Transcript
Page 1: You Dont Know What You Really Want What Gamers Dont Know About What They Like About Video Games  [You dont know what you really want.]

You Don’t Know What You Really Want

What Gamers Don’t KnowAbout What They Like

About Video Games

www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

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Who am I?Andrew Mayer

I’ve been designing all kinds of Games for 16 Years

- Original Producer/Designer on Petz

- Creative Director at Cartoon Network Online

- Original designer for HeroCard game

- Casual Games

www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

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I’m a HUGE GAME GEEK- I Learned a lot about designing games by playing them.

- Starting with my Atari 800

- I learned more by making them.

-Playing games won’t teach you everything you need

- And it won’t teach you why people like them.

Who am I?

www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

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It’s all good.

- There are developers who don’t know this stuff

- Companies spend millions of dollars trying to make you happy

- And it works!-The industry is getting bigger every year.

www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

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www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

What is a Player?

- Someone who plays games (of course).

- When they turn the game off, it’s over.

- They don’t think about games outside of the game.

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www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

What is a Gamer?

- Someone who loves to play games.

- People who talk about the games they play.

- People who think about games when they’re not playing them.

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www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

Players and Gamers are a lot alike

- Both have the same instincts when they’re playing.

- They’re passionate about the game- And they’re trying to figure out how to win.

- When they love it, they play it a lot.

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- Players like games, just not Gamer games.

- They care more about THE SIMS, then SPORE.

- The #1 PC GAME RIGHT NOW isNancy Drew: The Phantom Of Venice.

- The industry always wants to make $$$ by selling people as much stuff as they can.

Players and Gamers are different

www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

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What Gamers Say

- You can learn a lot from a Gamer

- Most Gamers describe the things they like in pretty similar ways.

- Except for you of course. - You are special and different.

www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

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“This is cool.”

- Cool is how you feel when things are going smoothly.

- You know what you’re doing and get how it works.

- The game isn’t getting in the way of you playing it.

What Gamers Say

www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

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“This Sucks"

- Your expectations aren’t meeting reality.

- Pure WTF moments.

- Malfunction! Malfunction!

What Gamers Say

www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

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“This is Awesome”

- All of your game skills are working together.

- Loving the big, flashy stuff.

- Digging the great Story.

What Gamers Say

www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

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- Exciting Gameplay

- Dynamic Characters

- Compelling Stories

- Gorgeous Environments

- Rock Solid Controls

Doing this stuff well isn’t expensive, just hard work.

Gamers and Players allwant the same good stuff.

www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

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Gamers and Players allwant the same good stuff.

www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

=

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We likes what we likes

- Sequels

- Remakes

- Me-too games.

- “Genre Busters” that don’t really bust anything.

And then they want it all over again

www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

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What about the cool NEW stuff?

Big new ideas mean big risks

- Most games around big new ideas die before they’re ever released

- It’s hard to explain something new to the audience

- It’s hard to explain something new to the guys with the money

- New doesn’t always equal good

www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

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Innovation isn’t dead

- It is, however, more about evolution, not revolution.

- Imagine re-inventing the camera every time you made a movie.

- There are still more GTAs in our future, just not as many as fast.

www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

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“Whatever, just make me great games!”

Okay… sure, but there are a few issues we have to talk about first.

www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

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- They only really have to think about what’s in front of them.

- A Gamer is only worrying about game mechanic that’s getting in their way.

- You only need to “fix” something that’s busted.

- Seeing the gears breaks the magic- For most people…

Gamers get to like what they like “just because” they like it.

www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

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- In fact, the more you love it, the more they hate it.

- It’s way easier to make a game for 20 people then 2 million.

- But your risk of failure is much higher.

-Too many hardcore fans can kill a game.

Someone hates your favorite game

www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

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- We lose perspective on our own games early and often.

- We can only make things that we can break down into bite-sized chunks.

- The bites are getting bigger…

- We have to do the work and take the big risks- But we lose perspective.

- Cry for us. We are teh sad.

Developers are their own hardcore fans

www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

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Figuring it out

How do Developers and Publishers learn what you want?

- Focus Testing: Watch people play the game.

- User Metrics: They’re tracking your every move!

- Experience: Make a lot of games and you’ll learn something.

www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

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www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

The Big Secrets

What do developers, publishers, and marketers

know about Gamers that Gamers don’t know about themselves?

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Listen to your audience.

- You have to filter what people say into useful information.

- Smart developers always listen to users. - Even if you’re ignore someone you should listen first.

- Data often gets more interesting in large clumps.

www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

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- Game Design is the art of enjoyable frustration.

- If you always got what you wanted when you wanted it, it wouldn’t be a game.

- Frustration equals fun, when it’s balanced right

- Read Raph Koster’s A Theory of Fun. - It’s a great book on this subject.

Frustration is Good

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- Good games trick you into doing what you should be doing.

- The make you think it was your idea.

- Having an “a-ha” moment is always a win.

- Everything (graphics, gameplay, story) should be working toward that moment of user “discovery”.

- You can break the game in new ways after you already get it.

You didn’t think of that, they did

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- No matter how much the journey sucks, it always feels good at the top of the mountain.

- You must triumph (eventually).- If you never beat a challenge you won’t love it.

- If it’s too easy you won’t care.

- Once you’ve mastered something, it feels good to go back and kick ass.

The Reverse Yoda: Hate turns to love

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www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

Translating from Gamer into Developer

Gamers don’t always say what they mean.

Developers have to figure it out.

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Translating fromGamer into Developer

“Can I please have some more?”

- Less is more. Games are made out of rules and limitations.

- Too much stuff is actually confusing.

- There’s already a no-limit sandbox called Life.-There’s another one called Second Life.

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“This is too hard!”

- Is it too difficult or just really challenging?

- Remember the Reverse Yoda you must.

- Is it so hard that you won’t buy it?

- It’s only a lose when you actually stop playing.

Translating fromGamer into Developer

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“You should make it like this!”

- Actions have consequences.

-It just may not be possible in the time & budget.

- It may not be the game that they’re trying to make.

- Changing little things often have BIG consequences.

- If a developer isn’t doing something “obvious” there’s almost always a reason.

- The question is, is it a good reason?

Translating fromGamer into Developer

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www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

If we aren’t making games for the people who love them, then why make games at all?

Developers want to make Gamers happy

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Developers want to make Gamers happy

Get the basics right

- Controls

- Interface

- AI

- No nasty bugs

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They’re watching you.

- Beta testing.

- Reading opinions online.

- Gather their every move with every tool they have available.

- More metrics tools are being used every day.

Developers want to make Gamers happy

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Gamers are the most valuable to developers as Players

- Becoming a meta-critic actually makes you less useful.

- Hardcore players open the door to new ideas.- They can also hurt the games they love.

-Hardcore fans often don’t always want to face the truth.

Developers want to make Gamers happy

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www.andrewpmayer.com[You don’t know what you really want.]

Become a Smarter Gamer

- Find more of what you enjoy.

- Move the industry towards the kind of innovative games that everybody says they really want.

So what do I do with all this secret knowledge?

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Learn to smell the BS

Where there’s smoke there’s fear

- Bad marketing tries to sell you the sizzle instead of the steak.

- Is anybody talking about the gameplay?

- Beware strange details, long lists, or number counts.

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Play Wider

It’s okay to only love part of a game.

- It’s worthwhile to try out something for one good idea, especially if you can rent it.

- You don’t need to like something in order to understand why it’s value to others.

- Sometimes you’ll discover something awesome inside of a spectacular failure.

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Find Good Stuff Faster-er

Little details tell you when it’s going to be good.

- It’s hard to explain what the game is, but they keep trying.

- You start seeing cool little features they’ve been hyping, and they look good.

- You’re hearing a lot about what the player does in the game.

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THANK YOU for being Gamers!

Nobody would get to play games if it wasn’t for the people who loved them the

most.


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