Putting the Cart Before the Horse: Reformulating Business Objectives as Aesthetic Goals Jonathan Hamel Game Tuning Workshop - GDC 2004

Elective Overview Part I:Introduction – 10 minutes Part II:Brainstorming – 10 minutes Part III: Analysis – 10 minutes Part IV: Exercise – 20 minutes Part V:Presentation of Results – 10 min. Part VI:Wrap-up…

Part I: Introduction 10 minutes

Part I: Introduction About the elective Snippets from the elective description: The challenge of applying the MDA framework in a real business setting. Clients, publishers, marketers, & business requirements create "unreasonable demands that ruin an otherwise great game" “It's not a great game if it doesn't meet the business objectives of the people funding and selling it."

Part I: Introduction Primary Questions Can we define our role as designer in a way that reduces conflict with business objectives for our end product? Can business objectives be reformulated in a way that is useful to us as designers, and not disruptive? …So they can be organic to the design, not tacked on? Can we make an even better game by seeking out business objective and exceed expectations?

Part I: Introduction Premise 99% of the time, the problems we are asked to solve are external to the problems of making the game better. The reality of how your salary gets paid: –Studio is responding to an RFP –Concept/prototype more or less fits a slot in the publisher’s slate –Studio is doing work-for-hire for clients outside the established “game industry” –Many exceptions to this. Do they prove the rule?

Part I: Introduction Why this is OK… That’s life We’re designers What is “design” in other industries? (e.g. engineering, architecture, advertising)

Part I: Introduction Why this is OK… How do I design the flow of people through a physical space? How do I make the paperclip grip better and not rust the paper? How can I communicate that this brand is “sophisticated” and “dangerous?”

Part I: Introduction Why this is OK… Working definition of design: “Design is applying creative expertise to solve problems.”

Part I: Introduction Why this is messy… You want the game to be good, but: The contract says… Your company strategy is… Your client or publisher wants… The latest market research shows… … what else?

Part II: Brainstorming 10 minutes

Part II: Brainstorming Ethnology of Business Objectives Q: What business objectives (welcome or unwelcome) have influenced work you’ve done in the past? Make a list of business requirements against which past games have been judged.

Part III: Analysis 10 minutes

Part III: Analysis What to do now… 2 Questions: What are the real business requirements? How can I make them useful as design constraints?

Part III: Analysis What to do now… 2 Questions: What are the real business requirements? –Ask How can I make them useful as design constraints? –Are they aesthetic goals?

Part III: Analysis Objective == Goal? Are these goals? Rarely: business objectives are often not easily translated into aesthetic goals. Are these models? What’s an Aesthetic Model again? let’s review…

Goal: Competition Model: A game is competitive if: Players are adversaries. Players have an ongoing emotional investment in defeating each other. Some Failure Modes: A player feels that he can’t win. A player can’t measure his progress.

Goal: ________ Model: A game is ________ if: Players feel a sense of community Appeals to women ages Some Failure Modes Drives players apart Attracts teenage boys to the player community What fills in the blank?

Part III: Analysis Objective == Aesthetic Model You may need multiple models / goals Now that you know your aesthetic goal, what changes do you need to make to the game mechanics or dynamics to support this goal? Sounds like a good subject for an exercise!

Part IV: Exercise 20 minutes

Part IV: Exercise Sissyfight’s Revenge Design on Sissyfight was “done” You’ve just received a memo The memo is unreasonable The memo is non-negotiable Break into groups of six Pick a memo (1d6) – each group should do a different one

Part IV: Exercise Sissyfight’s Revenge Everyone got a memo?

Part IV: Exercise Sissyfight’s Revenge Try to resist the temptation to satisfy the memo with pure content changes. That’s what we mean by “tacked on.” After 5 minutes: be prepared to share –Your memo –Your translation into one or more aesthetic models At the end: be prepared to share –Mechanics to accomplish your new aesthetic goals

Part V: Wrap Up Thanks!