Fugue Shot
Game Marketing - Marketing Lead
Team Name:Â Rare Dialect
Role: Marketing Lead
Release Date: 2027
Platform: Steam
Duration:Â April 2026 – Present
Fugue Shot: Minigame Roguelike is a fast-paced roguelike game being developed by Rare Dialect. Players attempt to escape an endless dream by taking on a series of minigames inspired by classic arcade games.
As the Marketing Lead, my role is to help Fugue Shot reach its sales goals, secure funding, and build a strong online presence.
The challenge
Fugue Shot had been out for a little over a year before I joined the team and had accumulated only 800 wishlists. With no real marketing behind the game, the team was looking to start building an online presence on social media and improve the game’s visibility within Steam’s algorithm. The main challenges Fugue Shot faced before I joined were:
- No social media presence
- Low number of wishlists
- No funding
- No real marketing plan
My role
As the marketing lead on Fugue Shot, my role has the following responsibilities:
- Marketing Strategy: Develop and follow through on a marketing strategy for the game
- Steam: Optimize the Steam page, such as tags and assets, to favor the algorithm
- Creator and festival outreach: Curate and send emails to several publishers and content creators to expand the reach of the game and secure funding
- Community:Â Take the lead of the social media strategy as well as take care of community management
Marketing Campaigns
Steam
The Steam page optimization mainly came through changing the main assets on the page, such as the screenshots and the different descriptions.
I identified that a lot of people might have been lost when they entered the Fugue Shot page and couldn’t understand what the game was about. The new Steam page had the goal of quickly explaining that to new players.
About us section before optimization
About us section after optimization
Creator Outreach
One of the best ways to grow in the gaming space is through other communities that have been formed previously. Content creators are a very good resource for this.
I developed a list with over 450 creators and created an email campaign sending them a key to try out the game and hopefully get them to stream it.
Sample of an email sent to creators
Trailer Creation
Given the selection to various festivals, Fugue Shot needed a new trailer. I also identified that their previous trailer didn’t jump into gameplay action quickly enough; hence, a new trailer was made
Working on the trailer in the video editor
Social Media
The social media strategy is constantly evolving. The idea is to try posts until one concept gets traction, and then keep replicating that.
Another good social outpost for us was Reddit. With organic posts, we seem to gain traction and attract people interested in the game.
Example of a Reddit post
Results
3,700+ wishlists
#1 spot on Itch.io
Picked up by a YouTuber with over 180K Subs
Selected to PAX Rising showcase and several other festivals
What I learned
Fugue Shot has been a massive learning experience for me. It is my first Marketing Lead role in the games industry, and it has taught me that adapting is key. You might have a plan laid out, but in areas like social media, you never know what is going to resonate with your audience and what won’t.
You also learn more about the game as you continue marketing it. We knew that Fugue Shot could be visually appealing, but we later realized that its gameplay could be difficult to grasp without actually getting the game in front of people.
Avenues like Reddit and content creator outreach have been some of our most successful, so we have continued to focus our efforts on them.
Finally, Fugue Shot has taught me how to navigate a marketing strategy with virtually no budget. This has shifted our focus toward more organic strategies, where finding creative ways to stand out on social media and reach potential players becomes even more important.