Design Guidelines
While the quality of the game you submit is important, players and publishers will see your
game’s thumbnail first. As a developer, it is therefore important to make your game stand out
and look appealing to the user first. To do so, their eyes need to be pulled towards an
eyecatcher. This image, or thumbnail, will be your business card for your game. Meaning, it
needs to be as perfect as the quality of the game itself. This will greatly increase the chances of
high gameplay rates and, as a result, higher revenue.
To publish your game on GameDistribution, you don’t have to be a designer or hire someone
who is, as we want to be as open as possible for all developers. However, we do have minimum
requirements in order to successfully have good quality and overall look and feel towards our
visitors, users and publishers.
Minimum Requirements
Minimum of three different sizes of thumbnails. Different designs per size are appreciated.
The following sizes are mandatory;
512x512px
512x384px
200x120px (see below for details)
Optional sizes
Landscape promo sizes: 1280x550px and 1280x720px
The thumbnails must:
Reflect the game
portray the important aspects from the game (what type of game, goal of the
game, etc.).
be art from the game(play) or custom designs.
The eye catcher must be of sharp quality (it’s the focus, so it should not be blurry).
Make sure the logo is clearly legible.
Make sure to highlight the most important aspect of the design.
To help you guide what kind of elements you could think of while designing, here are a few tips
and tricks.
In General
Try not to clutter your design or add too many elements
Using a good contrast and a variation of colors.
Try to avoid grayscale coloring.
Be unique in your design, make it outstanding.
Showing movement/motion always works better than a static image (especially for
action/racing games).
Showing (different) emotions, rather than a regular “smiley” face.
Using recognizable logos(names)/characters as eyecatcher
Try avoiding adding (CTA) buttons and UI elements on the design, it could be difficult to
resize the thumbnails for publishers.
If you want to add your game title to your thumbnail, we would strongly advise only
putting it on the 1280s as on the 512s sizes, the space is limited.
Cropping the art is allowed (same art on all sizes), but keep in mind on how you crop
something.
Clear gameplay; Show what the game is about/goal(s) of the game and what users could
expect from it. Making sure the users knows what they are clicking on could increase the
click-through-rate (CTR) and decrease the bounce rate.
Add an indication/icon if it is an online game: When a game is available in multiplayer, it
could work to show the possibility in this image. Only include this if the game is real
multiplayer. For more information on this, please see article 9.2 of the developer
guidelines for more information.
200x120 thumbnail guideline and restrictions:
Due to the small size of this thumbnail:
No (game) logo
Do not use small details as this will be barely visible. Instead use focus points
that fits the size properly, defining the game and creating an unique design
that stands out. Keep in mind this will be used as a thumbnail for the game.
As a product and platform we need to make sure we are providing good quality to our users and
publishers. This means we also have guidelines following which we immediately decline games
if the art includes elements from the list below;
Immediate declines
Copyright art or IP infringement
Look-alikes are fine when clearly adjusted;
Squeezed or stretched images/elements that are out of proportions;
Unpurposely blurry or pixelated images/elements;
White borders/lines on the sides of the thumbnails, unless clearly part of the design;
Cropped off titles and characters;
Duplicated art of an existing game on GameDistribution;
Only showing the game logo or text;
Lots of empty unused space, unless unnoticeable;
Spelling mistakes;
It is too misleading or includes unnecessary clickbait elements.
To visually guide you, we have a few examples of approved designs and designs that were in
need of some adjustments before going live.
Approved
For example;
Visually showing/describing what kind of game it is (showing parts of the game(play))
Movement always works better compared to a static image
Logo is not mandatory, but could help with the visibility and explanation of the game
Please see the “General” section and “Tips and Optimizations” for more information
When submitted art is declined, our QA team provides details on how to improve and optimize
your design to create a good business card for your game.
Declined
For example;
Rounded borders
Stretched or squeezed images
Copyright art or IP infringement
Unpurposely blurry or pixelated images/elements
Too many UI elements, looking more like a screenshot rather than a “promotional” image
Please see the “immediate declines” sections for more information
Tips and Optimizations
Considering the perspective of the users, they will scan a website and click on a thumbnail they
are interested in. This means the art needs to be accurate enough for users to know what to
expect from that game.
Another consideration should be the uniqueness from your game and the art that comes with it.
If users see multiple of the same/similar images on a website, they will be more likely to skip it
or pick the one that’s the most interesting for them. However, there are some rules to go by that
always work for a specific type of game, listed below.
These were results from a thumbnail optimization project supported by a/b testing (fail and
succeed) and data reporting.
Action/Adventure/Racing games
Games that require different sorts of movement, therefore it could be interesting to portray this
as well in your thumbnail as it will help with the engagement.
Do’s
Movement
There might be different kinds of speed in your game, like speed from vehicles, smoke
from vehicle engines or wheels, motions or a character in action. You can convey this in
your thumbnail/image.
Close-up action
Showing the main character or vehicle in action with a bit of detail (hierarchy, know the
eyecatcher of the design and the most important element of the game). Make sure not to
overdo this by adding too many details/elements, as this will make the image unclear.
Recognizable names/characters
When a game is based on a real popular brand, the engagement could improve by
including this in your design.
Don’ts
Using static images
Refrain from using main characters, vehicles or objects without any movement as this
would be less engaging
Not a visible focus of the game(play)
Make sure not to use dark images,too much of the same color (flat image) or small
characters.
Showing only the character
Close-up from the character (no visible action) could portray other sorts of games; make
sure to convey what type of game it is. For example, for a racing game, include cars in
the background and/or make the main character wear a racing helmet.
Girl Games
Dress-up/care taking games where the user is required to “fix” a certain problem. Therefore, it is
important to show the main subject/goal of the game in the design.
Do’s
Main character of the game
Recognizable character in the front with a matching background. There could be
something happening in the background. Keep in mind to have the most important
element highlighted.
Visible emotions
The basic emotion in these games are happiness or smiling. However, using a different
emotion, for example angry, could make it stand out more. Of course, you should bear in
mind the type of game and what you want the players to take away from the image.
Showing the eyecatcher within the thumbnail (show gameplay)
The eye catcher could vary from caring for a pet to giving someone a complete
makeover.
Don’ts
Only a character without elements or background
This will not say much about the game. It will not be outstanding or unique enough for
players to interact with.
Too much unused space
To further elaborate on the previous point, if users do not know what to expect from the
game, they are likely to bounce off or not even click on the game to begin with. If you
can only portray your game by placing a character, we would recommend having a fun
background to go with it. For a make-over game, you could add a make-up pallet or a
clothes rack in the background for example. Just keep in mind; Less is More.
Puzzle Games
Games that require logic and thinking from the user. There are many different types of puzzle
games. Therefore, it is necessary to show how to play the game in the thumbnail and what
users could expect what type of game it is.
Do’s
Gameplay
Show the goal of the game, what kind of puzzle game it is and how to play the game.
If it is too difficult to use the gameplay for the thumbnail, you can always get creative by
adding a grid or puzzle piece if it’s a jigsaw game for example.
Make sure to also signify if your game has a different kind of style in it. If you portray a
classic mahjong game, but it’s a “linking” game, the user will not expect this unless you
would portray this element in your design.
Movement
When movement is applicable, it will help the engagement as it stands out more than a
static image. Be sure to use it moderately unless agility or quick movements is part of
the game.
Pointer/finger
Showing how to “touch” the game with a pointer or an illustrated finger (which could be
from the game itself) could help to clarify the game type. Make sure to place it in a
position that makes sense, so it is not blocking any important element from the design.
Character
If you would really like to add in a character to make it unique, make sure not to block
too much of the design.
Don’ts
Too many details
Too many small elements such as images or icons will make the thumbnail look less
clear to players.
Please use these tips to create your thumbnails; this will make your game more appealing to
publishers and players, and will increase the chance for higher gameplay numbers and revenue.
For more information about our general game requirements, please see our developer
guidelines.