xeodesign agc funmeters300n102805

Fun Meters for Games: 

Fun Meters for Games Nicole Lazzaro, President XEODesign® Larry Mellon, System Architect Emergent Game Technologies AGC Oct 28, 2005

Slide2: 

Measure Fun

Pulled Pork Sandwiches: Yum! (But Why?): 

Pulled Pork Sandwiches: Yum! (But Why?) Structured observations of the people - Smiling? Savoring? - Structured questionnaires Insertion of probes into the sandwich - Temperature? Sauce balance? - Sandwich mods?

Slide4: 

Fun meter requirements Multiple data sources Repeatable andamp; validity Game andamp; player variance What could you use it for? Pre-ship evaluation Early evaluation of game play

Nicole Lazzaro: 

Nicole Lazzaro President and Founder XEODesign 15 years of design and research player experiences Sony, EA, LeapFrog, Sega, Ubisoft, PlayFirst Cognitive Psychology Stanford Recent Play: Tombstone Hold ‘em CTO: Emergent Game Technologies 20+ years of tools and engines for distributed systems andamp; supercomputers Jade, EA, DARPA, … Parallel simulation andamp; virtual worlds Automated testing andamp; metrics in games Recent Play: Go Larry Mellon

Next-gen: I get the graphics, but where’s the game?: 

Next-gen: I get the graphics, but where’s the game? Computational power Visual effects Innovative game play

Blocking IssueIn next-gen games, how much innovation will be fundable? : 

Blocking Issue In next-gen games, how much innovation will be fundable? Cost andamp; Risk Innovation

Slide8: 

Next Gen Games Increased Complexity Increased Complexity of Analysis

Slide9: 

Slide10: 

Next Gen Games

Slide11: 

Mobile Off-Computer Play

Next-gen gambling: roll dem bones!: 

Failure Next-gen gambling: roll dem bones! Success

Blocking IssueBig games are hard to change at the last minute!: 

Blocking Issue Big games are hard to change at the last minute! Project Start Gold

2. Fun Meters Today: 

2. Fun Meters Today We can measure aspects that contribute to fun today

Probes showed us how players interacted with each other: socialization more important to players than dancing: 

Probes showed us how players interacted with each other: socialization more important to players than dancing

House Categories (Beta Test): 

House Categories (Beta Test) ………………. The house categories mini-game just wasn’t rewarding enough to players: a game 'dead spot'

Fun Meter: 

Fun Meter 'Where is the fun in that?' – Bruce Shelly

Knowing in Time: 

Knowing in Time

The 4 Keys “The Ride”: 

The 4 Keys 'The Ride' 4 Flavors of Fun Hard Fun: Challenge andamp; Mastery Easy Fun: Filling Attention Altered States: Change Internal Sensations The People Factor: Social Mechanism www.xeodesign.com/whyweplaygames

The 4 Keys “The Ride”: 

The 4 Keys 'The Ride' 4 Flavors of Fun Hard Fun: Challenge andamp; Mastery Frustration andamp; Fiero Easy Fun: Filling Attention Surprise andamp; Curiosity Altered States: Change Internal Sensations Excite andamp; Relax The People Factor: Social Mechanism Shadenfreude andamp; Naches www.xeodesign.com/whyweplaygames

Hard Fun - Fiero: 

Hard Fun - Fiero Personal Triumph Over Adversity

My Fun Meter Read Out: 

My Fun Meter Read Out

Some Players: 

Some Players

Other Players: 

Other Players

LeapFrog’s FLY Pentop: 

LeapFrog’s FLY Pentop Player Prototypes and Field Studies

Fun Meter: 

Fun Meter 'Pace is everything.  User attention is the game.' – Mark Terrano

3. Fun Meter Challenge: 

3. Fun Meter Challenge More than 20 aspects to measure fun Larry andamp; Nicole have a bet Left and Right sides compete Winner gets a duck! List posted w/slides 260 ideas/hour = 4.3/min (21.5 / 5 mins)

What to Measure: 

What to Measure Pace Exploits Rewards Power Ups Score Jumps

Fun Meter Challenge: 

Fun Meter Challenge Take Away Lots of Aspects Effect Fun Each Needs a Meter

4. Sources of Data: 

4. Sources of Data Every Meter Needs a Data Source Data Relates to the Question

Slide31: 

Section 4. Data extraction is always tricky… Indirect (asking players) Direct (observing players)

Fun Meters: 

Fun Meters 'Are people around the company  (e.g. non-testers) playing?' – Steve Meretzky

Indirect Measures: 

Indirect Measures Gathering Opinions Co-Worker Focus Group Survey Beta/QA Testing Lots of noise Cheap to implement Requires player to interpret events

Internal: 

Internal Indirect Measures

Internal: 

Internal Indirect Measures

Beta/QA Testing: 

Beta/QA Testing Strengths Many People Playing Game Bugs and Exploits Easy to Set Up Forgive Artifacts Fill in What’s Missing Rapid Iteration Limits Professional Testers Bug Focus vs. Fun Player Filters Data Not Target Market Seen Earlier Versions Group Think

The Vocal Minority: 

The Vocal Minority Hate It! Love It! Silent Majority Beta/QA Testing Forums/Chat Focus Groups On Line Surveys Post Play Surveys Type of play they expect?

Focus Group: 

Focus Group Strengths Brainstorming Packaging Generating Ideas Limits Ø Behavior Group Think Opinion Leader Fibbing Post Play Watch not Play

Meta Critic: 

Meta Critic Automated Opinions of Play Limits Reviews 'Weighted' Comes too Late

Online Surveys: 

Online Surveys Strengths 35K/5yrs How Many Play w/Their Partner? Limits Ø Behavior Fibbing Question Bias Daedalus Project, Nick Yee

On Line Surveys: 

On Line Surveys Strengths Nifty Charts Measure Existing Ideas with Accuracy Automated Low Cost per Respondent Limits Self Select Ø Behavior Fibbing Mostly Quantitative Find What Ask For Bias in Questions

Fun Meter: 

Fun Meter 'We didn't have the techniques then that you are creating now to measure where the person was, and instead looked at progress vs. time or survey results after playing to try to determine where the person was at.' – Jeff Pobst

Direct Measures: 

Direct Measures Observation Data Probes Behavior Based Data Requires Expert Interpreter Tell us things that the user can’t tell us.

Observe Player: 

Observe Player XEOAnalysis Usability Un-fun Player Experiences Emotions andamp; Drivers 4 Flavors of Fun

SWG Fun Btn: 

SWG Fun Btn Usability: Remove Un-Fun (51UI)

Frustration w/o Fiero: 

Frustration w/o Fiero [Fiero flowchart w/hard and easy fun]

Observe Player Experience: 

Observe Player Experience Strengths Behavior Data Directly Observe Player, Game, Context What and Why Explore New Ideas Less Up-Front Bias Paper or Electronic Limits More Effort to Collect Data and Analyze Time Automation Trained Observer

Slide48: 

Context - Last Call Poker

Observe Players Early: 

Observe Players Early Paper Fun Meters New Roles for NPCs Wire Frame UIs Paper Prototype Play Test the Fun Automate Data Collection w/ Consumables or Tokens

Fun Meter: 

Fun Meter 'There's a core rule, a way to interact, and then tuning, an adjustment to see if it is ‘gripping and attractive’ or is it a ‘drag on the experience’?' - Hal Barwood

Slide51: 

Tuning imbalances can throw your entire economy out of kilter (killing fun), but remember to triangulate!

Economy: Detailed View: 

Economy: Detailed View More tuning imbalances: visitor bonus did not provide enough incentive to attract other players to your home, lowering in-game social connections

Play styles vary wildly across player types: hardcore players will go to great lengths for a minor cash advantage: 

Play styles vary wildly across player types: hardcore players will go to great lengths for a minor cash advantage

Slide54: 

4 of top 5: windows?? ………………. Looking at what people spend their in-game money on gives you clues into what entertains them

Slide55: 

Click rate Time Correlated data is much more valuable than single-source data Screenshots!

Measurement techniques:probes embedded in the game: 

Measurement techniques: probes embedded in the game Strengths Concrete, accurate metrics Easy, fast, automated Limits Does not directly measure fun at all, only things that indirectly impact fun Limited insight into player motivations Best uses Hot spot / dead spot analysis, tuning feedback Understanding the true actions of your players

Future Fun Meters: 

Future Fun Meters New Data Sources Biometrics Eye Tracking GSR Facial Tracking FMRI Vittorio Gallese, 2004

Conclusions: 

Conclusions

Knowing When: 

Knowing When Player Testing andamp; Reviews Data Probes Observation and Prototyping Play

We need more than better visuals in next-gen games: 

We need more than better visuals in next-gen games Visual impact eventually tapers off And who can afford it?

Breakout games – games that establish a new genre – have innovative gameplay: 

Breakout games – games that establish a new genre – have innovative gameplay Populous Pac Man Doom The Sims Habitat Grand Theft Auto Katamari Damacy … What new types of gameplay will open up new genres in next-gen?

Measured innovation, early in the design cycle, is a way to break out of the box: 

Measured innovation, early in the design cycle, is a way to break out of the box Pac man visual Cost Complexity Scale

Fun meters of the future: unite!: 

Fun meters of the future: unite!

Q&A: 

Qandamp;A Slides are on the web www.maggotranch.com/MMP www.xeodesign.com/funmeter Our contact data nicole@xeodesign.com larry@maggotranch.com