Last week while I was killing time playing on Twitter I came across something called #GamesMatter. Now, maybe you have heard of this, and maybe you haven’t. Either way it’s something worth talking about. Developers supply codes for games that are given away for free to people on Twitter. Once you receive your game you are asked to talk about the game on social media using #GamesMatter in your posts. No one is asking you to lie, talk the game up more than you would if you hadn’t gotten it for free, or anything else shady. You are literally just talking about your honest reaction to the game and using #GamesMatter in your post. Not too shabby, eh?
I’ll share with you a bit of the FAQ on the #GamesMatter website.
Q: What is expected of someone who gets a free game from #GamesMatter?
A: To simply talk about the game they get. No matter which way you feel about a game, or no matter which way you are capable of talking about it. Everyone is encouraged to play the games they get and talk their experience. On Twitter, we encourage players to do so on the hashtag #GamesMatter. Players can also blog about the games, create video content, do live streams, review the games, or grab a bullhorn and tell everyone in the town square how they felt about the game.
Q: I didn’t like the game I got. Should I still talk about it?
A: Absolutely. In fact, if you think the game you got sucks, the developer wants to hear it, and why you didn’t like it. The developers that participate in #GamesMatter are eager to learn what areas they can improve in. My hope is that you’ll be able to share your problems with the game and help the developer take all the feedback into account and apply it to their next projects.
You might be asking yourself what is the catch? There really isn’t one. By taking a free code all you are committing to is talking about the game on social media.
Q: No, seriously, what’s the catch? No catch. Free games! I know, right!? Why?
A: It’s great marketing for the developers. For most indies, the only chance they have to catch on is through word of mouth. #GamesMatter gives developers a more organized, targeted resource to create word of mouth. Every person who talks about the game they get is potentially marketing it to every single person that sees them talking about it.
This is being done, as far as I understand it, just to get the word out about indie games. There is nothing to enter, no hoops to jump through. I commented on a Twitter status saying that I would like to play a game that was being offered, and in a few moments I had a code being sent to me via DM on Twitter. All you have to do to get started is follow IndieGamerChick on Twitter, wait for a tweet saying a game is being offered, and comment on the tweet asking nicely for a code for the game that is currently being offered. Download your game and use social media to talk honestly about the title.
In this day and age where social media is such a mainstream thing and it is easier to get people to read a tweet than a thousand word article, I think the people behind #GamesMatter might be onto something. What do you think of this idea?
