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March 9-13, 2026
Moscone CenterSan Francisco, CA

Agenda

Influencing Fandom: Making Games That Market Themselves

Emily Pitcher  (Game Developer, Content Creator, SonderingEmily)
Location: Room 2010, West Hall
Date: Tuesday, March 10
Time: 3:10 pm - 4:10 pm
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass - Get your pass now!
Audience Level: Intermediate
Track: Discovery & Marketing, Independent Development
Format: Lecture
Vault Recording: Video
Audience Level: Intermediate

Marketing doesn't start with making TikToks or creating a Discord. It starts with game design. But viral videos help too.

Emily Pitcher went from working on failed game to a game with 20+ publishers reaching out, participation in many showcases, and much higher wishlists. In this session, she details how she made that transition, specifically designing a game with a market in mind and making viral videos about her game. Emily gives tips on how to use market research to come up with a game idea that players will engage with and how to turn that idea into videos with millions of views. She shares actionable ways to evaluate your game idea, dissects her best and worst videos, and gives ideas for videos you can make about your game.

Takeaway

Attendees will leave with actionable tips on how to come up with more engaging game ideas based off market research and how to make better videos about their game.

Intended Audience

The intended audience of this talk is indie game developers who are serious about making profitable games and want to grow a community for their game. Attendees do not need prior experience making social media content to understand this talk.