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The Art of Game Design – A Book of Lenses

The Art of Game Design – A Book of Lenses. Chapter 8-9. Mats Wouters. Chapter 8. The Game is Made for a Player. The Game is Made for a Player. Know your audience They themselves often don’t know what they want -> Listen Thoroughly. The Game is Made for a Player.

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The Art of Game Design – A Book of Lenses

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  1. The Art of Game Design – A Book of Lenses Chapter 8-9 Mats Wouters

  2. Chapter 8 The Game is Made for a Player

  3. The Game is Made for a Player • Knowyouraudience • Theythemselvesoftendon’tknowwhatthey want -> Listen Thoroughly

  4. The Game is Made for a Player • Project yourself • Put yourself in theirplace • Memories of being part of the target audience = one of the most valuabletools • Not a part of the audience? -> talk, observe, imagine

  5. The Game is Made for a Player • Demographics/ market segments • Age • Gender

  6. The Game is Made for a Player • 0–3: Infant/Toddler • 4–6: Preschooler • 7–9: Kids • 10–13: Preteen or “Tween” • 13–18: Teen • 18–24: Young Adult • 25–35: TwentiesandThirties • 35–50: ThirtiesandForties • 50+: Fifties and Up

  7. The Game is Made for a Player • Games are mainlyplayedby boys -> dueto male-orientedaesthetics? • Same mechanics, female-orientedaesthetics -> failed • Boys and girls playdifferently

  8. The Game is Made for a Player • Five thingsfemalesliketosee in games: • Emotion • Real World • Nurturing • Dialog& Verbal Puzzles • Learning byExample Five thingsmalesliketosee in games: • Mastery • Competition • Destruction • Spatial Puzzles • Trial and

  9. Lens #16: The Lens of the Player • In general, what do they like? • What don’t they like? Why? • What do they expect to see in a game? • If I were in their place, what would I want to see in a game? • What would they like or dislike about my game in particular?

  10. The Game is Made for a Player • Demographic = player on the outside • Psychographic= player on the inside • Audiencesby lifestyle • Audiencesby Game Pleasures

  11. The Game is Made for a Player • 8 primary Game Pleasures: • Sensation • Fantasy • Narrative • Challenge • Fellowship • Discovery • Expression • Submission

  12. The Game is Made for a Player • 4 Player Types: • Achievers • Explorers • Socializers • Killers

  13. The Game is Made for a Player • Other Game Pleasures: • Anticipation • Delight in Another’sMisfortune • Gift Giving • Humor • Possibility • Pride in anAccomplishment • Purification • Surprise • Thrill • Triumph over Adversity • Wonder • …

  14. Lens #17: The Lens of Pleasure • What pleasures does your game give to players? Can these be improved? • What pleasures are missing from your experience? Why? Can they be added?

  15. Chapter 9 The Experience is in the Player’s Mind

  16. The Experience is in the Player’s Mind • Game designers createexperiences -> takes place in the human brain = very complex • 4 principlementalabilitiesrelatedtogaming: • Modeling • Focus • Imagination • Empathy

  17. The Experience is in the Player’s Mind • Modeling: • Mind deals withsimulatedreality, notrealityitself • Subconscious • Reality is too complex -> simple model • Games are simplemodels -> mind can relax -> funtoplay

  18. The Experience is in the Player’s Mind • Focus: • Mind can focus on onethingwhileignoringanother • Game designers strivefor flow = complete focus and engagement without regardforsurroundings • Needsfor flow: • Clear goals • No distractions • Direct feedback • Continuouslychallenging

  19. Lens #17: The Lens of Pleasure • Does my game have clear goals? If not, how can I fix that? • Are the goals of the player the same goals I intended? • Are there parts of the game that distract players to the point they forget their goal? If so, can these distractions be reduced, or tied into the game goals? • Does my game provide a steady stream of not-too-easy, not-too-hard challenges, taking into account the fact that the player’s skills may be gradually improving? • Are the player’s skills improving at the rate I had hoped? If not, how can I change that?

  20. The Experience is in the Player’s Mind • Empathy: • = the abilityto project ourselvesinto the palce of others • Can happen automatically • Mentalmodels • Projectingyourselfinto a game characterforproblemsolving

  21. The Experience is in the Player’s Mind • Imagination: • Knowingwhatto show the player, andwhattoleave up totheirimagination • Functions: • Communication • ProblemSolving

  22. Lens #19: The Lens of Needs • On which levels of Maslow’s hierarchy is my game operating? • How can I make my game fulfill more basic needs than it already is? • On the levels my game is currently operating, how can it fulfill those needs even better?

  23. The Experience is in the Player’s Mind • 4th level is most connectedto games: games are excellent systems forobjectivejudgment

  24. Lens #20: The Lens of Judgment • What does your game judge about the players? • How does it communicate this judgment? • Do players feel the judgment is fair? • Do they care about the judgment? • Does the judgment make them want to improve?

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