Welcome to our latest feature where we have the privilege of delving into a conversation with Ingechu, a seasoned Senior Environmental Artist at Summerfall Studios and an accomplished Art Director at Lemonade Games. I'm excited to share this interview with you because it promises to offer not only a glimpse into the creative process of a successful artist but also invaluable insights and inspiration for all those passionate about the intersection of art and video game development. Before taking the deep dive, let's learn more about her!

MEET INGECHU!

Meet Ingechu, a dynamic force in the world of art direction and video game development with over a decade of experience, and a unique background in ceramics. Her diverse portfolio spans environmental art in various games, enchanting light sculptures for the Sydney Vivid Festival, and immersive virtual reality and projection artworks for The Art Gallery of NSW and Disney.

In her current roles as Senior Environmental Artist at Summerfall Studios and Art Director at Lemonade Games, Inge doesn't just create art – she also inspires by participating in national and international conferences and conventions. There, she passionately speaks on bridging the gap between fine art and video games, sharing her rich experiences and innovative processes. Her commitment to the community is evident not only in her art but also in her eagerness to support and uplift fellow creators.

Please consider showing your support for Ingechu by following her on social media!

SOCIALS

Also, don't forget to check out Inge's work on FCHQ: Cat Cafe ☕️

--- NOW LET'S DIVE INTO THE INTERVIEW ---

Congrats on making Epic Picks for Cat Cafe! Can you tell us about how you came up with this idea for this game?

Thanks! The idea for Cat Cafe was actually just born of me wanting to check out UEFN and see how it works. I really wanted to create a cute little cat cafe in a forest. The initial idea actually wasn't even a game at all, it was more of an art project to see how far I could push the Fortnite assets combined with my knowledge of Unreal Engine to create something beautiful and unique. After looking through the UEFN devices I realized I could pretty easily add a cat collecting mechanic and utilise a bunch of cool features to create a fun game :)

How long did it take you to produce this type of map?

It took about 3 months of full-time work to create my map, although a lot of this was exploring the platform, testing and optimisation. If I was to re-create it now with the knowledge I gained it would probably take about half the time. I also put a lot of effort into detailed set dressing so this was also where a lot of the time went.

What challenges did you face when creating Cat Cafe?

The biggest challenge with creating Cat Cafe was going over my memory usage and figuring out how to optimise it for release. This definitely could have been avoided if I had known from the beginning to space out my more detailed areas, as the memory calculation works off the grid. Some things that helped me get through this was lowering the resolution of imported texture maps, building HLODs on selected assets and using the same environmental assets (primarily plants) in each biome for instancing.

For others who are interested in applying to Epic Picks, What advice can you provide?

I put a lot of time and effort into my trailer, I used Unreal’s Sequencer to create cinematic shots as well as Fortnite’s playback feature to gather great footage. I also had friends playtest the game to make sure it was fun and worked well.

Before coming into Fortnite Creative, specifically UEFN, did you have a prior game development background?

Yes, I've been a 3D Artist, Art Director and Tech Artist for indie games for the past 10 years. I work primarily with Unreal Engine so my background in game development has definitely helped, especially with environmental art, tech art, and just generally being familiar with Unreal’s UI.

Marketing has always been a challenging aspect when being a FNC game developer, How do you begin planning your marketing strategy for a new Fortnite game?

Plan ahead and make yourself a marketing strategy before release. Establish which platforms you are releasing on, what would make good social media posts for your game, who is your target audience and what communities do they exist in. Also be smart about what content you gather and think about how you can reuse and repurpose shots for different video content. It also helps to capture video content throughout the process, as you can use it later for promos and “work in progress” videos.

What channels (social media, forums, websites, etc.) have you found most effective for promoting your games?

For exposure, Tiktok definitely gained the most traction for potential players. I also found Reddit and Discord communities to be great for community interaction.

Can you share a specific marketing technique that has yielded significant results for you?

I really enjoyed making “work in progress” and tutorial videos. If you take this approach, get used to recording your screen while building your map, as it’s better to have more content ready than not. Also, don’t be too precious with posting, the more you get out, the more chance you have to reach people. Most of the time it’s just you against the algorithm.

How important has your community been in promoting your games?

Without such a caring and involved community, this project wouldn’t have been as enjoyable to create or to play. This is not only from the co-operative elements in the game, but also in the support and feedback I have received while making it. Through community support I was also invited to speak at game development conferences sharing the journey of making Cat Cafe and UEFN development.

What role do they play in your marketing strategy?

People have been great at organically spreading the game, especially through a number of playthroughs and posts on Tiktok and Twitter that have definitely helped with outreach. It has been fantastic for Cat Cafe’s promotion to add my social handle to the game which helped me track where people were posting about it and expand my community.

How do you use visuals (screenshots, trailers, etc.) in your marketing efforts?

A main feature of Cat Cafe is its art and atmosphere, so I spent a long time focusing on gathering cinematic shots and beautiful content to share across multiple social media platforms to encourage people to play.

Can you share an example where this was particularly successful?

In the trailers and promo videos, the cinematic footage stands out a lot from the standard gameplay footage. It worked as a good teaser to get interest in the game, as it looked more interesting and inviting.

What tips can you provide to new creators just joining in community?

Be active in Discord channels and Reddit communities, post screenshots and ask for feedback and advice as well as giving feedback and advice to others. Be kind to people and build friendships :)

Have you collaborated with other creators for cross-promotion?

I didn’t collaborate with anyone within the Fortnite community for cross promotion, however I hired a Twitch streamer friend to play Cat Cafe on their stream.

How did you approach it and what were the outcomes?

This was great for extra outreach and online content. I have come across a few people in the UEFN/Fortnite community with large Tiktok followings who offer play-throughs or reviews on their accounts. If you have the budget or connections for this kind of marketing strategy I believe it can be incredibly beneficial, especially if you don’t have a large following on any social media accounts yourself.

How do you measure the success of your projects?

I consider this project a success just by releasing it and being proud of what I had created. After gaining some traction I have been measuring the success through the feedback I received and how my game affected people. The amount of beautiful DMs and social media comments from people about how much they love the game showed me my project was a success.

What metrics do you focus on?

I focus on the metrics from the Fortnite Creator Portal, mainly the amount of players and how long they stay in my map for. This can give a good indicator to whether people are enjoying the content and staying there to explore.

What is one common design mistake you believe new Fortnite creators should avoid?

A mistake I have seen a number of times is people making copies of ‘popular’ trends on Fortnite. The market is flooded with Tycoons and Box Fights. Some will make it through and be successful however it is much harder to stand out. Try to come up with something new and exciting to you rather than just following a trend.

How do you keep up with changes in FNC marketing trends?

If you focus on creating good quality content the trends shouldn’t matter too much, as long as you are posting so people can find you! Instead, you can use trends to promote your content - I checked in on TikTok trends occasionally and posted a few videos using them that got relatively good traction, even just adding a trending song to your videos can help get more views.

What could Epic do to make it easier for Fortnite Creators to market their work?

I think more chances to appear on Discovery would really help, perhaps more opportunities like Epic Picks to apply for. It would make a huge difference to suggest games you might like (e.g. like Netflix’s watch algorithms that say “if you like this, then you might like…”).

Do you find it hard to market your map, if it never appears on Discovery?

Yes, gaining players while not appearing on Discovery is incredibly difficult.

How did you overcome this obstacle?

Be prepared, this is when you do your big social media pushes, make a whole bunch of content at once and post as often as you can.

Lastly, could you share one key piece of advice for new Fortnite creators looking to effectively market their games?

While it’s important to get gameplay footage, also get cinematic videos to showcase your game.

Definitely apply for Epic Picks as soon as you release your game as it takes a while to get approved. Have your fly-through, play-through, trailer and thumbnail ready for submission as soon as possible.

Final Thoughts: Inge's Inspiring Path to Success in Game Development

Inge's journey with Cat Cafe is not only a story of technical achievement but also of community involvement and the power of creative marketing. Her advice to new creators underscores the value of originality, community interaction, and the smart use of visual content in marketing. I am sure that her shared experiences can serve as an inspiration and a guide for aspiring game developers, illustrating the potential for success when creativity meets dedication and strategic planning!

More to Come!

Keep an eye out for more interviews featuring experienced creators in our continuing Community Spotlight series. Let's grow and create together!

Stay Inspired!

Share Your Experience to Help Others! If you are interested in being interviewed, please connect with me in the FCHQ Discord by sending a DM to @hello.its.dragon!

https://discord.gg/fchq

Community Spotlight : Ingechu