Recognizing indiegames without playing

[Lyx]

Yay, i have found a clear indicator if what you're looking at is a true indiegame, or not - the game VIDEO.

If its an indiegame, there either wont be a video, or the video shows a recorded game session, or there is an actual trailer which however focusses on gameplay aspects

If its NOT an indiegame or a game by morons trying to imitate the industry, then there will definatelly be a trailer, which gives you NO impression of actual gameplay at all - instead it will be hollywood-style unrelated cutscenes with cheesy punchlines and slogans. The kind of phrases which you could as well place on any other game of similiar genre, without anyone noticing the "mistake" - or in other words: you're not watching a gamevideo, but instead an unrelated advert.

[fog]

Very true but in a way I think things might be changing.  As graphics have got better in this gen, I've noticed a lot more in game footage being used in adverts than was previously the case.  In the past pre-rendered footage was always used as it looked infinitely better than anything the game engine could produce.  Now the gap is marginal.

Also Ninty's current technique of mixing Wii game footage with people playing works really well. (Who would ever have thought that showing people enjoying themselves would sell games?  )

Having said that I wish I could remember what the advert was for I saw the other day.  It had something like "Represents actual in game footage" at the bottom and was obviously pre-renedered but didn't look noticeably better than the game itself.  Pointless and no doubt a decision made by some clueless marketing team who still think every game must have a FMV promo video.

[Lyx]

Well, i didn't just mean cutscenes with "no impression of gameplay". I meant it more literarily: you get no valid impression about the gameplay. This is also the case, when lots of short ingame scenes are shown inf quick sucession with the scenes having no relation to each other gameplay-wise. What it comes down to is this: with industry-style promotion, the video is not about the gameplay but instead about something else.

[fog]

Yeah I agree.  The problem though is how you get the gameplay across.  Watching a 10 minute video of in game footage on Gametrailers doesn't always convey the gameplay well, so what chance a 15 second advert?

Given that TV adverts are the best mass market advertising medium currently available and given the time avaiable I'm not sure what else could be done.