1. Optimizing Screenshots
Cindy Sun, producer @ Kiyat Games

2. What is Personality? And Why is it Important?
• “Personality” is a quality of characters to make them feel more
real. It is to show the players that characters, like real people,
are not perfect.
• Usually characters with personality are not always beautiful
looking or absolutely pretty. Sometimes they are ugly, because,
like real people, they have a “back story”.
• Characters with personality are designed in such a way that their
pose, expression, and even what they are wearing shows a part of
who they are. It is very easy to tell what type of person they are if
they come to life.

3. What is Personality? And Why is it Important?
• The US market loves to see characters with personality. Players
don’t want to just play the game with any normal characters.
They want their characters to have “life”.
• The US general public has a culture of thinking that everyone is
unique in their own way. Thus, when they see characters in
movies, games, or stories, they want to know that, like real
people, the characters are unique as well.
• Thus, the US market does not like neutral looking characters that
are expressionless and could be “anybody”.

4. Overlap Screenshots with Characters that
have Personality
• In the top 100 Free Games and top 100 Strategy games, many
games have screenshots that show the character art overlapping
the main image itself.
• This character usually is showing an interesting emotion (have
personality).
• This character is usually also overlaying text.

5. Overlap Screenshots with Characters that
have Personality, Examples
Kingdom Rush Frontier
(Looks grumpy)
Kingdom Rush
(Looks like he’s laughing at
an inside joke)

6. Separate Example of Characters with
Personality
Kingdom Rush Frontiers
(Mirage looks very sneaky and conniving.
Alric looks ready to fight.
Cronan looks really tough and kind of silly.)

7. Overlap Screenshots with Characters that
have Personality, Examples
Clash of Lords 2
(Looks cocky and arrogant)
Battle Camp
(Not very “pretty”
character, but you
can tell he looks
angry and will beat
you up.)

8. Overlap Screenshots with Characters that
have Personality, Examples
Despicable Me 2
(This is not a 2D game
but the personality is
really obvious in this
guy’s expression) Castle Clash
(This guy just looks
like he’s been
through a lot.)

9. Overlap Screenshots with Characters that
have Personality, Examples
Clash of Clans
(Look at his saliva!)
Hay Day
(Animals look so
dopey, clueless, and
entertaining)

10. Put all Heroes in One Screenshot, to Show
Variety, Examples
• In the top 100 Free Games and top 100 Strategy games, many
games show all the heroes crowded together on one screenshot,
even though the heroes are really never together inside the game.
• This gives players a good indication of the type of characters in
the game and the variety of troops in the game.
• This could also apply to putting all the interesting items together
in one screenshot as well.

11. Put all Heroes in One Screenshot, to Show
Variety
Angry Birds Epic
(Example of all
Heroes together)
Monster Legends
(Example of all
Monsters together)

12. Put all Heroes in One Screenshot, to Show
Variety
Knights & Dragons – Dark
Kingdom
(Example of all Heroes together)
Clash of Lords 2
(Example of all Monsters
together, but we could adapt it
into Items instead.)

13. Put all Heroes in One Screenshot, to Show
Variety
Battle Camp
(Shows all monsters
together)
The 7D Mine Train
(Showing all major characters
together.)

14. Put all Heroes in One Screenshot, to Show
Variety
Castle Clash
(Shows all heroes
together)

15. Show Evolution of
Troops/Characters/Monsters
• In the top 100 Free Games and top 100 Strategy games, many
games show the evolutionary steps of monsters and troops as they
grow older and more powerful.
• This gives players a good idea of game progression, and what to
aim for.
• This is something that we would need additional illustration work
in.

16. Show Evolution of
Troops/Characters/Monsters, Examples
Battle Camp
(Even without
playing the
game, the player
already has a
goal they want
to reach.)
Monster
Legends Mobile
(Shows evolution
of monsters, but
in Tiny
Conqueror’s
case, we can
even show
evolution of
items.)

17. Show a Portion of the Map, but not all
• In the top 100 Free Games and top 100 Strategy games, many
games show select portions of the world map. They put the “Fog
of War” around the edges of the map to make it feel like this is
only a section of the game players are looking at. This could also
be part of the original game itself.
• This gives players the idea that there is a lot more to explore than
what the screenshots show.
• Another way that developers show this is through small
pictures/previews of the different maps in one single screenshot.

18. Show a Portion of the Map, but not all,
Examples
Boom Beach
(Fog of War type map)
Angry Birds Epic
(Fog of War type map)

19. Show a Portion of the Map, but not all,
Examples
The 7D Mine Train
(Shows multiple maps or
stages in one screenshot)
Pyramid Solitaire Saga
(Shows multiple maps
or stages in one
screenshot)

20. Make Colorful Screenshots in General
• In the top 100 Free Games and top 100 Strategy games, all
screenshots are colorful and vivid when it comes to more
elaborate games such as Tiny Conquerors.
• We must make full use of the resources and make the screenshot
as vibrant as possible to make it stand out more.

21. Make Colorful Screenshots in General,
Example
Knights & Dragons – Dark Kingdom
(Use of different “type” heroes with
different colors)

22. Make Colorful Screenshots in General,
Example
Hay Day
(Use of different buildings to make the
color pop, also, it is not overly busy)

23. Make Colorful Screenshots in General,
Example
Castle Clash
(Use of the red sash at the bottom to
contrast with the green of the land)
Clash of Clans
(Use of the red ribbon and fire from the dragon to
contrast with the green of the land)

24. Make Colorful Screenshots in General,
Example
Empire: Four Kingdoms
(Very cool use of the red ribbon at the top to unify all
screenshot and add vibrancy to the amount of green in the
screenshots.)