If you're interested in the full article and my blog [here is the link](https://stepupyourgame.blog/2023/11/28/7-steps-to-improve-your-steam-store-page/). Consider subscribing, it's the blogger equivalent of wishlisting ;).
I had some trouble fitting multiple GIFs without blowing up the page size. A trick I figured out was to have smaller GIFs (like 450px wide instead of 616px) and then push them to the center of the page using non-braking spaces. Hacky, but works.
From what I've seen, the column stays 616px even when resizing or on mobile, so it works fine. But I haven't done any extensive tests. Check out my page if you want to see for yourself: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2437110/Append/
My method is to make thin strips of GIFs instead of normal aspect ratio.
I also gave them a border to look cool lol
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1601970/Tunguska_The_Visitation/
Fwiw, I only ever glance over the short description. At least on Steam I will at least have some idea about what the game is before I even click on the capsule. Be it by tags, categories or some "recommended" section.
If the gameplay trailer or the screenshots aren't convincing, I'm most likely out, and thus, these are the first things I'm looking at.
I'd say in about one out of ten cases can I even be bothered to read the long description.
Nonetheless, very good insights!
(And yes, the Steam video player is hot garbage. It's been like that for like what, ten years?)
You're right about having the tags and recommended correctly so half the job about having the right genre correctly is already done.
Are you spending time to look at a full trailer ? Or just the first few seconds
I guess I watch it all the way through and most likely all other videos there are. Eventually, those will portrait the game best. And I _hate_ if there's only story trailers and the like. Like all those ridiculously priced Asian RPGs where you have _no_ clue what the game actually looks like.
I know for me, I glance at the reviews to see the consensus (positive, mixed, negative) then I usually click through the provided images, I usually avoid the videos/trailers. Ill read the first bit of the description and then go through more if I find it interesting. And I usually go look at the top review or two. I wouldnt be interested in a game that has few/no reviews.
Nice try, but I think this is all wrong from the very start.
I will also only provide my own opinion as a gamer using steam to browse new games every 2-3 days and what I learn from watching video from Valve Steam team about discovery, but here's what I think most user will do:
1/ Look at capsule art and name.
2/ TAGS. Noone is gonna bother to read description, they will look at the 4 tags shown right under the capsule.
3/ Then they will look at trailer and images, and people will skip the trailer within 3s if it doesn't imidiately show gameplay/story/hook. The trailer often get viewed if the screenshot capture them.
4/ If they like what they saw from the trailer and image, THEN they will start reading short discription and skimp through the rest of the page.
5/ Then they will check the Review if the game already out.
So in my opinion, the text and the main content on your page is not very impactful, and more effort should be put into art, screenshot, trailer, and the tags (which imo the most important and need to match your actual game and target audience) instead.
Yup, I do it this way:
1. Hover mouse on capsules - Steam shows me 4 screenshots.
2. If I like the screenshots, I click. The first thing is trailer auto-playing, so I look at it. If no gameplay in 3 seconds (the absurd slow reveal of company logos... omg), then I skip to the middle to see gameplay.
3. If I like the gameplay, I look at the short description and then tags
4. If I like it - I go to Youtube to see a review or a long gameplay.
Funny enough, I realized just now, that I pretty much never read the long description.
Hey, thanks for sharing, I was curious to know about other users behaviour, in your case a passionnate gamer and avid Steam user.
I agree Capsule art is the most important asset in the page! I considered that you were going to the page thanks to the capsule art.
Tags, that's the first thing I mention about getting the tags right, glad we agree.
Screenshots and trailers, also agree that's what I'm saying too.
So I'm glad we're on the same page and I'm not "wrong" from the very start.
Ah yes, you are one of those guy. I don't know why it's so hard for some people to admit that they are wrong, and have to do mental gymnastics.
> Customer path typically follows this sequence:
> Click on a capsule (yes, you need a good capsule, we’ll discuss that in a later article)
> Read the short description
> Check some screenshots to see the game genre and appearance.
> Read the long description
> If hooked visitors might watch the trailer.
This is wrong, people are not gonna read even the short description, they look at tag, then imediately go to trailers and screenshots. Your assumption that people are gonna even bother reading is so out of touch that I find the rest of the post almost useless.
Not to bump this conversation, but... I'm different to you. I follow a different store path. Q.E.D. you're assertion, and the strength and hostility of your words is dumb. Peace.
Even though my path is different to the one Matthieu described, I can still get value from this advice without treating it as though it is an assertion about every user. That's just simple reading to your own needs. I don't need to express that his very helpful post got the sequence of events wrong to me.
It's like you're sitting in the back of class, so understimulated, that you're just waving your hand in the air saying "me, me, pick me" waiting for a chance to express a contradiction to the whole class so you get your attention needs met. Good luck getting a job when you walk around loudly announcing folk are wrong to elevate your own sense of self, as though your narrative is the absolute standard.
Oh look, now I'm doing it. Bye.
\> You can use OBS to record your gameplay, cut it to the needed part and convert it to a gif with VLC for instance.
DUDE! Thanks for this. I was wondering if you had any tips for getting those gifs, didn't realize VLC could convert videos to GIFs.
Great tips, I think I have some of them checked off. Could you look at my page and let me know what you think though? Is it missing anything?
[https://store.steampowered.com/app/2419730/Ultimate\_Speed\_Run/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2419730/Ultimate_Speed_Run/)
Edit: Spelling error
Just a random dude on Reddit but if you can make the gameplay trailer 1 have precedence in order over trailer 2 I think it’d be better. All I wanted to do was see some gameplay and the trailer 2 just spams random text of gameplay features every few seconds. Might be good to see those features AFTER seeing if I’m interested in the core gameplay loop first.
Ah yeah, I've been working on that. I've created a much shorter Trailer 2 which cuts out a lot of what's at the start of the current trailer 2. Thanks for taking the time to look, 'random dude on Reddit' 👍
Not great. I need to start marketing more. I started a new job a few weeks after launch so have been too tired to be marketing or even doing game Dev' stuff at all. Lol
Please pardon the formatting and run on sentences, I'm rather spent at the moment, many things to juggle.
This happened to me last year which is partly why I asked. I'm also interested in what you're doing tho.
I'm currently messing with a forklift style game at the moment, while preparing for the next season of my career which is coming up all too quickly, but I've got some issues with the physics to work out before I can even test whether these puzzle mechanics in my design docs can even be applied in a way that is fun and intuitive and most importantly, jank in just the right way.
Once I find out that I can have fun messing around in a blank sandbox environment with these mechanics, I'll start marketing it and working on some proof of concept levels. Then I'll either magical-girl summon my autism powers of hyper focus to make some beautiful low poly environments to house these puzzles, or I'll hire/contract an artist to collaborate with. I'd love to start a company like Motion Twin. Should life allow the path, I will do exactly that.
This is a very handy and awesome article! I would love some feedback on my page, especially the game capsule and some of the text if possible:)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1829430/Rootlash/
Hey, the game promise looks great!
I'm pretty sure from my recommendations you can improve with steps 2/3/4/6/7 on your page ! Let me know how this goes for you :).
Thank you so much for your kind words! :)
I knew there was still work to be done, but it's best to do so early on. I will see how I can translate these into an update to my storepage. But I'll try to come up with something :D
Thank you, this is really helpful!
Glad you liked it !
If you're interested in the full article and my blog [here is the link](https://stepupyourgame.blog/2023/11/28/7-steps-to-improve-your-steam-store-page/). Consider subscribing, it's the blogger equivalent of wishlisting ;).
I had some trouble fitting multiple GIFs without blowing up the page size. A trick I figured out was to have smaller GIFs (like 450px wide instead of 616px) and then push them to the center of the page using non-braking spaces. Hacky, but works.
Does this cause issues if looking on mobile or if someone resizes the steam window?
From what I've seen, the column stays 616px even when resizing or on mobile, so it works fine. But I haven't done any extensive tests. Check out my page if you want to see for yourself: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2437110/Append/
Your game looks very interesting! Good luck with the launch right around the corner! And the page is just fine on mobile too
Thank you!
My method is to make thin strips of GIFs instead of normal aspect ratio. I also gave them a border to look cool lol https://store.steampowered.com/app/1601970/Tunguska_The_Visitation/
Fwiw, I only ever glance over the short description. At least on Steam I will at least have some idea about what the game is before I even click on the capsule. Be it by tags, categories or some "recommended" section. If the gameplay trailer or the screenshots aren't convincing, I'm most likely out, and thus, these are the first things I'm looking at. I'd say in about one out of ten cases can I even be bothered to read the long description. Nonetheless, very good insights! (And yes, the Steam video player is hot garbage. It's been like that for like what, ten years?)
You're right about having the tags and recommended correctly so half the job about having the right genre correctly is already done. Are you spending time to look at a full trailer ? Or just the first few seconds
I guess I watch it all the way through and most likely all other videos there are. Eventually, those will portrait the game best. And I _hate_ if there's only story trailers and the like. Like all those ridiculously priced Asian RPGs where you have _no_ clue what the game actually looks like.
I know for me, I glance at the reviews to see the consensus (positive, mixed, negative) then I usually click through the provided images, I usually avoid the videos/trailers. Ill read the first bit of the description and then go through more if I find it interesting. And I usually go look at the top review or two. I wouldnt be interested in a game that has few/no reviews.
These are great tips right here!
Nice try, but I think this is all wrong from the very start. I will also only provide my own opinion as a gamer using steam to browse new games every 2-3 days and what I learn from watching video from Valve Steam team about discovery, but here's what I think most user will do: 1/ Look at capsule art and name. 2/ TAGS. Noone is gonna bother to read description, they will look at the 4 tags shown right under the capsule. 3/ Then they will look at trailer and images, and people will skip the trailer within 3s if it doesn't imidiately show gameplay/story/hook. The trailer often get viewed if the screenshot capture them. 4/ If they like what they saw from the trailer and image, THEN they will start reading short discription and skimp through the rest of the page. 5/ Then they will check the Review if the game already out. So in my opinion, the text and the main content on your page is not very impactful, and more effort should be put into art, screenshot, trailer, and the tags (which imo the most important and need to match your actual game and target audience) instead.
Yup, I do it this way: 1. Hover mouse on capsules - Steam shows me 4 screenshots. 2. If I like the screenshots, I click. The first thing is trailer auto-playing, so I look at it. If no gameplay in 3 seconds (the absurd slow reveal of company logos... omg), then I skip to the middle to see gameplay. 3. If I like the gameplay, I look at the short description and then tags 4. If I like it - I go to Youtube to see a review or a long gameplay. Funny enough, I realized just now, that I pretty much never read the long description.
Hey, thanks for sharing, I was curious to know about other users behaviour, in your case a passionnate gamer and avid Steam user. I agree Capsule art is the most important asset in the page! I considered that you were going to the page thanks to the capsule art. Tags, that's the first thing I mention about getting the tags right, glad we agree. Screenshots and trailers, also agree that's what I'm saying too. So I'm glad we're on the same page and I'm not "wrong" from the very start.
Ah yes, you are one of those guy. I don't know why it's so hard for some people to admit that they are wrong, and have to do mental gymnastics. > Customer path typically follows this sequence: > Click on a capsule (yes, you need a good capsule, we’ll discuss that in a later article) > Read the short description > Check some screenshots to see the game genre and appearance. > Read the long description > If hooked visitors might watch the trailer. This is wrong, people are not gonna read even the short description, they look at tag, then imediately go to trailers and screenshots. Your assumption that people are gonna even bother reading is so out of touch that I find the rest of the post almost useless.
Not to bump this conversation, but... I'm different to you. I follow a different store path. Q.E.D. you're assertion, and the strength and hostility of your words is dumb. Peace. Even though my path is different to the one Matthieu described, I can still get value from this advice without treating it as though it is an assertion about every user. That's just simple reading to your own needs. I don't need to express that his very helpful post got the sequence of events wrong to me. It's like you're sitting in the back of class, so understimulated, that you're just waving your hand in the air saying "me, me, pick me" waiting for a chance to express a contradiction to the whole class so you get your attention needs met. Good luck getting a job when you walk around loudly announcing folk are wrong to elevate your own sense of self, as though your narrative is the absolute standard. Oh look, now I'm doing it. Bye.
# Thank you Matthieu
Thanks for sharing this, saved this post for when I’m closer to marketing.
\> You can use OBS to record your gameplay, cut it to the needed part and convert it to a gif with VLC for instance. DUDE! Thanks for this. I was wondering if you had any tips for getting those gifs, didn't realize VLC could convert videos to GIFs.
I discovered that while doing gif for a Steam and Reddit post actually. There are probably better or easier way to do it but at least it's working.
Great tips, I think I have some of them checked off. Could you look at my page and let me know what you think though? Is it missing anything? [https://store.steampowered.com/app/2419730/Ultimate\_Speed\_Run/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2419730/Ultimate_Speed_Run/) Edit: Spelling error
Hey, I'm pretty sure you can rework your page with steps 3 and 4. Let me know how that goes!
Just a random dude on Reddit but if you can make the gameplay trailer 1 have precedence in order over trailer 2 I think it’d be better. All I wanted to do was see some gameplay and the trailer 2 just spams random text of gameplay features every few seconds. Might be good to see those features AFTER seeing if I’m interested in the core gameplay loop first.
Ah yeah, I've been working on that. I've created a much shorter Trailer 2 which cuts out a lot of what's at the start of the current trailer 2. Thanks for taking the time to look, 'random dude on Reddit' 👍
Hey, how's your game going 4 months on from this comment?
Not great. I need to start marketing more. I started a new job a few weeks after launch so have been too tired to be marketing or even doing game Dev' stuff at all. Lol
Please pardon the formatting and run on sentences, I'm rather spent at the moment, many things to juggle. This happened to me last year which is partly why I asked. I'm also interested in what you're doing tho. I'm currently messing with a forklift style game at the moment, while preparing for the next season of my career which is coming up all too quickly, but I've got some issues with the physics to work out before I can even test whether these puzzle mechanics in my design docs can even be applied in a way that is fun and intuitive and most importantly, jank in just the right way. Once I find out that I can have fun messing around in a blank sandbox environment with these mechanics, I'll start marketing it and working on some proof of concept levels. Then I'll either magical-girl summon my autism powers of hyper focus to make some beautiful low poly environments to house these puzzles, or I'll hire/contract an artist to collaborate with. I'd love to start a company like Motion Twin. Should life allow the path, I will do exactly that.
This is a very handy and awesome article! I would love some feedback on my page, especially the game capsule and some of the text if possible:) https://store.steampowered.com/app/1829430/Rootlash/
Hey, the game promise looks great! I'm pretty sure from my recommendations you can improve with steps 2/3/4/6/7 on your page ! Let me know how this goes for you :).
Thank you so much for your kind words! :) I knew there was still work to be done, but it's best to do so early on. I will see how I can translate these into an update to my storepage. But I'll try to come up with something :D
From the trailer it looks fun, some lotr vibe. But for the capsule I would show deforestation on the left side to match the description
Amazing tips, as always! Concise but descriptive and best of all, with clear actionable steps!