How can I make my "Human" asset store package more appealing? (It's not selling, and idk why)

I addressed that in my edit. I generally act when it's a problem on Unity forums, not before it's a problem. Because it's not going to save the planet or ruin the whale population - it's just a forum therefore rules are more grounded in common sense, hopefully it won't turn into a trend.

 

I think the occasional thread like this helps everyone, although possibly the OP got a little bit overzealous. But there's stuff to take away from it for everybody.

Possibly belonged in the Asset Store section though.

 

I'm really enjoying this thread actually. I know everyone will have their own interpretations -- which is why @ the start I wanted to be very clear that this isn't for promotion of the package, and the photos I did post were ones that I created based on the suggestions of the people in this post.

The truth is I'm really not the best at promotion . The thumbnail under my name is from my game and is a stock photo. (Intel turns out, uses the same photo and had a giant banner of it over the escalators at GDC in 2015! And a crappy netflix movie uses the same photo, even though the main character barely looks like him). I used it because it was better than anything from the game I could get ,and although I paid a guy to do some art for it, I end up not liking the work at all. I'll likely change the image to something with the new models, however -- they're good enough for thumbnails.

This is the 3rd time I"ve started a thread similar to this, where I ask for advice on this side of things. It helps me, and the criticism is real and sometimes raw, but it really helps. I absolutely have, and in this case recently have, changed things based on it all.

One thing I need to do: Learn Substance Designer. It's true that the characters are very clean/pretty rather than rugged. Substance Designer would allow me to create alternate versions with more specific dirt/scars/tattoos. You can add dirt to them now, but it's not quite like it could be. So learning that application could help out tremendously, and I think I'll need to schedule a full day or two to focus on youtube videos teaching how to do it.

Hopefully some of the other publishers find this thread useful too. I'm sure I'm not the only one making the mistakes i"ve made. I feel, the better we all do, the better off we will all be.

Lastly, I've only had one sale this week, so if this thread is for self promotion, it's doing a crappy crappy job!

 

Try adding a screenshot of all characters in a pack grouped together. This will give a better understanding what consumer is buying.

It's also better to display how many polygons and what kind of shaders they utilize.

 

Here are thoughts, and these are just mine, so please take them with a grain of salt.

MOST users are only going to look at the Title, and one or two Screenshots. If they like that, then they will read more or watch the video.

For me, both kind of count against it. The title mentions Barbarian, that already locks it to only a tiny percentage of video games. How many games have a barbarian character that they can afford to use a generic model for? In my case, I work on dark immersive games - I don't have plans to utilize a barbarian. And if I did, I'd ask myself if I really need clothing sets? Or do I need more classes of 3D models.

When I flip through the images, they are OK. But the lighting is a bit odd and the angles don't give me a good impression of the models. I start thinking, maybe if its cheap, I could pick it up for one-day future use ... but it would have to be cheap, otherwise I'd create it myself.

Finally, I look at the price. Individuals that are willing to spend 75+ on a single 3D character model are probably more likely to hire a 3D modeler or create their own 3D models. I wouldn't spend this much on a single 3D character based on the screenshots and title. At 75 dollars, you need a lot more quality screenshots in that listing...

Here the average pay for a 3D modeller is anywhere from 20 to 40$/hr. So, I'd probably rather hire someone locally at that price point that has experience with Fuse / Daz or MakeHuman.

 

I can't help but wonder if this is it. The problem might be less to do with marketing this particular asset, and more to do with the size of the market in general. I had a look through the screen shots in this page. They would kind of suit the setting for one of my games. But I can't see them fitting my main characters. I need a red headed female wielding a halberd wearing a specific set of plate armour. She also carries a particular heraldry. I don't see that in the pictures.

Just went and looked at the asset...

For goodness sake, include some of your UI in the screen shots. Change the title. You are not selling a barbarian model with some clothing. You are selling a system for procedurally generating characters.

I did not realise that this asset was anything more then a few models with animations from the description and screen shots.

Think on that for a bit. You haven't told your customers what they are actually buying. That's not the best way to sell something. I only checked out the videos because the file list had a few more files then I was expecting. Most customers won't get that far. They will read the title. Click on a couple of screen shots. And be done with it. Further investigation is only warranted if the asset could conceivably meet their needs.

From the video it looks like I could have made my red head with a halberd under your system. But the screen shots don't indicate that.

 

You don't really have space to sell the microwave AND the toothbrush, you have to give them a clear USP.

 

TBH, I would be MUCH more likely to buy a dragon for a game than a character. Chances are, the dragon would only be part of the game, whereas a character really defines the 'look and feel' of the entire game. For example, a dragon in Lara Croft that I might find in another game is not a huge disappointment to the player/audience. It would be a minor part of the game. If Lara was in other games, it totally ruins her as a character that I might identify with.

Not much help, I know. But, I question whether a character would ever sell very well. And if it did, it becomes less 'special' and that would cause sales to drop.

This happens all the time with fonts. Lobster is a perfectly nice font, and it was cool a couple of years ago. But now, it is so over-used no designer worth their salt will use it since it got so popular and hipster it became tired and over-used. Nothing wrong with the font, just over-exposure.

 

@Voronoi I don't get why people would have a problem with using the same character (not same clothes of course) in a different game. Actors don't get spawned for each new movie, why should it be like this in games? If I find a character I like for my game, I'd just add some clothes that fit my game and get on with it.

I bet if someone hypothetically made a character of some famous actor that could be legally used in games, everyone would be adding it.

From the pics posted above, there's variation enough in the costume/textures for anything from Skyrim to Avatar..

 

I think that's part of the challenge though, most folks will only read the title and check the pictures - and the pictures are all the same model with the same clothing at awkward angles. So, without looking any deeper, I'd assume I'm spending 75 dollars for a barbarian model with a single clothing set.

For that to be useful, the user has to be working on a very specific game genre I think. But that's just my impression.

 

Yeah I totally agree, that's the problem with this package and I also thought it was just two models with a couple of variations at first. I was actually talking about @Voronoi's remark that seeing the same character in another game ruins its utility, and that's one of the reasons characters might not sell well. It's probably true but I don't get why it's such a problem. I don't have a problem with seeing two movies with the same actor(s) and I doubt many people would, why different in games? I can only imagine that it's the potential for someone releasing a really crappy game that gained notoriety, with the same character, but idk if that's going to be a real problem.

Anyway, not to derail, it's definitely a marketing problem here and it needs to be communicated better that there's a lot of variation possible with the characters.

 

I think its a really good question, and a really good observation. If I'm creating a single main character for a REALLY big project (like going to console or steam) I'll probably want a unique-ish looking main character. Crowds, guys who die without reason, etc, probably not so much. But I wonder what the psychology is behind it...

I agree, I think its straight up marketing, what you get is a whole lot more than what you see. And it just needs some polish to convey that across I think

 

@Billy4184 - I guess it's a personal preference, but I typically prefer actors that change a lot for each role or actors that I believe will only be in a good movie - Matt Damon, sure. Nick Cage, not so much. Any asset for a main character can be sold to anyone for any game. If that character is in a terrible game, I will now associate that character with a terrible game.

For example, I loved Helvetica Ultra Light. But then I saw MacDonalds use it on a billboard and continue to use it for their campaign. Now Helvetica Ultra Light reminds me ( and others ) of fast food. Can't use it anymore...

IMO, just changing clothes on a main character is not enough. I looked at the UHM (?) and I think those characters even look a little bit the same-ish. Of course, depends on the game and how important the main character is in the game.

 

It's a real potential issue, but the risk is pretty minimal imo. I get the sense that in general, it's more of a question of the culture of the indie industry where re-using assets is identified with cloning and reskinning and other practices which devs perceive as dragging down the industry. However I don't think reusing a character is worth paying attention to in the overall scheme of whether the game is worth playing or not.

That said, I think what really killed character sales on the asset store are character creators. I'd much rather make a bunch of Makehuman or Daz models myself than try to patch together a bunch of different assets with varying quality. So that's why it's even more important that @sfbaystudios highlights the customization potential, and especially the wide range of armor possibilities which is something character creators as yet aren't able to do.

 

customization is key. You have some great clothing; what is needed are different face shapes, and if possible add adjustment bones for weight, breast size, etc, and rig the clothing to match. Worth learning how to do that, to make a fully rounded asset.

Your clothing/armour already stands out from the crowd; if you can bring the other requirements up to that level, you'll have one of the top character systems.

 

I know I'm a bit late to this, but I agree that the more you can show the customization options, the better. Maybe your sales have kicked up a notch since May, maybe they haven't. I can attest to the value of this asset, but even reviews only do so much. I'm also a title and few pics peruser of the asset store, in part because there are simply so many assets that if I combed deeply through each I'd never get any actual work done. Show different styles of character, clothing, poses from your animations, UI for customization. It's a bit different for models, especially human models, but one thing that struck me prior to purchasing any of your assets, @sfbaystudios, was the materials globes you had in your Dungeon+ pack, at least on your website. That alone made it a must-buy package. Could you do something similar for the human+barbarian package?

 

OK I'm telling it to you straight. The reason is:

the eyes are weird.