D ESIGNING FOR N EW A UDIENCES with a focus on shared worlds and social networking

N O L ONGER A S OLITARY E NDEAVOR Competition and Cooperation: Goals give players common points of reference to share or contest. Building Community: Impetus to return to the game or environment. Belonging and Identity: A gamer’s most valuable takeaway is other gamers. Shared Worlds: What I see is what you see.

E XAMPLES : W ELL -D ESIGNED FOR N EW A UDIENCES BraidBioshock +Immersive artwork, sound, and music design +Emotional storyline that provokes response +Simple-to-master control +Intriguing gameplay beyond the run- jump-shoot of stock platformers +Logic puzzles mixed in with platform play +Compellingly strange but not off- putting world suggested in broad strokes and story context. +Just enough story, and if you don’t want it, you can ignore it +Sympathetic protagonist +Exciting, original world design +Integrates minigames well and believably +Easy to control ±Boy’s club gameplay

E XAMPLES : A LMOST T HERE … Puzzle QuestAurora Feint +Complex but casual puzzle-play married to a fun RPG environment +Addictive +Competitive online play -Derivative world and story -Clunky story interface +Puzzle-play as resource gathering +Massively multiplayer builds community -Spotty tutorial -No overview of scope — don’t know what I’ll be doing past the obvious

S MART D ESIGN Create a feeling of belonging and pride. Community tools Concurrent users Content is key — let the player do it and create it. Know who you’re designing for. My Little Pony: The perfect game? Lineage did poorly in the US — everyone wants to be a prince.

S MART D ESIGN Reduce barriers to entry. More connections increases the value of the network. Make it easy for players to make and keep in contact with friends. New Player Experience Useful tutorials Optional participation Reward learning

S MART D ESIGN You’re not competing against your competitors at launch, you’re competing against them now. LOTRO, AoC, WAR, Tabula Rasa Which means you’re competing with their... Tools UI Add-ons NPE