Chasm — Game Trailer

Briefing

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Myself and the creator of Chasm (Bit kid Games - also known as James), spent some time going over the development progress from early conception and kickstarter days to current release and platform specific updates. The game has undergone a lot of changes throughout its history, and being from the very popular metroidvania genre, it had a very passionate fan base that wanted to see modern games rise to the level that the classical titles such as Metroid and Castlevania saw.

We used the trailer to explore many of the updates that the game had seen, and to find a way to portray these to a present audience who might want to check the game out again to see what was new, and for those who might consider picking it up or giving it a shot after the initial launch.

Outcome

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Conveying years worth of updates in a single minute long video is no easy task. The game had several pages of patch notes that had to be broken down into trailer friendly captions and titles, as well as find interesting and visually stimulating ways to present them.

I find text heavy trailers to be a bit difficult to edit without breaking the flow of the edit. We wanted to present all of these changes, but doing so using just text is always a no-go for trailers. I took each of the titles and gave a small visual or audible flourish to try lift them a little and carry on the pace and mood from scene to scene.

I definitely think that the more of the game you show, the better the trailer. Hiding behind text screens can sometimes be a red flag for your audience. Show, don't tell always springs to mind. That said, finding ways to make your text screens engaging and relevant to the content is what makes them stand out and actually become part of the world that you're trying to create with the trailer.