Video Game Marketing: Game Design for Growth

by Game Marketing Genie, on 27-Jul-2018 10:54:24

eople love to game. Since the beginning of time, humans have invented ways to entertain themselves and gaming has always been at the center of this. Today, this form has shifted from dice and board to digital worlds with intricate back-stories and beautiful artistry. This evolution from analog to digital has spawned a loyal following of gamers, with more than 3.24 billion game-lovers worldwide. These players engage with a multitude of different genres - from strategy to first-person-shooter to endless runners. Regardless of genre, players are willing to shell out hard-earned cash to be entertained.

Ready Player One_I

This meteoric rise has been followed closely by a boom in the number of game developers to churn out thousands of titles a year. Competition has thus become fierce and there are now a host of large gaming companies who make hundreds of millions of dollars in yearly revenues. Smaller companies, attracted by the high profitability of the industry, have been able to carve out their own niches. 

In some instances, they have even been able to outmaneuver the gaming behemoths. Due to the varied psychology of people and the diversity of the gaming community, big spending is not a requirement for a successful game. Games that tap into the psychology of how humans think, feel, learn and perceive are the ones that become success stories, whether they are created by the behemoth King or the indie label Snowman.

As a gaming company, it has become increasingly difficult to stand out amongst the hundreds of developers and thousands of titles. We’ve decided to help out by compiling a definite guide of best practices to create and market games.  While the gaming universe may be fragmented into hundreds of genres, some principles hold true regardless of the complexity or simplicity of the game.

We have condensed these principles into three broad categories. To achieve game greatness, gaming companies need to 1) improve game accessibility, 2) increase game-stickiness and 3) make the gaming experience immersive. Below we break down these broad categories into their essential elements.

Accessibility

Gamers are both fickle and fiercely loyal. If a game is too challenging to acquire, too complicated to understand and master or incompatible with their daily lives, gamers won’t hesitate to drop a title and move on. Yet, if a game truly grasps them, players will become that game's biggest promoters and marketers. The end goal of any game should be to turn casual users into loyal advocates but that cannot happen if players don’t stick around. Removing barriers to entry should be the number one priority of any company trying to break into the market.

Players will become a game's biggest promoters and marketers.

Play context

The gaming industry is no longer dominated by the duopoly like it once was. Gone are the days when developers and marketers only had to cater to console and PC players. The rise of mobile gaming has shaken things up: with the industry expected to have a value of 169.7 billion USD by 2025. Companies need to be mindful of how these different mediums affect game-play - both in physical constraints and situational context.

Players who use consoles exclusively are more willing to engage in complex storylines with challenging controls whereas mobile gamers prefer simplicity. Catering to this variation in gameplay preference is pivotal to the success of a game. Games should fit into the daily routines and habits of individuals, not the other way around. The real world offers interruptions and constraints to play - great games reflect this fluidity in their design.

Redy Player One_II

Key points

  • Games need to support differing session lengths.
  • Games need to have customizable controls and audiovisual settings.
  • Games need to accommodate for the distraction-filled world we live in.
  • Games, especially mobile, need to cater towards task-switching. 

Questions to ask yourself

  • Which devices are your players using? When are they playing and where are they playing?
  • Does a typical 'session' fit with these parameters?
  • Do the game controls match the situational context of device, location and time?

Feedback – trial and error versus tutorials and micro-transactions

Appropriate feedback for a player’s in-game interactions is essential for the learnability of a game. Games that provide no feedback and hence seem to have no direction are often tossed aside by those who are in search of more logical gameplay.

Feedback should take place throughout a game, in the form of micro-transactions. To learn a new game, players need timely and relevant feedback that allows them to understand the digital world they are navigating.ReadyPlayerOne_Icon 5

Key points

  • Leverage familiarity - tutorials should only be used when a game isn’t familiar or is too complex to be completely intuitive.
  • Games should include as many micro-interactions as necessary.
  • Norms in the industry should be used to a new game’s advantage: adopt game controls that are well known and understood in the gaming community.

Questions to ask yourself

  • What are the industry standards for game-control in your genre?
  • Is the iconography you have used understood and recognized by players?
  • Are micro-interactions properly set-up to prompt players on their ‘next mission’?

Stickiness

When a game designer removes barriers to entry and players begin actively participating, keeping them interested becomes essential to make them stay in a game's ecosystem. Stickiness makes players want to come back for more. Players need to feel like they have something to lose if they stop playing and something to gain if they continue.

Above all else, gameplay is the most important feature of a video game. However, the addition of a risk-versus-reward system can ensure players remain engaged and return, even after a long absence. Players are motivated to unlock new items or earn trophies. More importantly, players don’t want to lose the achievements they have already unlocked.  

Gameplay is the most important feature of a video game.

Challenge

Critical to a game's longevity are returning players. Crucial to keeping players vested and involved is an understanding of game design. Great design ensures that the capabilities of players and the demands of the game are well matched. Moreover, difficulty needs to evolve with the evolution of a player's skills. Games need to present a challenge to keep players engaged. There is nothing worse than spending time mastering the basics of a game just to find out that it never progresses in difficulty.

Key points

  • The level of difficulty is subjective and more often than not, developers underestimate their proficiency at their own game.
  • Games need to clearly lay out the ways to progress. Difficulty levels need to increase as a player progresses.
  • The increase in difficulty levels needs to be managed carefully, and developers would do well to ensure that there are no ‘ruts' where players might be unable to progress further.

Questions to ask yourself

  • Is your game conducive to longer-term, in-game goals and if so, are players actively seeking these out?
  • Does play difficulty in your game increase in a linear or step-wise fashion?
  • Are there any challenges in your game that may be particularly difficult to overcome? Could this lead to player frustration?
  • Does acquired game-skill play a large role in game progression? How do players get better? If not, why would a player stick around?

Achievement unlocks and rewards

Goals and challenges give players a purpose and provide them with reasons to return to a game. Unlocks and achievements that reward these goals can increase player retention and give gamers things to work towards in a session of play. Additionally, if rewards are time-sensitive, they can entice players to play hourly, daily or weekly.

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We, humans, love to be rewarded – it releases a chemical compound called dopamine which makes us feel happy and accomplished. Our brains are physiologically wired to respond to positive feedback with feelings of euphoria. All the best games in the world use this to their advantage: making games addictive by rewarding players for a job well done.

Rewards don't necessarily have to affect gameplay and can instead be superficial. A player who tosses a grenade across a map in a first-person-shooter getting a kill might earn a medal or badge. This reward doesn't actually give that player any gameplay advantage, regardless of the positive feelings it instills. Rewards and unlocks that actually give a player extra abilities or somehow change the mechanics of a game are, however, most beneficial to gamer retention.

Key points

  • Rewards cannot be understated in their importance. They add an addictive element to gaming.
  • Rewards can be either superficial or have ramifications for gameplay. Each type have their own benefit, but where possible, rewards that affect gameplay and benefit a player are preferred.

Questions to ask yourself

  • Can rewards and achievements help guide a player’s progression by acting as milestones?
  • Is your game repetitive, e.g. an endless runner? Could unlocks and level-ups keep players locked into your game ecosystem and prevent players from moving on to similar games?

Immersion

Before personal computers and lightning-fast computer processing power, games didn’t have the opportunity to progress much visually. Most were played in an arcade setting and were competitive electronic games or just time-wasters. These early games had no opportunity to build a storyline or create a narrative.

While games were somewhat immersive, they didn't have the hallmarks of what is now considered prerequisites for any game hoping to touch players mentally and emotionally. People love visually appealing items and games are no different. To help transport players to alternate realities and keep them playing for hours, a solid storyline and mesmeric visuals are almost as important as the gameplay itself.

Storyline

In an industry as competitive as gaming, player retention is the most important thing for any gaming company. It is vital not only to the success of a game but often to their survival. Many tactics have been employed to improve retention, notable examples being the consistent release of new content and the implementation of a risk/reward system.

One tactic that is frequently overlooked, but is often the cheapest to implement, is telling a great story. Returning players are predisposed to spend more money than first-time users, making player retention invaluable to game revenue.

While the goal of a good narrative is to keep players coming back to a game, it must be balanced with the core of the title – gameplay.

Video Game Marketing Strategy_GMG

Key points

  • Narrative improves engagement and keeps players returning to a game.
  • A great story adds additional meaning to gameplay and can even add an emotional aspect to a game.
  • It is important not to overwhelm players with too much narrative too soon. Pace out the telling of a story and keep users interested in what comes next.

Questions to ask yourself

  • What story are you trying to tell?
  • Could adding a narrative add an emotional element to your game? Could it increase player purpose and sense of accomplishment?
  • Can you use storytelling to improve player navigation?

Artwork, graphics and soundtracks

While complex and engaging storylines add a level of depth to gameplay, graphics are what make gaming a truly immersive experience.

Done well, graphics have the unique ability to reel players in and keep them mesmerized. They do this by setting the mood for the entire experience. Whether that mood is inspired by a nostalgic past or set on some distant planet in some distant future, great graphics are non-negotiable for great games. 

Our visual and auditory sensors are powerful and appealing to them can have strong ramifications. Developers would do well to take note of this.

Key points

  • Great artwork and an immersive soundtrack can lead to greater enjoyment and a deeper connection to a game.
  • Great graphics can elevate a game to another level of enjoyment.
  • High-definition graphics can be replaced by a particular style of artwork. Two great examples are the pixelated style of Minecraft and the artistry in Alto’s Odyssey.

Questions to ask yourself

  • Will important game details, that affect gameplay, be missed if your game is of low graphics?
  • What screen size will players be using?
  • Will a riveting soundtrack add to the gaming experience or distract from core gameplay?
  • Can great artistry or sound help you stand out from similar games?

The ultimate guide to game marketing

Hope you enjoyed this article! For more insider game marketing information, check out The Ultimate Guide to Game Marketing: Everything You Need to Know.


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