Hello! I'm a Lead Games Designer with 10+ years of experience (you can see some of my projects QT below) and for the next hour I'll be running an AMA with #PitchYaGame on the subject of Salesmanship and Pitching in Games Design. Any Q's welcome, but on topic Q's will get priority https://twitter.com/_SteveThornton/status/1035823072610344961

I have spent my career in AAA so my pitching experience has always been from within a studio e.g. green light pitches for execs/publishers and bizdev pitch decks for partners and clients. Note that due to subjective audiences, no advice works in 100% of cases

To get things started, some general tips from me. First thing to remember: All games designers work in sales. There is no design role high enough that you don't have to sell your ideas to other people, be it the financiers or team members that you need to commit to building it

HIGH LEVEL - Most elevator pitches follow the recipe of GENRE + SETTING + HOOK. Which makes sense, it gives the mental canvas a gameplay view and a skin, and then introduces something new and interesting. Ideally the 3 elements compliment each other and the hook creates curiosity

NARRATIVE - Full pitches have an "angle", an internal story. Start by establishing a need, the problem you will solve or gap you will fill. Back this up with research that backs up your story, then cover your idea, and at the end, show how that solved the problem, filled the need

REFERENCES - It's very common for pitches to use existing products as touchstones to quickly build understanding. This is potent so be cautious of what baggage ref points have, such as aesthetics and tone (1/2)

What order you provide references can shift the image also, as people tend to layer them on each other. For example - Portal 2 but with zombies is a white lab with zombies in it - Left 4 Dead with portals, is a post-apocalyptic city with a portal gun (2/2)

RESEARCH - Know the market, the competitors and similar games, games that are very different but have similar systems or settings. If possible, get to know your audience. Both the studio and individuals; what they have worked on and greenlit before (1/2)

This knowledge should not be used bluntly, but it can be used to navigate the minefield of pitching: not stepping on any subjects or references that the audience has super strong feelings about already and might immediately turn them against you (2/2)

DETAILS - The more details there are in a pitch, the more opinions and discussions they generate. Mo details = Mo discussion = Mo opinions = Mo problems. Provide a clear vision, only dive as deep as the questions take you, avoid tangents + variables that can be worked out later

To be clear, YOU should know the details. Be prepared to answer any deep-dive questions, but your goal is to sell the high level vision and get approval, not get into debates about what button should do what; you can make those arguments after you have the money/resources

STORY - Story is a hard sell at the pitch stage, the promise of a deep engaging story is unproven- themes rely on execution, so all a story can provide you (at least for an audience like me) is an interesting setting and premise. Ideally, one that touches the gameplay in some way

If you do want to pitch with a story hook here is some advice from screenwriter pitching: big premise - make characters relatable or interesting - explain the full character arcs (1-3 max) - don't withhold the twists, those are part of the products value - don't forget its a game

SHOW DON'T TELL - Finally, and most of the #PitchYaGame participants are totally doing this: a picture is worth a 1000 tweets, and a gif is worth like, 1000 per frame. Gifs are the elevator pitch of the internet world and I've followed indie studios and wishlisted on gifs alone