Name: Conocimiento jugador (Parte I)
Uploaded: 2016-01-11T18:56:21.071Z
Duration: 5 min 25 s

Now we have tools to define which experience we want to provoke,

our next step is concreting which audience we are targeting.

It is essential not forgetting that the game we want to create will end up

being played by someone, by a players group.

We must insist on it,

as due to the fact that developing a video game is very complex and absorbing,

there is the risk of losing the focus on who will finally use this product.

It is very recommendable to make constant checks during the creation and development

process to see if our product is matching the things we think our

objective audience will like.

Each decision or change in the video game design can alter the experience

and make our product to go away from the target or the expected objective audience.

Usually we must prevent this from happening

and avoid getting too far away of our starting objective audience idea, although it is true

that during the starter development stages the target can be redirected

to a different audience if it is considered better for the game.

So it is convenient to properly study the different kinds of existent

players in aim to choose and focus on the ones we want to target our game.

Here we will base our analysis of the player

on the next points:

properly defining the objective player, concreting the player behaviors,

age differences, genre differences and economical differences.

To start, we must understand why and how we must choose an objective type of

audience, we can't believe that we are going to make a game

and all the kinds of players will like it.

We must understand that something,

even though it's very good, doesn't have to be enjoyed by everybody.

So, if we don't set an audience target, we are assuming a risk.

When it's not fixed, it can happen that the final result ends up being a mix of

things that no one will like at all,

because the experience lacks coherence and balance.

In example, if we want to seduce the hardcore adult public,

we will want to put a lot of realism and action in our game.

But if we want to seduce a younger pre-teen audience,

maybe we want to adapt the action adding more adventure to it.

If we wanted to hook both in the same game, it would be hard to fit this

double experience, as it may end up not being enjoyed by any of these audiences.

It's true that there are a lot of games which are enjoyed by and focused to big groups of

players, so it is not impossible to focus a wide and diverse target,

but it is hard and risky.

So in the beginning it is convenient to set limits and try to play it safe

matching the wished experience with a concrete audience, the more detailed

the target, the easier to get and keep the desired game experience.

As we will see later, it can help us choosing the audience

the fact of distinguishing by age, genre or the economical and purchasing power.

We must also take into account the fact that selecting and concreting a kind of public

doesn't involve rejecting and forgetting about other players groups.

When we choose a target or an audience,

we are setting it as our main target, but we assume that other players outside

this target will also play and be interested by our game.

Although it attracts them only in some aspects.

Finally we must admit the fact that concreting the target before

designing or during the design process, is really complicated,

as it forces you to think and have the things clear

in a moment when many ideas are provisional and written on a paper sheet.

Anyway we must try to concrete as much as we can,

avoiding wide and generic limits.

A good recommendation is looking at already existent games on the market

and investigating which is their audience and their player profile.

In aim to concrete the kind of player we are targeting,

we must know him well.

To know him properly, it is necessary to analyze some of his behaviors

which will give us some information on his way of thinking and feeling.

The final objective as designers is creating experiences that give

fun to our objective player, happiness and fun is the

final behavior we want him to experience, and depending on the kind of player,

getting to the fun through many behaviors.

In first place, we must know and wonder if our objective player

is looking for competing, sharing, exploring, overcoming challenges,

etc, that is in which activities he focuses his experience.

We are also interested in knowing more hobbies and activities of our target.

In example, how does he entertain himself?

This includes other electronic leisure products further than video games,

but also other more traditional leisure behaviors

such as which sports does he play or which hobbies does he have.

In a specific way on his player behavior,

it is good to know which videogames does he play and which ones are his favorites.

Other aspects we must take into account are the ones regarding his game patterns.

How often does he play, how long in each match, and how loyal is he to

a game, that is, how long does it take for him to get bored of a game and leave it.

Also we must include in this player studio

his predilection for single or multi playing.

Conocimiento jugador (Parte I)

Diseño de videojuegos

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