Let’s Talk Merch

Let’s talk marketing for a second. 

“We’ve been thinking a lot about user experience in the game as well as game design itself, but what about promoting the game and even looking more into its characters? Jackson explained in our last blog what went into designing our Yankii and Yakuza enemies, and it’s important that our players know who they are and what their general energy is. Maybe they like the Yankii because they’re reckless and full of attitude, or maybe they like the Yakuza because they’re more sleek and cool looking. 

A good method of supporting the fandom and marketing the game and characters is by creating merch. So far we have some concepts as we’re dropping it more as leaks while the game is still in development. It keeps people on board, but still keeps the air of mystery - and who doesn’t love a bit of a cliff hanger?

Our audience would be inclined to use notebooks, bags, hats, hoodies, and other generic items - however, we’re designing merch in a way that suits the game’s overall aesthetic, whilst tying in to our key audience members and thinking about what they like and their style choices. When choosing bags, a drawstring bag made sense over a tote bag because wearing these like a backpack is suitable for a younger, outgoing audience. A hoodie is a staple item in anyone’s wardrobe, but keeping it in theme with Visceral Carnage means that we have a neon style that would suit a younger energetic audience. Alongside our overall inspiration, I enjoyed looking into current harajuku fashion and general streetwear trends, where we see a lot of slouchy oversized clothing with contrasting and bold patterns and colours - our colours will be on solid black and other dark backgrounds, really pushing our contrast. Here’s some particular bits and pieces we liked from streetwear you can find in many places, and a couple of leaks of our first variations of merch (featuring the Yankii!)” - Tahlia (Marketing Lead)

	Yankii Drawstring back mockup 1	Yankii Varied Notebooks mockup 1