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Category: Game Design

The power of greed

Published by Paolo on 11/04/2023

Don’t underestimate the powerful influence of greed, when you are designing systems for games. Greed usually ends up devouring every other motivation.

I do not think NFTs are the definitive solution to add the “true ownership” value, honestly. Still, there is something worthful in that concept. In fact, when you decide to invest a huge amount of money in your playful leisure (think in big spenders of f2p games or in collectible card game players) if you remain with nothing after you may probably regret your spending choices.

I appreciate this honest speech, also if I am not 100% into its conclusions. If you have an NFT that lets you chat with the service managers and join a VIP club, then you can eventually trade it. That means that the next person will eventually continue the established relationships. And that leads to community chaos. Maybe I am wrong, but I feel that certain perks need more design iteration.

Looking for a better design test

Published by Paolo on 21/02/2023

A test is very often included in the selection processes for game designers. For junior profiles, without many portfolios, I find this an interesting thing. For the more senior, it is a difficult filter to check. I don’t know if I’m against or for it, honestly.

There are things good and bad in tests

In my opinion, a plus point is that they can reveal the writing skills of a game designer. It’s a key point, especially in these times when work is at least partly remote. It’s important to know how designers express themselves and how much they can be engaging with their writing.

A test also shows the reasoning ability of the designer. The problem is that it is difficult to read the reasons behind certain thoughts with the written medium. Without offering the designers the opportunity to defend their work, we will probably tend to prefer someone who thinks like us.

One thing that has always annoyed me is that there is a lot of work before the test which very often is not considered. You send me a competitor’s game and tell me that I can propose a feature and that I have a week to do it. If I’ve never played this game, studying it well will take me about a week off if I have to work simultaneously. All unpaid work, will not be used by the company. Wasted time for everyone.

But then how to do it?

Avoiding the test completely seems to be a dream. Some companies are gradually replacing it with other practices, though. If it were up to me, I would do the following:

  • Congratulations, you working with us on this project! It’s been 3 years, write a letter to your manager explaining everything you have achieved. You need to imagine yourself in this position 3 years from now. Explain in detail the steps that led you to your dream result.
  • Play game X, try to break it down, and think about what could be improved and for which KPI. Tell us when you’re ready and come to the office to discuss it with your future manager.

Maybe I’m a dreamer and this is not a process for all types of companies. But I am convinced that:

  1. You can get higher-quality information this way
  2. The traditional way is really difficult to evaluate because it depends a lot on who reads the test.

Games that last forever

Published by Paolo on 18/02/2023

I was reading the post from the CEO of Supercell and I connected it to the announcement of 20% annual growth of King’s game Candy Crush Saga. These numbers are not obtained by chance, and finding a game that lasts forever is very hard.

I remember when Candy Crush became a big hit. For the first time, I was seeing people like my mother play a video game. It was easy from Facebook, and friends with smartphones could follow the progress from anywhere. King’s real innovation was technological: the shared progress between Facebook and mobile devices combined with a trendy game.

I remember when Clash of Clans was released for iPhone and iPad. iPad had just been released and Clash of Clans offered perfect gameplay for the device. I used to work at Digital Chocolate and a team from the company ran the Galaxy Life game. Galaxy Life was a version of Backyard Monsters aimed at a wider audience.

Clash of Clans was a better-optimized version for mobile devices that was using the same base. I don’t know how much they were inspired by Galaxy Life, but there were a lot of similarities. Even in the tutorial storyline, for example.

At DChoc, during lunch breaks, I remember colleagues spending time playing Galaxy Life. The game developers themselves found a lot of fun in the game they were working on. And this for me has always been one of the signs to see for the success of a title.

The theme and our subconscious

When you hold any level of Candy Crush Saga in your hands, what you have in front of you is a box of sweets. And you know that too much sugar is not good for you. For people of my mother’s age, but also for my generation, it suggests something childish. 

“You can’t eat all the candy, it’s bad for you!” 

“Okay mom…”

…and you spent the time sorting the candies in the box with your finger!

With Candy Crush you can spend as much time as you like playing with candies. The magic circle guarantees that you will get no diabetes from swiping all those sweetmeat. And you will not get the temptation of eating one!

When I was playing Clash of Clans, I was in an Ikea-furnished apartment, sharing a house with 3 other people. My reckless side was influenced by Northern European design. As an avid reader of fantasy literature, Vikings and dragons were one of my passions. Clash of Clans offered a light take on that theme. Little Vikings were cute and you felt that you had true power over their miserable aggressiveness. The treat was about their village, you weren’t the hero. You were their god. And the color, the clean design, and the ironic courtesy of speech somehow reminded me of those Ikea commercials. Nordic vibes!

How come people still play after so many years?

After the success, King and Supercell had the opportunity to contract talent from all over the World. Thanks to a strong base and great experience, they worked to make these services ever better adapted to all segments of players.

On the player side, however, those who have stayed longer have a sense of prestige they don’t want to lose. They feel they own their games, somehow.

Think of the players who are in the last levels of Candy Crush. They have something in their hands that the newcomer does not – they are more experienced. They overcame more challenges.

Reflect on the players who have seen Clash of Clans evolve from the first few months. They can also be guides for newcomers. They have prestige due to the fact that they are the oldest players of a game that has been since the beginning of the iPad.

Did the original creators of these games think they had these results? I think they definitely believed in their game, but something this big is very difficult to predict. We can draw a lesson from this, though: prestige in a community leads people to stay. The fantasies that can feed this prestige can be various: leadership, power, and greatness are some examples.

The Lens of Gameplay Endlessness

If we want to make a new game and our intention is to break barriers, we have to explore the world of possibilities. We have to try to identify and overcome our prejudices. I would ask those questions:

  • What are the assumptions that make me see the world of video games as I see it?
  • What could I invent to have other choices?
  • What technological barrier could I face to offer something new?
  • What is in the customs and traditions of the society that I can suggest to the Players through my game?
  • How can I introduce a sense of infinite progress of power, greatness, or leadership?

Curiosity and power

Published by Paolo on 17/02/2023

I bounced on this post by a famous French publisher. It is focused on curiosity which is a strong motivational driver:

The point of this post is that Players will be more willing to watch an ad for the reasons at the bottom than for those at the top. Adding a different visual look for the reward after the video ad is enough to give the Players curiosity. Improving the stats (top line), instead, has probably fewer chances to convert a Player because it is giving power. I have two questions here:

  1. What happens when the Players understand that all vehicles are skins (and they will)?
  2. What happens when the Players understand that more speed means higher challenge?

Intuitively, it depends a lot on the gameplay you have and your economy base. For a single player endless runner having a new vehicle can be cool, while improving your speed can cause some extra challenge you maybe don’t want. But in a multiplayer RPG game having 50% more speed of course is a huge improvement.

Trying to evaluate a game in terms of skill, luck and stats is the first step to design a good economy (thanks D. for reminding me that, the other day).

  • A game offers a fantasy to the Players
  • On top of that fantasy, Players may perform a set of actions
  • Those actions should be oriented toward goals
  • In order to reach the goals, the Players have to engage with mechanics
  • Mechanics are based on those three elements: skill, luck and stats
  • Based on that, you can design the game’s economy properly
  • On top of that, rewarded videos can offer meaningful value to the economy
  • On the short term, playing with curiosity is a great idea
  • For the long term, instead, Players that stay more will need more prestige inside of the game!

Side projects are important

Published by Paolo on 13/02/2023

Every designer should have a side project to learn.

Every company should allow their designers to have it.

The reality is not always this. Very often we designers have side projects and keep them secret. Companies sometimes do not accept an employee’s chance for success and so block it.

Those that allow them will have better-trained professionals. There is no possible training that equals a project created with the purpose of learning.

Designers:

  • Be determined
  • Look after yourself
  • Focus on remaking old games adding something spicy
  • Try to overcome your need for validation
  • You are there to learn

Game design is delicate

Published by Paolo on 08/02/2023

If you impose your view too much times, I will probably give you reason. I will not fight for my ideas. It is better to support yours, if you are the leader.

Still, I will probably have a bit more of experience designing games. Also if you will probably have more experience in managing a company. I will say you my point of view once, maybe twice. Then I will accept your, no matter what.

Maybe you were right and I am wrong, maybe you lost an opportunity.

Lack of dedication makes sketchy games fail

Published by Paolo on 06/02/2023

I helped a company develop hyper-casual games for over a year.

From a pure game design perspective, hyper-casual games have been a breath of fresh air for mobile gaming. Some publishers have started publishing outlandish ideas in an environment full of best practices and mechanics that are too similar to each other. There was a serious opportunity to make great leaps forward in mechanics.

However, the hyper-casual game development process requires investing very little in uncertainties. What has been missing for me is dedication. Build a game in a week, feed the algorithm, CPI too high, out. Make another game. This type of process conflicts with the initial vision.

We can blame Apple for being so unthrifty with its business partners. And we will be right. But we must also look at the beam in our eyes. Games must be made extremely well, this is a refined craft. Players deserve well-crafted experiences, not a series of sketchy ideas. You need to offer a fantasy, a vision and care about every detail. Impossible to do that in a week.

Read the bold statement here.

Game designers in 2023

Published by Paolo on 02/02/2023

The Deconstructor of Fun team has written predictions for 2023. I would like to give advice to game designers who will be working on the new challenges the year promises.

#1 Organic Discovery Will Be Deceased

Working for mobile games means working with two gatekeepers who are constantly changing the tables. This brings various headaches and also affects the work of us game designers.

There are always winners, and if we look at the rankings over time we see that Google and Apple reward the oldest successful games. Many try to take away their primacy, but it is difficult since they are the favorites.

The article says:

The end of discovery also means that there will be no indie breakouts from small indie developers. Instead, the indie developers will have three options. 

  1. Sell their game to a safe harbor, such as Apple Arcade, Netflix, or similar. 
  2. Join one of the few powerful game companies taking over mobile.
  3. Exit mobile. 

On this point, I have to say that they have risked quite a bit. In our industry, there are always surprises. Some indie with a vision could make a game that would be played en masse by streamers and become a phenomenon. We wouldn’t see it coming.

I never believed in the k-factor, that wasn’t science. It was pseudoscience to sell ideas internally.

Focus on games that are appealing to streamers (maybe to play together with others).

Think about releasing a PC Steam and console version as well.

For me, the present of video gaming is this. There is gaming and there are various forms of accessing it. I think this is not the only way, but it would make life a lot easier for an independent team. Although it takes investment to publish on various platforms, so it’s good to keep it simple.

#2 Publishers Push to Off-Platform Payments

From what I read, there will soon be various alternative forms of payment. This requires us game designers to contribute to the gamification of payment systems. Let’s start documenting how flows are handled by games that use off-platform payments. Gaming experiences will become a bit more complicated, so it is good to think in reward the efforts.

#3 Paid UA Becomes a Break-Even Game

This is something we have little control over. Recently we are seeing the end of the hyper-casual business. It was a market where the same players passed from one game to another at a low cost. The joke no longer works of course.

I am still convinced of the design principles behind simple games. Players have always liked simple games. In the beginning, it was arcades, today it is hyper-casual. It is always good to think in simplicity, immediacy and snackability.

#4 The Safe Harbors Get Embraced

On this point there is little to add, it seems crystal clear to me. It is good to own and study these platforms if you work on these kinds of games. Our bosses will probably do business with them at some point! As mentioned earlier, gaming streamers also play a key role here. If some Netflix game manages to attract the attention of some major TikToker, it’s obvious that there will be great returns!

#5 Streaming Platforms Move into Mobile Games – for Now…

It is clear that there is a fever for these platforms to find the next blockbuster game. This means more work for us, which is good. These platforms will have their own clear ideas on what to do, based on their experts and analysts. As a designer, my advice is to facilitate things and not hinder them. We are the facilitators of the act of game design in a team. Our efforts should be directed at realizing the visions that come from above. And this we know is very hard, it’s a huge exercise in patience for some of us. My advice? Focus on the beauty of design as a craft, not on power points and OKRs.

#6 Venture Capitalists Will Face a Reckoning

I am seeing this first-hand with a client. VCs are at a stage where they are basically not doing VCs anymore. In this moment in history VCs already want to see results before they bet on a team. We must focus on designing the shortest path to concrete numbers to achieve. At this moment in history we cannot afford to explore all possibilities. We need to make decisions incrementally on other designs that already work. For some of us, this is difficult. My advice is to find a sideline activity where we can vent our pure creativity. For example, I play music and capoeira on my spare time.

#7 You Will Get Back to the Office – Fully Remote Becomes an Anomaly

I’m not sure I agree with this, in any case the DoF guys are more experienced so I assume they are right. It is much better to solve some issue in person. And it’s easier to build new teams with presence, honestly. This 2023 I wish you more face-to-face and fewer Slack notifications!

End of the year, end of the World

Published by Paolo on 20/12/2022

As we approach the end of the year, clients always become more demanding. I am afraid that I will have no time to post for a while since we have important deadlines to reach.

This post is to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

From February I will have two days a week that I can dedicate to some new clients.

My specialty is mobile f2p, but I’m definitely a very versatile game designer. If you need to transform your creative vision into a successful game, don’t hesitate and contact me! System, level, narrative, and UX/gameplay design. One person, multiple skills!

(The tariff is the right one to balance the loop described in the diagram below)

Start from Personas

Published by Paolo on 19/12/2022

When you study game design, you usually focus on documents and prototypes for small games. The first steps that are taught in educational centers are purely technical.

Then you are in the market without the skills that make you a professional designer. Which are not the techniques, but are those oriented toward the video game business.

Normally a team reports to one or more managers who maintain a business vision. Our role as designers is to understand how to realize this business vision. We have to think more about endorsing the product than creating something directly. Players will receive the product packed and polished. Technical skills are important, but our ability to understand the business is critical.

Personas are one of the methods that allow this communication across the whole team. I share with you this workshop that aired last Saturday. The audio is bad, but the content is excellent.

If you want to work for companies as an employee or consultant, you need to come up with frameworks that solve concrete business problems. Thinking about who will really play and how to structure a product for them requires effort and is not intuitive.