Engaging with the game development community through blogging offers a powerful platform to share insights, showcase expertise, and connect with peers. Whether you’re an indie creator, a seasoned developer, or a student, understanding the guidelines for submitting content to a reputable industry site ensures your work reaches the right audience and maintains professional standards. This guide provides a comprehensive overview of how to craft and submit high-quality blogs that resonate with game industry professionals and adhere to platform policies.
General Submission Guidelines
The blog section of Game Developer serves as a hub for opinion pieces, technical tutorials, and design analyses. Featured entries are prominently displayed on the front page, promoted across social media channels, and included in newsletters, amplifying your voice within the community.
1. Scope of Content: Articles should focus on aspects of game creation, including art, sound, programming, design, production, community management, and business strategies. The platform welcomes contributions from all levels of experience, from AAA studios to indie developers and students, as long as the content pertains directly to the art and craft of making games.
2. Content Integrity: While sharing insights based on your own work is encouraged, avoid promoting products or services outright. Instead, cite relevant examples from your projects to illustrate concepts. Recommending or advertising your company’s offerings as solutions is against the platform’s standards.
3. Ownership and Permissions: The site does not claim ownership of user-submitted material. You are encouraged to repost content from your personal blog, devlogs, or community updates, provided you have full rights to the material. Do not submit content you did not create or lack permission to publish. Blogs must be reposted in full, with backlinks to your personal website or game storefronts, but promotional posts solely aimed at marketing products are discouraged.
4. Content Moderation: All submissions are reviewed to ensure they meet community standards. Inappropriate material, such as hate speech, pornography, or profanity in headlines, will be rejected. Our goal is not censorship but maintaining a professional environment for all readers.
5. Authorship: Only individual authors may hold blog profiles; company profiles are not permitted. Each post should be credited to its author under their professional name. Multiple contributors should be acknowledged within the article itself.
6. Post-Submission Editing: Submitted blogs are generally published as-is. Editors may make minor adjustments to headlines or summaries to improve clarity or platform compatibility.
7. Featured Selection Criteria: To be highlighted on the front page, blogs are chosen based on educational value, header image quality, post length, and headline effectiveness. Soliciting featured status through outreach is not accepted.
8. Restrictions: Tech vendors are excluded from submitting content. For such inquiries, contact Game Developer’s marketing team or review their marketing resources.
What Kind of Blogs Are We Looking For?
Our focus is on content that speaks directly to fellow developers—covering your experiences, lessons learned, and technical expertise. The ideal posts are thought-provoking, instructional, or inspiring, providing meaningful insights into the game development process. Think about what you wish you knew when starting out, or what knowledge you can share to benefit others.
Popular formats include postmortems, technical tutorials across disciplines, industry analysis, and in-depth design discussions. These contribute to the collective growth of the community and foster professional development.
Our editorial team regularly selects high-quality submissions for feature articles, promoting them widely. For example, insightful deep dives into art pipelines or analyses of successful game design strategies often resonate well with our audience.
Why Publish with Game Developer?
Sharing your work on this platform offers numerous advantages:
1. It allows you to communicate directly with other industry professionals, fostering honest and open dialogue. Our site emphasizes peer-to-peer interaction, enabling you to speak from experience and expertise.
2. Your articles can reach a broad audience interested in game creation, offering visibility for your projects and creative vision. This behind-the-scenes perspective appeals to both fellow developers and dedicated gamers.
3. Our team provides collaborative support, including feedback and editorial assistance, to help refine your content and ensure it meets platform standards. If you’re uncertain about your article’s quality, we’re here to guide you through the process.
4. We prioritize your needs as a creator, handling your material with care—from formatting to promotion—so you can focus on sharing your insights without concern over technicalities.
5. The platform celebrates your successes, whether it’s launching a new game, implementing a novel feature, or overcoming development challenges. Sharing these milestones can inspire others and build your professional reputation.
Questions? Comments?
As the primary contact for our community-contributed content, I am available for guidance at every stage—from brainstorming ideas to final edits. Feel free to reach out via email at [email protected]. We look forward to collaborating and helping you share your expertise with the game development community.
For additional inspiration, consider exploring resources on game development in Cedar Falls or reviewing examples of creating a compelling development portfolio. Gaining insights into the qualifications needed to excel as a game developer can also be beneficial, which you can learn about at what you need to be a game dev.