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What Is Your Player’s FQ…
Posted on March 27th, 2010 No commentsAt GDC in San Francisco, I saw a fair amount of “indie”/experimental games”…all trying to provide an interesting experience to potential players.
What struck me about many of these games is that they took place in some unrecognizable world or land…or abstract theme…and had some unidentifiable monsters or some other non-mainstream theme.
I could see the potential in some of these games, but then realized that they may not get much play…because they are not suitable for a player’s FQ…
What is FQ…FQ stands for Fantasy Quotient…Most people in this world have a low fantasy quotient…they do not care about high fantasy themes like Orcs, etc…this past year, the rise in social games has shown that most players have a very low Fantasy Quotient…many players do not care about orcs and elves, etc. They are drawn to more realistic themes like Restaurants, Aquariums, and Farms. Something aspirational they can relate to in their everyday life.
As you develop your game, I think it is a good idea to make sure that your gameplay is wrapped around a theme/story that resonates with a potential player’s Fantasy Quotient (FQ). Using hidden lands and magical fantasies may work, but having a more relate-able and attainable theme…a theme that resonates with a player’s FQ…will help your game be more accessible to a wider audience.
So…what game are your working on…and what is its Fantasy Quotient?
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Interesting Talks/Notes from GDC 2010…
Posted on March 17th, 2010 No commentsHey,
I made a list and took some notes on the more interesting sessions at GDC that may be relevant to smaller game developers looking to get players…here are some write-ups with more info on them…
Social Games in Japan:
http://www.slideshare.net/d3ntaku/jp-soc-games-v03 (these are the slides on the Japanese mobile social networks…the mafia game is called Kaitou Royale…and is reportedly making several million dollars each month)Sporadic Play:
http://www.raphkoster.com/2010/03/10/gdc10-sporadic-play/
http://kotaku.com/5493252/call-of-duty-for-the-rest-of-them (this explains a potential implementation of Sporadic play)Scaling Farmville:
http://www.raphkoster.com/2010/03/12/gdc10-scaling-social-games-robert-zubek/Designing for Parents + Kids:
http://www.slideshare.net/jesseschell/designing-for-kids-and-parents-playing-together-3388050Five Ways Games Can Make You Cry:
http://gamesnewsinfo.blogspot.com/2010/03/amiga-five-ways-games-can-make-you-cry.htmlInteresting Stats from Facebook Talk:
400 million users on FB, just getting started as there are 1.7 billion folks on the Internet
does not include mobileOver 3 billion photos uploaded every month on FB
FlashForward demo shows the power of social data to make a compelling experience
Incorporating real events into online play….
People are getting real-world flowers via online gameplay (Pet Society did this during Valentines)Sharing is a popular social activity
Indie Social Game Development Talk by Loud Crowd CEO:
Discussed their latest game, Music Pets
Talked about how they went from 0 users to about 60,000 daily usersFirst they came up with 5 solid ideas they would love to develop. Put up ads on Facebook to see which one attracted the most users. The one with the highest click-through was “Music Pets”
When people clicked on the ad, they were taken to the app. If they installed, they saw a page that said “Coming Soon”
They developed the game and released it…and kept iterating and improving it. It is now an entirely different game thatn it was 7 weeks ago…but players still here…because involves in helping to build the game
Players like choice…make sure you allow a lot of ways to customize things in the game…like lots of items in the store, etc.
Paperback Writer: The Emergence of Interactive Story …
Stories in games helps to create irrational loyaltyLessons Learned for Effective Stories In Games…
a) Super important to ease them into the experience
b) Remind player what they should be doing at all times
c) Keep the story light and fun
d) Provide plenty of instructions and hints
e) Show progress -
The Design Behind The First Person Game…Zeno Clash, IGF Finalist
Posted on August 11th, 2009 No commentsCarlos talks about developing Zeno Clash, IGF Finalist
You can download the podcast here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/zeno-clash-podcast.mp3Or listen to it here…
[wp_youtube]GW_Fh8jtOA0[/wp_youtube]
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The Design Behind A Ninja Rabbit Fighting Game, Part II
Posted on August 9th, 2009 1 commentThe Design Behind A Ninja Rabbit Fighting Game…from Wolfire Games, Part II
You can download the podcast here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/wolf-fire-2-podcast.mp3Or listen to it here…
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The Design Behind A Ninja Rabbit Fighting Game, Part I
Posted on August 7th, 2009 1 commentThe Design Behind A Ninja Rabbit Fighting Game…from Wolfire Games, Part I
You can download the podcast here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/wolf-fire-podcast.mp3Or listen to it here…
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The Design Behind The Maw, Xbox Live Game and IGF Finalist
Posted on August 5th, 2009 No commentsJay, from Twisted Pixel Games, talks about The Maw…Xbox Live game and IGF Finalist
You can download the podcast here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/the-maw-podcast.mp3Or listen to it here…
[wp_youtube]Aqy1y_31gW0[/wp_youtube]
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The Design Behind Snapshot, IGF Finalist
Posted on August 3rd, 2009 No commentsKyle talks about developing Snapshot, 2009 IGF Finalist
You can download the podcast here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/snapshot-podcast.mp3Or listen to it here…
[wp_youtube]EblXiO4jaDo[/wp_youtube]
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The Design Behind Ruben and Lullaby…
Posted on August 1st, 2009 No commentsThe Design Behind the IPhone Game, Ruben and Lullaby
You can download the podcast here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/ruben-and-lullaby-podcast.mp3Or listen to it here…
[wp_youtube]TgFlkbCbCg8[/wp_youtube]
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The Design Behind Retrograde, 2009 IGF Finalist
Posted on July 30th, 2009 No commentsMatt, from 24 Caret Games, talks about developing the game Retrograde
You can download the podcast here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/retrograde-podcast.mp3Or listen to it here…
[wp_youtube]oU9Okng-Eog[/wp_youtube]
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The Design Behind The IPhone Game…Radio Flare
Posted on July 28th, 2009 No commentsThe Design Behind the IPhone Game…Radio Flare
You can download the podcast here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/radio-flare-podcast.mp3Or listen to it here…
[wp_youtube]mdHryxTfssg[/wp_youtube]