IGD740 Indie Game Start-Up Module - Week 3 - Research
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Figure 1: Games with Appeal Illustration (Ethan Gilsdorf, 2016)
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Appealing to your Market
This week is taking the previous topics of marketing games, adapting them towards our creative skills and applying it to game idea that appeals to specific market segments. Those that are drawn to game development, use it as a channel to fill with creative expression which covers a foundational stepping stone. To aim for a successfully commercial level, it is best to consider the other end of game expectations. Instead of what we as developers want from games, what do our target audiences want from the games we make? This draws futher questions as to why some games sell, whilst the others go unseen? Why do games that look fluently polished and high visuals flop commercially not far from the release stage? This shall be answered through the weekly topic, which tasks us with what we look for when choosing a game to buy or play, as well as what keeps us engaged with our games over a long period.
1. What do you look for when choosing a game to buy or play?
I aim to look for the narrative and level design elements when purchasing a game. These particular genres (RPG, Action-Adventure and Horror) are what draw my personal interests as they embrace the use of these elements as a core focus. This type of focus is what aspires me to develop these type of games. The narrative has to be as realistic as possible, especially the characters as I find the capturing of emotion in-game, embraces a stronger and psychological relevation to life-like situations. The same goes for level design as the use of objects to solve puzzles and obstacles makes the enjoyment so simple and achieving. Another addition I try to look for in games but not a must, is the artstyle/graphics. The purpose in a game's look is to match the concept, whether it be low-poly full of crazy shapes or photo-modern realism with a city to roam around in which I class as a literal eye catching seller.
2. What keeps you engaged with your favourite games over a long period?
Like most people, I play games to escape reality from time to time but most of all, the emotional attachment from a virtual engagement. I have always been a solo gamer which has stuck with me to this day. I have experienced multiplayer, but only for fun between friends which taught me about how largely competitive the online gaming market is. It is always engaging to play a game that has a gripping story. This is a pattern I have found when losing yourself in a game as they keep you constantly hooked. Games like the Uncharted series (Naughty Dog, 2007) and The Last of Us (Naughty Dog, 2013) expresses the characters struggle in a variety of ways from combat, to dialogue that enables us to relate in terms of feelings. The same goes for length of playability. It is all well and good having a 50 hour length of gameplay, but it all depends on what you accomplish in that time. Games like Fallout 4 (Besthesda Networks, 2015) and Just Cause 2 (Avalanche Studios, 2010) are specifically designed to cover a wide landscape, filled with content to take up all the hours a player commits.
This is not something that keeps me engaged, as It can become very recursive with certain game elements that have similar missions. Such as to retrieve items over a long distance that have no value. The purpose should be more daring and explorable instead of traversing across a biome of a map that you've already discovered. A better way for engaging players would be to make the game linear-based as a consistent pattern of change. One of my All-tme favourites like Persona 5 (Atlus, 2017) uses linear which is broken up into segments to apply a part-time life simulator when you're not exploring dangerous palaces/dungeons. the 100 hours of play is balanced on straightforwad storytelling where you have to utilize the player interaction with NPCs, to increase your skills as a frequent basis as the game progresses. The engagement for me here is the controlled experience through a visually strong narrative.
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Lecture 3
This weeks course material elaborates further into how games reach towards their market appeal. Iain's lecture discusses about various design aspects in what inspires towards a game's success, through searching for distinctive game hooks, player engagement and anchoring to similar mechanics. I found these aspects very influential as there's such a broader background in how to reach a games potential market appeal. I wanted to fully comprehend how these aspects work as they will assist towards what to look for when it comes to building my business proposal, finalising what type of target audience I want my game to be developed for and how to consider the right choice of mixed genres, that draws the most playable attraction. I watched the next set of recommeded videos regarding the significance of game Hooks for sales (Brace Yourself Games, 2020). Another discussion from the lecture I found valuable was the Core Gameplay Loop. Below is an illustration of the lecture slide.
Figure 2: Core Gameplay Loop Lecture Slide (Iain Lobb, 2020)
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A Core Gameplay Loop is a primal system that a player will spend alot of recursive time doing whilst experiencing a game. This could be crafting, hunting, building and travelling. it is the moment-to-moment gameplay in what makes the microlayer of a title. The significance of CGL is something that should become familiar to a player instantly (Chris Bycer, 2020). This is usually the first 5-10 minutes of play that will urge the player to stick to that unoticable, yet addicitve loop. CGL strength capabilities tend to create sprints of gameplay that become repeatedly enjoyable. This is most common with competitive titles such as the Mortal Kombat series (NeverRealm Studios, 2019) with matches which are not lenghly, but last within a short period of time which is repeated for each term of play. Understanding how a CGL functions will benefit the level of engagement during gameplay and improve a game's overall feel.
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Game Hooks
Game Hooks are classed as key concepts that enable your game to be more noticable amongst others creations. For instance, Braid's (Number None, 2008) time bubbles to slow down motion when moving between projectiles and platforms. The tiniest of these mechanics are what sticks in people's experiences on playing memorable games. Game Hooks include two principes, one being Desirable and the other being Surprising. Say that you were going to open up a club which was hosted within an aquatic tank and a special handshake at the door would be the key to grant access. The desire in that would be exclusive individuals who have the neccessary knowledge that is not a normal occurence when entering a club, making it a rare and uniquely unforgettable experience. Hooks also have two types, Pre-Play and Post-Play. Pre-Play Hooks is when things occur before the game has been released.
This can comprise of a fancy trailer, stylish artwork or test-worthy versions of the game. These precious parts increases value and decreases risk for the game as it defines a title's success rate even before launch. This enables you to perform a statistics comparison to other games which could result in scrapping it, or backtracking the scope if it does not meet the target appeal. If successful, you can share the current data to potential publishers to demonstrate the level of audience liking and interest. Post-Hooks take place after the game's been played. These Hooks aim to leave impressive reminders that leaves an impact on your players to be something enjoyable. Post tends to be of less value compared to Pre-Hooks as you cannot measure its effects until the game has been released.
Hook functionality is as important as the viability of genres towards your selling market. Say that a Hook was placed in a less popular/competitive genre catagory. This would increase the awareness and successfulness as the minimal market will grow from your Hook fulfilment. Sometimes you can land a hooking hit through a game idea. This tends to be limited and may result in making zero revenue. A stronger approach would be to combine genres as it takes influences from largerly existing markets. This can be done by picking a favoured genre and looking for any flaws that could be improved through another genre. Below is an illustration of picking a favoured genre.
Figure 3: Favoured Genre Illustration (Ryan Clark, 2020)
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Ryan also mentions a very useful website that can estimate based on popularity whether not two genres have a strong mix. A prime example of this is Crypt of the NecroDancer (Brace Yourself Games, 2014), combining a daring Zelda-like dungeon but with a tetris-feel of audio with every move of the player. It meets both the surprising and desirable needs as exploration is always a must in games and the musical elements enhances a players obsveration which in return, sticks as a unique experience. Below is an illustration of Crypt of the NecroDancer.
Figure 4: Crypt of the NecroDancer, 2014. Brace Yourself Games. [Online] https://www.gog.com/game/crypt_of_the_necrodancer
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Game Design Outline
This week's activity is all about constructing a concise Game Design Outline Document for the Proof of Concept I aim to develop. The template provided will assist in noting down each section towards the document. Below is an illustration of my Game Design Outline.
Figure 5: Labyrinthian Game Design Outline (Kyle Cornwell, 2021)
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References
Uncharted, 2007. Naughty Dog. [Online] Available at: https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/uncharted/ [Last Accessed 03/11/2021]
The Last of Us, 2013. Naughty Dog. [Online] Availabla at: https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/games/the-last-of-us-part-ii/ [Last Accessed 03/11/2021]
Fallout 4, 2015. Besthesda Networks. [Online] Available at: https://fallout.bethesda.net/en/games/fallout-4 [Last Accessed 03/11/2021]
Just Cause 2, 2010. Avalance Studios. [Online] Available at: https://avalanchestudios.com/games/just-cause-2 [Last Accessed 03/11/2021]
Persona 5, 2017. Atlus. [Online] Available at: https://atlus.com/persona5/ [Last Accessed 03/11/2021]
Iain Lobb, 2020. Week 3: Lecture – Creating Games with Appeal. [Online] Available at: https://flex.falmouth.ac.uk/courses/924/pages/week-3-lecture-creating-games-with-appeal?module_item_id=57447 [Last Accessed 03/11/2021]
Brace Yourself Games, 2020. Clark Tank DEEP DIVE | How to Make Video Game Gooks: Part 1. [Last Viewed 03/11/2021] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOb-PdYwkwk
Chris Bycer, 2020. The Importance of a Well Defined Core Gameplay Loop. [Online] Available at: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/disciplines/the-importance-of-a-well-defined-core-gameplay-loop [Last Accessed 03/11/2021]
Mortal Kombat, 2019. NeverRealm Studios. [Online] Available at: https://www.netherrealm.com/games/ [Last Accessed 03/11/2021]
Braid, 2008. Number None. [Online] Available at: http://braid-game.com/ [Last Accessed 03/11/2021]
Crypt of the NecroDancer, 2014. Brace Yourself Games. [Online] Available at: https://www.gog.com/game/crypt_of_the_necrodancer [Last Accessed 03/11/2021]
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