You Don

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.
www.andrewpmayer.com
2
Who am I?

• Andrew Mayer
• Ive 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

You dont know what you really want.
www.andrewpmayer.com
3
Who am I?

• Im 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 wont teach you everything you need
  
• And it wont teach you why people like them.

You dont know what you really want.
www.andrewpmayer.com
4
Its all good.

• There are developers who dont know this stuff
• Companies spend millions of dollars trying to
  make you happy
• And it works!
• The industry is getting bigger every year.

You dont know what you really want.
www.andrewpmayer.com
5
What is a Player?

• Someone who plays games (of course).
• When they turn the game off, its over.
• They dont think about games outside of the game.

6
What is a Gamer?

• Someone who loves to play games.
• People who talk about the games they play.
• People who think about games when theyre not
  playing them.

7
Players and Gamers are a lot alike

• - Both have the same instincts when theyre
  playing.
• Theyre passionate about the game
• And theyre trying to figure out how to win.
• When they love it, they play it a lot.

8
Players and Gamers are different

• 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.

You dont know what you really want.
www.andrewpmayer.com
9
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.

You dont know what you really want.
www.andrewpmayer.com
10
What Gamers Say

• This is cool.
• Cool is how you feel when things are going
  smoothly.
• You know what youre doing and get how it works.
• The game isnt getting in the way of you playing
  it.

You dont know what you really want.
www.andrewpmayer.com
11
What Gamers Say

• This Sucks"
• Your expectations arent meeting reality.
• Pure WTF moments.
• Malfunction! Malfunction!

You dont know what you really want.
www.andrewpmayer.com
12
What Gamers Say

• This is Awesome
• All of your game skills are working together.
• Loving the big, flashy stuff.
• Digging the great Story.

You dont know what you really want.
www.andrewpmayer.com
13
Gamers and Players all want the same good stuff.

• Exciting Gameplay
• Dynamic Characters
• Compelling Stories
• Gorgeous Environments
• Rock Solid Controls
• Doing this stuff well isnt expensive, just hard
  work.

You dont know what you really want.
www.andrewpmayer.com
14
Gamers and Players all want the same good stuff.

You dont know what you really want.
www.andrewpmayer.com
15
And then they want it all over again

• We likes what we likes
• Sequels
• Remakes
• Me-too games.
• Genre Busters that dont really bust anything.

You dont know what you really want.
www.andrewpmayer.com
16
What about the cool NEW stuff?

• Big new ideas mean big risks
• Most games around big new ideas die before
  theyre ever released
• - Its hard to explain something new to the
  audience
• Its hard to explain something new to the guys
  with the money
• New doesnt always equal good

You dont know what you really want.
www.andrewpmayer.com
17
Innovation isnt 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.

You dont know what you really want.
www.andrewpmayer.com
18
Whatever, just make me great games!
Okay sure, but there are a few issues we have to
talk about first.
You dont know what you really want.
www.andrewpmayer.com
19
Gamers get to like what they like just because
they like it.

• They only really have to think about whats in
  front of them.
• A Gamer is only worrying about game mechanic
  thats getting in their way.
• You only need to fix something thats busted.
• Seeing the gears breaks the magic
• For most people

You dont know what you really want.
www.andrewpmayer.com
20
Someone hates your favorite game

• In fact, the more you love it, the more they
  hate it.
• Its 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.

You dont know what you really want.
www.andrewpmayer.com
21
Developers are their own hardcore fans

• 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.

You dont know what you really want.
www.andrewpmayer.com
22
Figuring it out

• How do Developers and Publishers learn what you
  want?
• Focus Testing Watch people play the game.
• User Metrics Theyre tracking your every move!
• Experience Make a lot of games and youll learn
  something.

You dont know what you really want.
www.andrewpmayer.com
23
The Big Secrets
What do developers, publishers, and marketers
know about Gamers that Gamers dont know about
themselves?
24
Listen to your audience.

• You have to filter what people say into useful
  information.
• Smart developers always listen to users.
• Even if youre ignore someone you should listen
  first.
• Data often gets more interesting in large clumps.

You dont know what you really want.
www.andrewpmayer.com
25
Frustration is Good

• Game Design is the art of enjoyable frustration.
• If you always got what you wanted when you
  wanted it, it wouldnt be a game.
• Frustration equals fun, when its balanced right
• Read Raph Kosters A Theory of Fun.
• Its a great book on this subject.

26
You didnt think of that, they did

• 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.

27
The Reverse Yoda Hate turns to love

• 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 wont love it.
  
• If its too easy you wont care.
• Once youve mastered something, it feels good to
  go back and kick ass.

28
Translating from Gamer into Developer
Gamers dont always say what they
mean. Developers have to figure it out.
29
Translating from Gamer 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.
• Theres already a no-limit sandbox called Life.
• Theres another one called Second Life.

30
Translating from Gamer into Developer

• This is too hard!
• Is it too difficult or just really challenging?
• Remember the Reverse Yoda you must.
• Is it so hard that you wont buy it?
• Its only a lose when you actually stop playing.

31
Translating from Gamer into Developer

• 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 theyre trying to
  make.
• Changing little things often have BIG
  consequences.
• If a developer isnt doing something obvious
  theres almost always a reason.
• The question is, is it a good reason?

32
Developers want to make Gamers happy
If we arent making games for the people who love
them, then why make games at all?
33
Developers want to make Gamers happy

• Get the basics right
• Controls
• Interface
• AI
• No nasty bugs

34
Developers want to make Gamers happy

• Theyre 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.

35
Developers want to make Gamers happy

• 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 dont always want to face the
  truth.

36
So what do I do with all this secret knowledge?
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.

37
Learn to smell the BS

• Where theres smoke theres 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.

38
Play Wider

• Its okay to only love part of a game.
• Its worthwhile to try out something for one
  good idea, especially if you can rent it.
• You dont need to like something in order to
  understand why its value to others.
• Sometimes youll discover something awesome
  inside of a spectacular failure.

39
Find Good Stuff Faster-er

• Little details tell you when its going to be
  good.
• Its hard to explain what the game is, but they
  keep trying.
• You start seeing cool little features theyve
  been hyping, and they look good.
• Youre hearing a lot about what the player does
  in the game.

40
THANK YOU for being Gamers!
Nobody would get to play games if it wasnt for
the people who loved them the most.