How to make a Game Trailer

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JayBlue
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How to make a Game Trailer

#1 Post by JayBlue »

So I want to make a game trailer. I have Adobe Premere and Adobe After Effects.

How can I make a good trailer with these? What other programs are recommended for making a trailer?
And are there any good tutorials or trailer references I can watch?
If an Owl hoots in a forest, does it make a sound?

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runeraccoon
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Re: How to make a Game Trailer

#2 Post by runeraccoon »

Those two should be more than enough. I'd even use AE only, as being a member of utaite in Youtube where chorus covers require animated videos has shown me. Note that I still can't animate and is learning my baby steps. I'd suggest Sony Vegas, but since you've bought those two, don't waste them. xD

Now to make a good trailer, I'd say you're going to need:
- good art assets of your own game (sprites, some of the best---but not spoilerish---CGs)
- good music, plus some voice acting snippets if you use the latter
- good sense of storytelling through visual means (which goes when)
- good aesthetics when choosing the supporting elements (fits with the game's GUI)
- decent skill in AE

I'm looking forward for the others' opinions about this as well.

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Re: How to make a Game Trailer

#3 Post by Katy133 »

I've made some notes here for you.

Below are some links to some trailers I like. I tried to keep them all related to visual novels, thought some are not (but still intrigue me and have something to learn from).

Note the lengths of each trailer: Usually 1 minute to 1 minute and 30 seconds long. Any longer is generally considered too long. Things I like to see in VN trailers:
  • Good music (with visuals timed to the music) (Gorillaz, Night in the Woods).
  • Cutting to a black background and a simple, small logo as the final visual. (Gorillaz, Night in the Woods)
  • Animation (even subtle or limited animation is good).
  • Fast cuts to lots of things. (Gorillaz, Night in the Woods)
  • All the character sprites slide past in a quick lineup. (Backstage Pass)
  • Music swells at an important moment. (Soulslayer)
  • Illustrating the choices using Twine-like nodes. (Detroit: Become Human)
  • The last cut we see is of the game's logo on a black background. (Gorillaz, Night in the Woods)
Other things to consider:
  • Listing what else the creator has made (Night in the Woods)
  • Different transitions (Tinder-style swipe left/right)
  • Text and character quotes (Lovely Little Thieves)
Cool things you can do using animation:
  • Layered parallax animation (Phantom Ban Detective, The Crown of Leaves, Pyre, Backstage Pass)
  • Camera moving over 3D object (moving over 3D book close-up in The Crown of Leaves)
  • Character sprite slides in
  • Lighting (the candle in The Letter)
  • Glitches (The Letter, Gorillaz)
  • 2-second hand-drawn animation of characters (Backstage Pass)
  • Logo shine/glint (Phantom Ban Detective)
  • Flip character sprites to different poses (Phantom Ban Detective)
  • Slow fade to black (Phantom Ban Detective)
  • Lens flare (Phantom Ban Detective)
  • Show WIP art, then final version (Lovely Little Thieves)
  • Overlay videos (The Crown of Leaves)
  • Sparkling stars
  • Slow-motion floating objects (Stories Untold)
  • Animated text (Pyre)
After Effects is very good for editing trailers. I've heard OpenShot is a good free alternative.

Hope this helps! :D
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Qwxlea
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Re: How to make a Game Trailer

#4 Post by Qwxlea »

Wow! Great list of trailers. Especially "Detroit become human". Resource bookmarked. Thanks.

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JBShields
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Re: How to make a Game Trailer

#5 Post by JBShields »

A very well thought-out trailer check list! Thanks for sharing!

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Helyees
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Re: How to make a Game Trailer

#6 Post by Helyees »

Here is a trailer for our WWII themed visual novel. What do you think?


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