The Board Game Design Course

How important is having a good video on your Kickstarter page?

Some people say they don’t even watch the video. Instead, they scroll down the page and see if it looks like a game for them.

But the numbers show that having a video, any video in fact, as the first thing people see on your page leads to a higher success rate. Also, you can track the number of video views and the percentage of people that watch it all the way through, both of which are helpful metrics.

For my launch of Relics of Rajavihara, I had 2,939 video plays, which is a pretty high number for a small campaign. The stats showed that it had a 59.34% completion rate, which I am told is fantastic (getting over 50% is considered really good).

For my video, I chose to work with Ori Kagan from Kagan Productions. I’m very glad that I went with Ori, as he created an amazing video that really got people’s attention and interest, while capturing the game just right. He also created a fantastic video for my follow-up expansion, Montalo’s Revenge!

I would highly recommend Kagan Productions if you are looking for someone to work with for your Kickstarter video.

In today’s article, I’m going to walk through why I feel that this video was so well done and how you can apply the same steps to ensure you have a captivating Kickstarter video.

Make it short and to the point

Long gone are the days of 5 and 10-minute Kickstarter videos where the creator talks all about their vision, why they wanted to create this game, and how they need your support.

Nowadays, it has to be short and punchy.

Keep your video to 1-2 minutes max and focus on highlighting why your game is awesome.

Think of this as an ad or a movie trailer, not the full feature.

What your video should include

Some Kickstarter videos treat this completely like a movie trailer – lots of excitement and curiosity.

Others go more in-depth on the rules and mechanics of the game.

I feel that most of the really great Kickstarter videos have a good balance of both. That’s definitely what I was aiming for with my video for Relics of Rajavihara – to bring people in to see how cool it looked but also to show enough of the gameplay so that people could understand what the game was actually about.

That way, people would instantly know if it was something they would enjoy and be curious enough to keep scrolling down the page to find out more.

So, aim to explain enough about your game so that people know how it works, while also intriguing them to want to discover more.

What your video should avoid

Your video should not be a full rules explanation. Leave that for the how to play video, which is something you’ll definitely want to include, but as a separate video further down the page, along with the rulebook. See my article from last week on how to set up your page here.

Make sure the video is not about you, rather, it should be all about your game. I would recommend showing only the game, not focusing on yourself. If you want to show people playing and enjoying your game, this may be entirely appropriate, depending on your game.

Avoid going too deep into the story and the lore of your game. You can go a bit more into this on your page and in your rulebook. Focus your video on the basics of how to play and why your game is awesome.

How to set yourself up for success

First, decide whether you want to do the video yourself or hire a professional.

If you have the skills (or you can call in some favours from friends with those skills), you might be able to pull off a decent video, but you’re almost always going to get a better result hiring someone who does this for a living, especially if they focus on Kickstarter projects (and more so if they focus on board games as well). You just need to ensure you set aside enough money in your budget.

If someone sees your video and feels that it is clumsy and unprofessional, you may have just lost a backer. Having a good, professional video can have a positive return on investment (ROI).

Give yourself plenty of time. If you are hiring this out, I would recommend you start looking for a video creator at least 3-4 months and determine who you want to work with, so that you can get started.

Get on a video call with them. Tell them about your game, show them images, and talk about your vision. This should be a collaborative effort. You know what you want to see, and they have the know-how to deliver. They should also provide advice and suggestions along the way on how to make a video that best captures what you want players to feel.

Give them all the assets (art and design) for your game that you would like to include, along with a first draft script. The script should also outline what you want to see visually at various points, not just the dialogue.

You’ll go back and forth, giving your video creator feedback as they work through your project. There will be questions about music, voice actors, and lots of other choices you’ll need to make.

Again, if you’re looking for a video creator, I highly recommend Kagan Productions. Check out his page to see some of their other amazing videos.

I’m not earning a cent by mentioning this company, I just like to promote great people to work with in the industry. Even if you’re not at that stage yet, I suggest you save a link to his page to come back to later.

Similarly, if you do decide to make the video yourself, give yourself plenty of time. Start putting this together 3-4 months before you launch. Make use of your existing assets and create a short, compelling video that shows how amazing your game is.

Either way you do this, you can make use of your Kickstarter video or clips from it to promote your game on social media, in ads, and other platforms. It will serve multiple purposes. 😊

Next week we’ll look at some ways to bring in potential backers through advertising.

Do you have any questions about creating a Kickstarter video?

Please let me know by leaving a comment.

Want to know how to launch your game on Kickstarter and keep your campaign running smoothly? Download my free Kickstarter Checklist now!