Stonemaier Streams

Ranging from our Kickstarter trailer videos from 2012-2015 (featuring me and Alan talking directly to the camera) to polished, animated trailers with voiceovers from 2016-2024, we’ve tried a variety of approaches to the initial video introduction. Starting in 2025, we tried a new method that I’ll discuss today.

https://stonemaiergames.com/announcement-trailers-our-current-method-2026/

Today I'm joined by Braided Skies designer Dan Germain to take a behind-the-scenes look at the newest Stonemaier Game, comparing key elements of it to some other games we admire and enjoy.

https://youtu.be/uN7Gxui3aG0

https://youtube.com/live/Y5ics9N2Lt8

Some publishers are investing $20,000-$40,000 on prelaunch ads (compared to our prelaunch ad spend of $1,000, which is augmented by organic reach from our YouTube channel, Instagram, Facebook, newsletter, Bluesky, etc).

It seems to me that spending $20-$40k prelaunch can dig creators into a deep hole, shifting the focus from serving backers to getting enough backers (that you at least break even).

https://stonemaiergames.com/spending-big-bucks-on-prelaunch-ads-worth-the-squeeze/

In today's video I discuss autobattling games! These are games where you make choices--sometimes involving programming--that set up a series of events/actions over which you have minimal to no control.

https://youtu.be/KUzr-o6F0Zg