4 Types of Steam Short Descriptions

How to describe your game in 300 characters?

How would you describe your game in 300 characters?

I’m not the one asking. My close friend, Steam, wants to know.

The short description of your Steam page is the first thing a person who visits your Steam page will read. In 300 characters, you need to communicate what your game is all about and interest the reader. This can be challenging because, first, 300 characters is short, and second, the visitor probably won’t even read it all; they will just skim it. It’s hard to get it right.

I have been busy working on my Steam page recently. And now that I’m done with the key art, it’s time to write a short description. I started with researching how other developers are doing and noticed 4 trends. I’m here to share them. Let’s go!

4 Types of Steam Short Descriptions

300 characters might not be that long, but it can be utilized in many different ways. Let's look at the 4 types that I think are the most common.

1. Technical

By far the most common type of Steam description is the ones that explain what the player will be doing once the game starts. They either describe the actions players will be performing or they describe the game itself, mentioning the genre, the hook, and other important key words.

They usually start with an action verb, such as “Embark on a open-world survival journey”, “Survive in the forest”, “Race cars on realistic tracks”, etc. Or they start with the name of the game and then explain what it is. “Game A is narrative-driven RPG…”, “Game B is a thrilling action-adventure…”, “Game C is a peaceful farming adventure….”.

It's often recommended that indies use these kind of technical and descriptive format. I understand why; visitors should be able understand what the game is immediately. What I don't like, though, is that some of them can sound too technical. So we have to find a balance: Descriptive but not too technical.

2. Hook

Instead of describing the game in general, some developers just write what makes their game unique. Examples:

• Undertale: “The RPG game where you don't have to destroy anyone.”

• Alaloth: Champions of The Four Kingdoms: “Baldur's Gate and Dark Souls had a baby! …”

• The Last Hour of an Epic TO THE MOON RPG: “You like RPGs, but don't have time to play it all. . . We like RPGs, but don't have time to make it all. . . So here's (only) the LAST HOUR of an EPIC RPG!!”

They are creative and to-the-point. They simply let the visitor know the most interesting thing about the game, and I dig it!

3. Story Synopsis

Some developers, especially those making story-driven games, prefer to write the synopsis of the story as the description. Here are some examples:

• Oxenfree 2: “Five years after the events of OXENFREE, Riley returns to her hometown of Camena to investigate mysterious radio signals. What she finds is more than she bargained for.”

• Daikatana: “In 2455 AD, Kage Mishima used the magical powers of Daikatana, the most powerful sword ever forged, to alter time and establish himself as supreme dictator. You are Hiro Miyamoto, one of the few people on earth who knows what happened.”

• No Case Should Remain Unsolved: “Twelve years after Senior Inspector Jeon Gyeong's retirement, she is visited by a young police officer: a woman who pleads with her to reexamine Seowon's case. But with each uncovered memory, only one thing becomes clear: everyone in Seowon's vicinity was lying.”

This works well for well-known IP’s, but it can be a risk for us indies. Putting the synopsis in the About This Game section is probably a better idea.

4. One-liner

And finally, by far the coolest type, the ones that don’t describe the game, the hook or the story, but just write a very short one-liner that reflects the theme of the game. Examples:

• Slay the Princess: “You're here to slay the princess. Don't believe her lies.”

• Pentiment (previous description): “Art imitates death.”

• Fallout: New Vegas: “Welcome to Vegas. New Vegas. Enjoy your stay!”

This one is the hardest to pull-off, but it can be very powerful when done right. I don't know what the others think of this type, but personally, I feel hooked whenever I see this kind of description.

Conclusion

Developers often combine these types instead of using just one. And of course, there are more variations. Tell me the ones that I missed in the comments, and let me know which type is your favorite.

BONUS TIP: When writing a short description, write one for each type. Then you can compare and see which one is better and how you can combine them.

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To-Do List

Watch: The Making of Pentiment - Noclip Documentary

Learn: How to Balance Gameplay and Story in a Trailer

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Me

Reading: Still going through my second read of Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson.

Watching: Nothing except for occasional Saiki K.

Playing: Baldur’s Gate 3. Very close to finally finishing it.

Listening:

Thanks for reading!

And that’s it from today’s issue of GameDev’s Journey. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful. If you did, please like and leave a comment. Reach out for suggestions, objections, questions, or just say hi.

But regardless, thank you so much for reading, and have a great game dev journey!

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