Expanding%20the%20Audience%20(Xfest%20Jun%202005)

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Expanding the Audience

• Jeff Pobst (presenting)
• Xbox Advanced Technology Group
• Mark Terrano (author)
• Xbox Advanced Technology Group

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At E3 2005, J Allard stood up and made a very
bold statement
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In the HD Era, We would reach ONE BILLION
CONSUMERS with our medium
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• That the marketing department was off their meds.
• Again

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• But that wasnt the case this time...
• I realized that there actually is a plan for the
  game industry to reach ONE BILLION consumers in
  the HD era.
• It was so DARING that nobody ever even
  anticipated it.
• It was so COSTLY that not even Sony could hope to
  attempt it.

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Bill is Buying Mexico!
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Expanding the Audience
Questions?
Jeff Pobst Mark Terrano Xbox Advanced Technology
Group
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Well, not really -

• So Bills probably not going to buy Mexico in
  order to grow the audience, but there are still a
  lot of things that we can do to at least get
  closer to that billion audience of the future.
• Thats why Im here

as far as I know, but anything could happen -
please dont fire me.
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• This used to say millions at one time too.

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Our Audience All Gamers
Casual
Mass Market
Hardcore
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The potential audience
Nearly Everyone
Anyone that enjoys digital entertainment
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Imagine a future when

• Games are just accepted like any other form of
  entertainment
• Everyone has high-speed, low-cost broadband
  access
• Movie stars and even moms quote game characters
  and stories
• Professional gamers are recognized as sports
  heroes, and game developers are revered
• Game development is heralded as a national
  resource - encouraged and protected by the
  government
• Video Game channels, tournaments, and events run
  24/7 and are widely followed

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So in a future like that, the mythical Billion
Gamers doesnt seem so outrageous at all
One small point. You didnt actually imagine the
future.
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A nation of hardcore gamers?
MMO Players

• Starcraft Players

Casual Players
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Gamers Everyone
Casual too
Casual
Hardcore
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Great Game Experience Many Players /
Fans Dedicated Web Pages Local Competitions Print
Media Coverage Organized Tournaments Professional
Gamers Television Media Coverage Corporate
Sponsorships / Endorsement Broad Popular
Acceptance Cultural Significance
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But that was something unique
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While a game experience seems really far from a
burger to you

• It only costs a couple of dollars
• There are no technical challenges at all
• If you like it, it is easy to have another
• Everybody is already doing it.

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What is the experience?
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• When we plan out our game, usually we have a
  particular vision of the interactive experience

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Single Player
Single Player might be shown iconically, with the
player and the game being the only components to
the experience.
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Two Player Co-Op
Take out that turret!
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Two Player Head to Head
I so Owned j00!
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Two Player head to head
Rematch!
Good game!
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Social Bandwidth

• Just being in a shared experience
• canned game messages
• Open (user created) messages -)
• Text or text with avatar emotes
• Voice chat
• Video chat
• (Physical presence)

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Team Play of all kinds
We know you guys!
D00d, youre an elf?
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Spectator Play
Cool.
Cool.
Way Cool!
Ah, its ok. I could do that.
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• Guilds and Teams Websites
• Movies of Gameplay / Stunts
• Player Created Documentation
• Ringtones / Screensavers / Desktops
• Mods / Add-ons / Custom Assets
• Real-Life Events / Costumes
• Machinima
• Stories

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A Few Good G-men A machinima by Randall
Glass (segment used by permission) rglass_at_oz.net
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Create is the forgotten verb
Look critically at the tools you use now would
any of them enable users to make their own fun
with your existing game assets? You only have to
give up a few crayons. (start with that Brick Red
one, you never use it anyway)
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Create art content that lets users skin the Xbox
360 Dashboard or the Xbox Guide it is the
easiest and lowest cost way to cross over the
game boundary.
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Created a mix tape or CD
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Edited a video
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Modified a vehicle
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Created a videogame level
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Remixed a song
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Wrote fan fiction
Source Wired mag. Issue 13.07 - July 2005
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Consider the Whole Experience Empower your
players with Tools and Content
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Games are Social Experiences

• 60 of frequent gamers play with friends
• 33 play with siblings
• 25 play with spouses or parents

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Features to consider

• Handicapping
• Allow players of differing skill levels to play
  together
• Dynamic Level of Difficulty
• After they fail that jumping puzzle 5 times make
  it a little easier, ok?
• Selectable Content Maturity
• Let players easily change violence, gore,
  language and sex

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But if you are not the player, what can you do?
You can watch someone play
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Games for Spectators

• spec tator n.
• n 1 a close observer someone who looks at
  something (such as an exhibition of some kind)
  syn viewer, watcher, looker

viewer, watcher, looker
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Viewer, Watcher, Looker

• Observer
• Student
• Gambler
• Commentator
• Critic
• Judge
• Backseat Driver
• Cheering Fan

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Spectators are players too
Observer Student Gambler Commentator Critic Judge
Backseat Driver Cheering Fan
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• Spectators will play all of the social games that
  you enable for them

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Passengers Wanted

• Just like a driver and a passenger in a car
  players and spectators pay attention to different
  things, and have different needs.

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• Occasionally you come across a video game that is
  nearly as much fun to watch someone else play as
  it is to play it yourself.
• Why?

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Some games from my list

• This is just a sample, there are many more games
  that would make anyones most watchable list.
• if you spend a few minutes thinking about it or
  talking with friends youll have your own list.

• Burnout esp. Crash Mode
• Prince of Persia
• Crimson Skies
• Myst Series
• Eyetoy games
• Katamari Damacy
• Max Payne
• DOA Extreme Beach Volleyball
• DDR - Dance and Bemani games
• Lord of the Rings / Matrix / Final Fantasy
• Grim Fandango Psychonauts
• Counterstrike / Quake / FPS in spectator mode
• -unsorted list-

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I like to watch!

• So the titles seemed to fall pretty naturally
  into groups of primary activities
• Watching other people
• Solving Puzzles / making decisions in the game
  with group participation and input
• Comedic, dramatic, or engaging dialog
• Watching cinematic scenes from games
• Watching professional quality players
• Learning techniques by watching others
• Watching the game itself

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Narrowing the scope

• So the titles seemed to fall pretty naturally
  into groups by primary activities
• Watching other people flail around (purely
  social)
• Puzzles and decisions with group participation
  (social participation / directed group activity)
• Comedic, dramatic, or engaging dialog (TV/Movie)
• Watching cinematic scenes from games (movies)
• Watching pro game players (sports)
• Learning techniques by watching others (skill
  enhancement / personal improvement)
• Watching the game (TV or Movie)

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Active or Passive Spectators?

• Active
• Gives the player directions / ideas
• Decisions made on group input / consensus
• Interaction is with the game - player is a proxy

• Passive
• Watch the experience like a TV show
• Cheer the player
• Applaud skillful moves
• Watch remotely

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Pace is vital for Active Spectators

• Active Spectators Fast Pace
• Objectives are clear and I can shout them out.
• Game activity has natural pauses, repeats, or is
  a burst activity with discussion between.
• Active Spectators Slower Pace
• Group discussion between events
• Great payoff after decisions
• Failure states - quick or spectacular

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Surprise and Variety engage Passive Spectators

• High stimulus
• Motion Aesthetics is needed
• No Dead spots
• They kill the spectator experience

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All Spectators Like

• A variety of choices
• Interesting character movement / Fantastic
  effects
• Broad or interesting camera movements and
  detailed backgrounds
• Dialog that is either funny or well written and
  well voiced.

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• Of course, the current wisdom says that the
  killer app for spectators is video chat weve
  got that covered with a new peripheral

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Heres lookin at you, kid.
640x480 _at_ 30fps streaming 45deg angle
The interaction and spectator space now extends
beyond the controller and the physical room the
camera substantially increases the bandwidth of
the social channel
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2
1
4
3
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Think about chipping away at the whole experience

• I choose a block of marble and chop off whatever
  I don't need.

      - Auguste Rodin
What is the best version of your game you could
make that is a 2 minute experience?
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A great two minute experience?

• Mandates
• Very Simple controls
• Visually intuitive
• Clear goals / objectives
• Clear actions (verbs)
• Player status is easy to determine
• Minimal training if any
• Repeatable, Fun experience

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Party Games!
Screenshots from Shrek Super Party below and
Fusion Frenzy right

• Clear status
• Simple interactions and clear goals
• Comic failure states
• Clear game state
• Fast pace
• all elements are on screen
• Timer sets the experience also.

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Your party game

• Or some other short, fun experience flavored like
  your game
• Make something for the broad audience with assets
  you have already made
• Consider making an Xbox Live Arcade title, or
  special Downloadable content that extends your
  title with new modes of play
• The party game version might even lose your
  essential gameplay or unique selling proposition
  that is okay too!

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Dont lose the base, but

• Im not suggest you stop making hardcore games
  and switch to making casual content
• You should strive to make your game playable and
  fun for the widest possible audience
• You should be planning for a casual mini-game,
  demo, and downloadable content to target
  potential gamers outside your core market
• You should be thinking about tools and content to
  support the audience with the full experience
• You should be reusing your content in new ways to
  satisfy adjacent audiences

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Conclusions

• The platform and services for Xbox 360 have a
  great start on including the whole audience

• Photos Music player devices
• Media Center PC attachment
• Strong Parental Controls ratings
• Gamer Zones
• Saving Preferences

• Xbox Live Arcade for casual content
• Messaging video chat
• Player created content exchange
• Friends Context
• Wireless everything

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Conclusions

• Now we just need the games that can bring
  everyone forward into a new social space that is
  built around that compelling High Def gaming
  experience.

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Our new audience is bigger than gamers
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And to thrive we have to connect with nearly
everyone
Nearly Everyone
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by facilitating the experience that happens
beyond the game
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One Billion Users
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One Billion Users
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One Billion Users
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End.
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Questions? (yes, this time for real)
Jeff Pobst jeffpob_at_xbox.com Mark
Terrano markte_at_xbox.com
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