What makes a great demo?

A great demo is critical to raising money or finding a publishing partner but demos are rarely shared publicly.

Below are the demos we created to pitch Spellbreak in 2018.

A successful demo should cover three important topics for potential partners:

1. Quality

A demo must demonstrate that your team can deliver a polished experience. It doesn’t need to be bug-free, but it should run smoothly and reflect the quality bar you aim to hit for the full game. If bugs are unavoidable, consider presenting it as a guided demo where someone from your team controls the experience.

Questions the demo should answer about quality:

• Does this team know what it takes to make a high-quality game?

• Can this team deliver a high-quality experience?

• Do they have high standards for their work?

• Are they prioritizing the right things?

2. Innovation

The strongest demos highlight what makes your game unique. While a pitch deck can describe your game’s innovative features, letting partners experience those ideas in action is far more powerful.

Example: Spellbreak
In Spellbreak, our innovation was action spellcasting combat, where players could mix and match elemental spells for unique effects. To highlight this, we created a 5v5 team deathmatch demo instead of a battle royale mode. Battle royales often have downtime between fights, so we chose a faster-paced format to better showcase our core gameplay innovations.

Questions the demo should answer about innovation:

• How creative is this team?

• Do they have ideas that stand out in the market?

• Can they “find the fun” in their concept?

• Do they have a culture of iteration, testing, and feedback?

3. Execution

A demo is also a reflection of your team’s production discipline. Delivering a polished, innovative prototype within reasonable constraints shows potential partners that your team can manage risks, iterate effectively, and scale to deliver a full game.

Example: Spellbreak
We built a greybox demo in about three months after a year of iterating on combat mechanics. The prototype evolved significantly—starting as a melee-focused game and pivoting to ranged combat based on playtesting feedback.

For art, we created a visually striking diorama of the game world in just 10 weeks, following a major pivot in style. This demonstrated our team’s ability to adapt quickly while maintaining high production quality.

Questions the demo should answer about execution:

• Can this team meet deadlines?

• Are their production and development processes disciplined?

• How much effort have they put into this?

Final Thoughts

There’s no one-size-fits-all template for building a playable prototype. Each project has unique needs and strengths, and your job is to present them in the best light. By focusing on quality, innovation, and execution, and tailoring your approach to the audience, you can create a demo that builds confidence, reduces risk, and paves the way for a successful partnership.