they offer great value for money and should be put in perspective...

"It is quite possible a game could someday be great Art."

Whilst refining his position, he does seem open to the possibility of games being Art and that individual gamers may consider it an artistic experience. This is at least a start, when America's old guard are now realising the potential for games, and that games should be taken seriously maybe the rest of the world will too....

As for Games being art, that's up to you.