Designing for the Untestable
Originally written for #AltDevBlog
Sometimes you’re asked to design for the untestable scenario. For instance, design a system for 10,000 players to asynchrously interact in a persistent competitive world with progression mechanics that plays out over 3 months.
Disclaimer: The entire time you are reading this remember one basic truth or else everything else contained herein is useless.
Focus on second-to-second play first. Nail it. Move on to minute-to-minute, then session-to-session, then day-to-day, then month-to-month (and so on). If your second-to-second play doesn’t work, nothing else matters. Along these lines, if your day-to-day fails, no one will care about month-to-month, either.
- Brenda Brathwaite
Stop being the Useless Designer: Programming
A bit to the left, No a bit to the right. Mmmm maybe if we make it blue?
Let’s face it, there is nothing more annoying than being bossed about by someone who is useless.?
So here are three simple rules.
- Work with them in the trenches.
- Everyone in the trenches has to be useful.
- Supplement don’t Replace?
So acquire some “Hard Skills” fast and be useful. This is a multi-part post for some places to start developing those “Hard Skills”.?
Stop being the Useless Designer
Part 1: Excel & Formulas
A bit to the left, No a bit to the right. Mmmm maybe if we make it blue?
Let’s face it, there is nothing more annoying than being bossed about by someone who is useless.?
So here are three simple rules.
- Work with them in the trenches.
- Everyone in the trenches has to be useful.
- Supplement don’t Replace?
So acquire some “Hard Skills” fast and be useful. This is a multi-part post for some places to start developing those “Hard Skills”.?
Though I encourage you to jump into your own tunnels of exploration. I hope this is the first of a multi-part post focusing on various tools or hard skills for designers. Introducing a tool or skill, then getting you interested.
THE BEST PLACE TO START IS YOUR IN-HOUSE TOOLS!!!
The Mechanics of Convention
Our profession develops, we form conventions and a toolbox of useful solutions. These tools make us faster, and more efficient. Conventions are not only developer driven but player driven as we define the language of games. The real question is when to break convention?
Originally written for AltDevBlogaDay
Before you know the answer, you must know the Question
Define the problem clearly with all parties, locate the true source problem and eliminate symptoms. Do you want a sticky goo gun which sticks to walls; or do you want an indirect weapon?
The most common mistake with a convention is to blindly apply it, without knowing the problems its designed to solve. You need to delve past the symptoms into the root causes and motivations. For example what may seem like an issue with your jumping dynamics may actually be a visual feedback issue.
Study not only the present state but the history of a Convention
Every day more people more intelligent than you are pouring collective hours into solving the problem you have just started thinking about. The convention you so readily reach for, or dismiss, did not pop into existence fully formed but instead grew through the years of gaming history from title to title.
Seeing the path of development allows you to better understand the components that build the convention, and the parts which were thrown away. Often choices were made, limitations imposed or situation demanded and the path of development was altered. Sometimes a convention might not be the best fit for your game, or even a good starting point but an earlier version of the convention could be ideal building block or tool to use.
Invention is Expensive
The key benefit of a convention is its a known element, with known quantities. In many cases with known relationships to other conventions. The development time is predictable and many of the edge cases are known.
Implementing a convention in an environment will introduce some new edge cases and relationships but they will be tiny in scope when compared to a new invention.
A new invention or variation must be explored for all edge cases, establish relationships with all other elements of your project, and be iterated upon to reach a stable state.
If you do not have the budget to invent a new convention, don’t start. Find an existing convention that roughly fits and use that instead. A loose fitting convention will be ten times better than a half baked idea.
A little invention goes a long way, but too much will Alienate
While some conventions are entirely developer facing, such as coding conventions, many design conventions are outwards facing to the customer. If a player buys your game which has been marketed as a first person action shooter, there are certain conventions they expect.
Altering convention or surprising your player will often pleasantly and enhance their experience, but only if your solution is clearly superior. Though too many surprises will frustrate or alienate your player, even if your conventions are better than those previously established.
When to break Convention?
Every artistic endeavour must seek to achieve something new, or improve upon the old. The question of when to break convention is simple.
You should always break at least one established convention, though the less you break the more likely you are to succeed. Break too many and failure is assured, break none and success will never be yours.
The Hidden Evil of the Micro Transaction
The Hidden Evil of the Micro Transaction
Over the last year a lot of time has been spent thinking, writing and developing my thoughts on social gaming and by extension micro transactions. The last few months of my professional life have involved some fairly complex and sometimes scary monetisation designs and discussions. Moving from consoles to social web games has been an interesting path to walk, with many lessons to be learned.
Micro-transactions are not Evil!
I prefer the Yummies
The classic line from Hamlet, “for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so” is the one which applies here. MTX is a valid business model which, when used correctly, can enhance a game experience and bring a product to a wider audience.
A key barrier to entry for so many people is breaking open their wallet. For this reason I love Facebook games, but also XBLA games. The trial mode enforced by Microsoft does not get enough credit for upholding really good accessibility and up-sell standards. It enforces the “try before you buy” on developers and does some really intelligent things.
That being said poor monetisation design or a mismatched business model can destroy a product. Some quick examples:
- ESports != Game Affecting Micro transactions
- Experimental MMO != Upfront Cost + High Sub Cost
- Awareness Raising Serious Game != Fixed Cost Model
Greed is NOT Good
Many, not all, business and marketing characters I’ve met are so focused on the bottom line they cannot see the product. Now in some cases, this is just greed but more often they are not gamers, they do not partake in the craft nor enjoy its fruits.
Some quick numbers and explanations for you.
| ARPPU | Average Revenue Per Paying User is measured on a per month basis. | It varies a lot and is one of the less visible numbers in the industry. |
| LTV | Lifetime Value of a User | Varies MASSIVELY |
| Engagement | DAU / MAU | 20% Average |
| DAU | Daily Active Users | Top 40 all above 7 million |
| MAU | Monthly Active Users | Top 40 all above 1 million |
| Conversion Ratio | Monthly Conversion rate of Players to Payers | 2% Average |
| Organic Traffic | Amount of Traffic you get that isn’t due to Ads, Purchased Traffic or Partnerships. | Hard number to pin down and the real value is often hidden behind marketing dollars. |
First thing that your money people are going to focus on are those numbers, especially the ARPPU. As a game designer your key metric should be the Engagement, Lifetime value and some of the softer metrics.
Instead of gobbling the raw ingredients like a lazy fat child, put in some work to cook up a feast. Take some risks, aspire to improve the game so people want to play it rather than feel compelled to play it. Drive up the engagement, word of mouth buzz and reduce the churn (loss of players). In short, take the long view.
Grey Areas are Green-lit by Greed
The problem with all this is this it is an ambiguous, grey area. The real kicker is that grey areas are always green-lit by greed. In the interest of a “little more”, so much wrong has been done. So many ideas ruined, communities broken, and teams overstretched by wanting that little bit more. The old sustainable farming arguments come into play here.
The massive problem is that you as the Games Designer or other development members do not always have the final say, but you can still fight your corner. You can build your arguments and try to provide some strong research and data to help your money people see the long term view.
The problem is this Green lighting of Grey areas doesn’t only hit the money people can filter into your team. Money is a great excuse to put your toe over the line.
Strong Vision Holder
The saving grace is if your company founder, CEO or similar authority is a strong vision holder. Failing that, you can have a hard-headed idiotic bitch of a lead designer in heels with a baseball bat and a South African sized chip on her shoulder or your local equivalent, who is willing to fight your corner.
The design and vision has to remain consistent, lines must be drawn and values upheld. From this position you can try to innovate and develop. It’s scary and frightening and there is no guarantee you will get it right. Trust, Integrity and Values can be sold if you’re starving. They can never be bought if you’re fat and wealthy.
Girl’s gotta Eat
So all this being said we aren’t making games for free and we need to eat. I’ve never met anyone in the trenches of game development who wasn’t filled with passion for their craft. I’ve got a whole other blog post to write about: compromise, tips on winning people over and facing the harsh realities.
At this point, however, I will just recommend this brilliant, fiery rant of awesome.
GDC 2011: No Freakin’ Respect! Social Game Developers Rant Back by Brenda Brathwaite
Along with this counter point argument
Redesigning Wild Ones into Playdom's Top Game: A Social Game Design Reboot by Joshua Dallman
We do it because we love our games, not the money… but a girl’s gotta eat.
Respecting Design
Originally written for #AltDevBlogADay
I’ve got a question: “Do you respect your designers?”
Growing up I always wanted to make games, and gravitated to programming as the means to achieve this. I entered the industry as a programmer and had a blast, though I found myself more and more attracted to this strange thing called, “Games Design”. Eventually I made the very tough personal decision to switch from a programming role to a design role.
So often hopeful “designers” choose it as a path because they can’t be a programmer or artist, and not because they respect or understand the profession.
Now I still code, and try to stay current as a programmer because I haven’t ruled out the possibility of switching back. The hardest thing for me to deal with was the lack of respect design has as a profession. Truly proving to your non-design peers your profession requires study, diligence and commitment is a tough nut to crack. So where is the source of the problem?
Given enough time and resource a bad designer can make a good design
Accidental design, or advancing a design through experimentation, requires very little design skill but a lot of resource. Most people can tell if A feels better than B once implemented, so given the ability to try both options they can compare and then make a choice.
Now this is horribly in-optimal but is the root of the problem in many ways. In most respected professions a vast amount of research, basis of knowledge or method of thinking is required to advance in professional grade problems.
As a designer I respect once put it, your job description is to “Achieve the most with the least”.
No one will ever tell a programmer how to code, but everyone will tell you how to design
Once a design is implemented and tangible, most people can see if A is better than B. Now because of the above factor and the fact most design problems can be explained easily to a laymen because communication is a key design skill, well it means everyone can stick their nose in. Including senior members of the company who should know better.
Honestly, the biggest problem the lack of respect causes is this high level of interference from every Tom, Dick and Harry.
In most high skill professions the execution is the simple part, it’s the diagnosis and formulation of a solution which is the hard part. Now most people could inject medicine with a syringe, finding a vein is not that hard, but knowing when or what to inject is tough. Likewise, the result of a complex design problem seems trivial, and once explained obvious to all involved.
It should be pointed out that artists have this problem to a lesser extent as well. The advantage is that an artist executes the idea without needing to communicate, while most times a designer needs to communicate the solution. So the execution is removed from the diagnosis and formulation, meaning that it can be separated easily and appears trivial.
Proving a good design premise is like trying to convince someone a song is good only with sheet music
That being said, trying to convince someone without design knowledge of a complex problem and solution without implementation is tough. Though the onerous to convince people is on us as designers. Sadly many bad designers, instead of solving this, use this as camouflage to hide their incompetence.
Now I don’t know the perfect solution, but I would suggest as an industry we need to learn sheet music and conventions by which we can discuss problems. A process that is already happening but slowly. The problem is many poor designers keep rallying against these conventions or building of hard theory basis.
They keep rallying against conventions and theory, expressing their “individuality” or “creativity” or some other fluffy concept as a defense. It’s because “bad” designers, “lazy” designers who are not willing to put in the work, find it easier to have things fluffy. This fog and lack of clarity is the shield they use to hide behind and we need to rally behind the hard theory and science to gain respect as a profession.
I’ve met more bad designers than I would care to admit, and I’ve only ever once worked with a designer I strongly respected.
Do you respect your designers?
It all comes back to this question. As a programmer I could see my development, and my peers could see it. I could advance my career and have a clear skill progression path. As a designer I often feel lost, and fear most my “value” is from the trust I’ve earned from colleagues and is non-transferable to a new company. I study hard, work hard and know I’m a better designer today than I was yesterday but I struggle to communicate or measure this development.
Finally my question for my fellow designers, “How do we build up design as a profession?”
Design Cheat Codes
Disclaimer: I’m not claiming games which use these mechanics are in any way lesser. I’m merely highlighting these as easy ways to sauce up a game. Think of it like add ketchup / mayo / vinegar to your chips
Originally Posted on AltDevBlogADay
Working on several projects which have been technically limited, or constrained by some unbreakable conditions I’ve come to appreciate these quick and simple ways to sauce up your game. Note that not all sauces work with all games.
Make it Kinematic
Movement is fun, controlling a kinetic object is juicy. Give items in your game mass and direct control.
Compare these two situations.
- Player selects a unit, then selects a destination, then confirms selection. Unit then moves along path.
- Player directly controls unit with key controls
- Player controls the unit acceleration and the unit has mass and inertia
I guarantee if you prototype those three cases in a sandbox and give 10 people controllers then 3 will get the most play time, followed by 2 then 1. The simple truth is players like the feeling of weight and kineticism. A simpler real world example is give a child 3 objects: a light foam ball, a baseball and a jelly ball.
Secondary Motion
Do all player actions cause secondary actions? So menu buttons have not only a hover and click state but an animation or action. When the player jumps, shoots or activates something in game they cause an action, then ensure that secondary actions happen around that action. For example if a gun fires, get some smoke, or bullet trail. A jump can have a nice animation on the avatar, dust at push off and landing. The activation of a button can press in then light up, the simple act of separating these makes the player more satisfied.
Particles and Shaders
Yes we have all seen particles, bloom and cheap shader effects done to death, the reason? They work! Do you have a well balanced aesthetic in a gorgeous game? Then do not heap it on top, it will bury your work. But feeling bit lack lustre? Well then particles and a few cheap effects like rim lighting will help.
Physics
Does your game need physics, no? That’s great news you can use physics to add secondary motion and sparkles. You don’t need to worry about syncing it up over a network or worries about minor glitches because all it’s doing is making things look better.
Leaderboards & Awards
Will they make your game better, probably not? Will they mean player’s play longer or are more likely to make a purchase, challenge friends or talk about your game... YES!
Read this article here about implementing leaderboards (thanks to David Czarnecki).
Brighter Colours
Well yes we like shiny things. Unless you’re producing a high quality well polished art style well then going for brighter bold colours, with clean lines will almost always increase eyeballs to player conversion.
Also bright bold, friendly cartoon colours have the broadest reach and appeal.
Remove Options
Okay this one is not so much sauce as just general good advice. I’m adding it here because it’s easy to do and almost always helps. Make a list of all you features, options, abilities ect... Measure the usage in play tests. Remove the bottom third of the options. A simple thing, and it feels like your subtracting, which you are, but your adding value.
Local Multiplayer
Okay if you planned it from day 1 and are confident you can deliver online multiplayer, then do it. It’s a great option but it’s not something you add to a project as sauce. Local Multiplayer however has none of those headaches. Whether hot-seat, simultaneous or asynchronous its’ all good.
If your AI is flaxy or your balance is weak, well the meta-game that evolves from multiplayer can often save you from that.
Conclusion
These are just some of the cheap sauces you can add to a game which will spice it up. They are not a substitute for a quality product which is well designed. They are good trusted spices and sauces to spike the dish with. Don’t believe me; look at PopCap, Zynga, Mini-Clip and all the other casual games performing well.
Lets Play: Design Goldmine on YouTube
So about two years ago I discovered the Lets Play phenomnia on YouTube thanks to Kikoskia and his awesome X-Com playthough. Which was a game I love and have played many times. I quickly discovered this is a design goldmine.
Go to YouTube and search for "Lets Play" right now.
Key Uses
- Discover or Investigate Games
- First Timers: These are pre-compiled amatuer focus test.
- Experienced: Shows you details of the game you would have never seen.
- Low Investment: Financially and Time-wise
Some tips on how to best use these.
Save Time
My primary use is for games I don't have time to play, or old games I missed out on and don't have the system for. I try to play as many games as I can but time being so precious it's hard. I find I can watch these while doing other things at home. Also the information is richer in many contexts. Though you do miss out on the first hand experience.
The Commentator is the best Source
Switch Often, Sample as many as possible. Whether a game veteran or a first timer their stream of conciousness is so useful. Seeing parts of the game they are frustrated with or just don't click with is so brilliant. Also with experienced players you get so much value out of the community in such a condensed format. I watched playthrough of Cave Story which exposed me to so many things I was unaware of having played the game myself.
Don't Read the Comments
It's a waste of time and in some cases will make you super sad. Seriously stay away. Maybe read the top rated comments, and that's it. Too much time wasted.
Games you Suck at or Don't Enjoy
Well these guys do enjoy them, and are the audience. So let them get you excited about it and watch their skills show you the game as it's played by the community.
Volume low but audible, Treat it as work
The fact of the matter is most of the production values are terrible and the voices are not brilliant. Sometimes I hear a grating American accented voice (Sorry USA but you are high pitched in some parts of your country). Also sometimes the profanity gets bad and I have to just stop, but hey there are loads of clean ones out there.
These are your audience, not your Peers
Okay firstly that's a great thing because the raw opinion is so useful. Though as a designer you've learnt (or will learn) to apply a sanity filter to raw consumer feedback. Remember to apply it in this case, and if you need to learn how well this is a good place to start.
Overall I cannot recommend this trend highly enough to designers as a useful research tool.
Question: Any other designers watching Lets Play videos as research?
COP: Game Flow
Game Flow
So basically that's the game flow detailed there. The mission select is of course random.
Tonight development goal is as follows.
Build a blueprint and save it
One Page Designs
I am becoming a bigger fan of vector based one page designs. The 80 page word document which never gets read gets trumped by the A1 wall poster with overview.