Welcome to Part III of The Art of the Screenshot.  So far we’ve covered “big picture issues” – how it is PR’s responsibility to produce screenshots that do more than just look good and the importance of conveying emotions and attitude in assets.

Now that you understand the key ingredients, you’re ready to rock n’ roll!  So let’s cover more hands-on material, namely, what you need to do to work effectively with your PD teams to secure great shots.

Do this wrong and you’ll get shots that aren’t perfect along with a PD team that thinks you’re a total idiot.  Do it right… well, then you’ve got PR gold.

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…our job as PR and Marketers is to create an
emotional connection with our target audience…”

Before we get into the details of my advice for acquiring and distributing great and effective screens successfully, I want to take a step back to take another look at the BIG PICTURE.

Previously, in Part I, I suggested that screen shots should be more than just literal representations of what a game looks like; it is PR’s responsibility to ensure they are memorable.

In this edition, we’ll cover the importance of injecting attitude instead of action and showing the fun of a game rather than the activity of playing.

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IF YOUR SCREEN SHOTS AREN’T WORKING FOR YOU AND
DOING MORE THAN JUST LOOKING GOOD,
THEY’RE NOT DOING ANYTHING AT ALL.” – Me

More than anything else, screen shots are the ubiquitous calling cards of a video game.  Typically, hundreds are released for each upcoming title through general screen shot “updates” or targeted shot releases that focus on specific features and help a writer illustrate a story.

We all use them.  We all rely on them… and heavily.  But the truth is, quite often, PR isn’t stepping up and fulfilling their responsibilities.

Here’s the thing — many PR people mistakenly look at screens as simply an “asset” or a means to an end — an item that  shows what the game looks like.  But screen shots can — and should — be so much more than that!  And it’s on PR’s shoulders to make it happen.

DON’T BE SO LAZY – STICK TO IT AND GET THE GREAT SCREEN, NOT THE “OK” ONE…

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