A lot of you have probably seen this by now, but here’s the video I put together promoting Shantae for Smash Bros.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qALeeVhgiX4

I gave some advice on ShantaeClub at DeviantArt (well, a comment on one of their journals anyway), and I’d like to repeat that here and expand on it a little bit.

I think the most helpful thing we can do is creating promotional material for it, sort of like what I did with my video. A lot of hardcore fans zoomed over and voted immediately after last week’s Nintendo Direct, so the people we want to aim for are the ones who haven’t decided who to vote for or who only care passively about the whole event. Being enthusiastic about it is natural and can help, but it’s important not to be aggressive with this. Don’t tell people specifically not to vote for other characters by name, that just makes them resentful. Be positive, be professional if you can manage it, and be respectful. As for specifically WHAT should go in promotional material… I don’t have many immediate ideas on that. Showing off what’s great about her games or urging people to try them might be a good idea. (Don’t rely too heavily on *** appeal here–that’s more of a turn off than you think. The mechanics, layout, style, and spirit of her games are good selling points, and you can let her appearance speak for itself.)

Since writing this, I’ve been told that the ballot counts only the most recent vote sent from a specific IP address (and I believe computers sharing a wireless network each have their own IP address, but I could be wrong about that–it’s not something they ever taught us in my computer classes). This means three things at the end of the day. First, library computers will be constantly switching votes and will all go out for hard drinks of coolant when this is done. Second, if you insta-voted Shantae and you feel your reasoning was weak, you can go back and beef it up with something more convincing. Third, if someone else quickly voted for a gut-instinct character and later they learn about Shantae and think she’s a better fit, they can change their vote. Some people will not budge on their favorite character, but you never know who might get a new favorite midstream!

Put your excitement and your enthusiasm to work for you. When you get excited about what you’re doing, the excitement reflected in your final work will project onto your audience, and they’ll get excited too. If you’ve played some of the Shantae games, you probably understand what this feels like, and if you’ve ever played the original Banjo-Kazooie, you definitely know what it feels like. My voice and demeanor make me sound very calm most of the time, but I did still think about what I love about Shantae as I wrote up my list of reasons, and I tried to let that love show through as I talked about them. (This wasn’t necessarily my best job of this since I wanted that video live as soon as I could get it, but it still works out as a well-reasoned argument.)

Don’t be pushy or rude to people who want to vote for other characters, and don’t step on others’ toes. The knights of the order of the shovel might be rivals of ours in a sense, but they’re in the same boat as we are wanting an indie character in the game, and a lot of fans of that series like Shantae as well. They’re our friends. A lot of people have two, three, or four characters they very much want to see make the cut, and some of them might have friends who are willing to make an extra vote on their behalf (people who wouldn’t have voted on their own anyway). If you can respect others’ decisions, it makes you seem much more pleasant and like someone worth listening too, and that will give you greater success with those who will listen.

Whatever you do, have fun with it. It makes the project much easier in the end. 🙂

And hey, link any new promotional material here. I’d certainly love to see what people have to offer!