Designing Games for "the 43-year-old woman"

DESIGNING GAMES
for “the 43-year-old woman”
Chris Trottier, Zynga

“
average social gamer is a 43-year-old woman
Information Services Group / Popcap Study, 2010
Bejewelled 3’s Launch Party

I am a woman.
I am 42.
I am a mom.

more importantly…

I am a game designer.
I am not a gamer.

When I say “not a gamer,” I mean…

When we invite people over…
We do this.
But not this.

In my world…
dice have six sides.
exclusively.

If there were a spectrum…
GAMER
NOT A GAMER

Touchy Ground
This is very subjective.
There is no ONE 43-yr-old woman.
Most female game developers would disagreewith me.
I speak for myself, not for Zynga.

We’ve experienced a sea change
re: whose mindshare we have access to

Ten Years Ago…
HARDCORE
GAMERS
GAMERS
CASUAL
GAMERS
Passionate about games
Opportunistic play of traditional games, consoles
FIND games they enjoy on the web
And break-outs were
very exceptional
We made games for people who were… INTO games!

Suddenly, we’re under the noses of EVERYONE
“a friend of yours played a game…”

HARDCORE
GAMERS
GAMERS
CASUAL
GAMERS
“ACCIDENTAL” GAMERS
Don’t seek out games but will play them when they come to them.
And we’re finding all kinds of people who didn’t know they were into games.

We’re spoiled.
We are used to making games for a captive audience.

Understanding (and Respecting)
the Accidental Gamer

“What should I do for fun?”
choices, choices…

Computer time is also crowded.

(But those are people with leisure time.)
Let’s talk about moms.

In the game of raising kids…
Energy
Brain Power
Composure
these are your resources.

Kids have Al states  behavior
breakdown
distress
cease fire
cuddly
With a gravity well at the bottom

You WANT to spend resource on progressionMore often spending it on disaster avoidance and basic maintenance.
Energy
Brain Power
Composure
Resource are frequently TAPPED OUT.

Non-linear day
WAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
MOM!!
Where’s a changing table? Shit.
DIAPER GROSS-OUT!
Shit, why is she getting so pissy?
Look up this rash on the web.
Need more diaper cream!
Need to pack pad in the bag!!!
Clean up that spaghetti on the wall.
Doc says try rice milk…

Repair
Remember
Regroup
Restrategize
This is when it makes sense for me to game.
Naptime is special

When I game, I don’t want to be:
Bothered
Hassled
Challenged
I’m already good for all that stuff, thx.

A game for moms would be wise to…
Pour her a proverbial glass of wine
Expect little
Be charming
…be easy to love.

The Art of Woo

TOP 10 DEAL-BREAKERS

#10 WORK TO PLAY

Day 1 No-No’s

#9 EYE-HAND COORDINATION

Donkey Kong, Nintendo
LOVE this game. (I just lose all the time.)

#8 DUDE FICTIONS

Orcs, dungeons, warfare, guns, Armageddon, space ships, sci-fi, aliens

#7 PINKY-PINK

Note: these mega-hits are not pink!
The Sims 2, Electronic Arts
FarmVille, Zynga
Players quick to call things “babyish”

#6 RIGID TIMING

Mommy’s busy helping her guild right now.

My free time is not predictable.
live events
tournaments
raid schedule
I can’t/won’t schedule my day around a game

Contradiction?
An appointment *I* make
With a big, big buffer

#5 STUCK POINTS

Zork, Infocom
Day of the Tentacle, Lucas Arts
Lemmings, DMA Design
Loved these. Got stuck. Stopped.

#4 STRANGERS

Strangers are intimidating

They act weird.
And talk like they’re in secret clubs.

#3 GADGETRY

Uhhh?
Errr?
Or????
Quick, grab your sword and swing while jumping!!

Applies to UI too
EACH PIECE of info adds a reason to not engage.

#2 THE MERE SCENT OF A RIGHT/WRONG CHOICE

FarmVille, Zynga
Players got stuck at this step until we REMOVED info re: # friends with that specialty.

#1 3D CAMERA

Real-life 3D navigation is not a problem.
3D game navigation is a BIG problem.

Rule of thumb:
if my BODY doesn’t rotate, the world hasn’t rotated.

TOP 11 TURN-ONS

#11 REAL-WORLD VALUE

What is this doing for me?
Am I wasting my time?
Player will ask themselves this every so often.

not necessarily #1 consideration for moms
fun

Creative outlet
Keep connected
“
Good for others
more than 80 percent of social gamers [report] that playing social games strengthens their relationship with friends, family and colleagues.
Information Services Group / Popcap Study, 2010
Good for me
Relaxes me
Brain Age, Nintendo
Wii Fit, Nintendo

#10 HELP ME EXPRESS MYSELF

Could be really simple
An impressive score
A clever name
An aesthetic preference
CityVille, Zynga
Bejewelled Blitz, PopCap Games
FarmVille, Zynga

FarmVille, Zynga
The Sims Online, Maxis/EA
Hard to beat a satisfying deco play

#9 KEEP EVOLVING

The Sims 2, Maxis/EA
The Sims, Maxis/EA
FrontierVille, Zynga
Continued surprise

FarmVille, Zynga
Mafia Wars, Zynga
Same core, different twist

This is not yet being solved well.
This is a problem for game designers.
Happy long-term committed relationship!
And, yes, Deeper Mechanics

#8REAL-WORLD FANTASY

Skype
IMVU
vSide
Pogo, Electronic Arts
The Sims 2,
Electronic Arts
My avatars: me, with a stylist

YoVille,
Zynga
FarmVille,
Zynga
YoVille,
Zynga
“Fantasy” = real life + costume party

what I’m grinding on in FarmVille right now.

Beauty Pageant? Really?
Over-the-top Christmas
The Sims Online, Maxis/EA
FarmVille, Zynga
Life, unbound

#7REFLECTS MY PEOPLE

Cool, I hired Mark Pincus!
Thanks, Mags.
Restaurant City, PlayFish/EA

sister
???
Friend from spore
???
Friend of friend
???
Former boss
???
High school nemesis
???
Fascinating
Totally boring

Bijou Phillips

#6BIG-DEAL MILESTONES

FICTIONALLY meaningful = as important as functionally meaningful

#5WANTING, GETTING, HAVING

Wanting and not having is wonderful
But getting is also bliss

FarmVille, Zynga

Important: has to be something I can actually **WANT**!

FarmVille players are DEEPLY motivated by crop mastery signs.
(Newsflash: not because of the buff.)

#4SATISFYING CORE ACTION

Fairway Solitaire, Big Fish Games

Diner Dash, PlayFirst
Moments of “all done.” “All’s right.” Chaos management.

FarmVille, Zynga

A “to do” list where I make actual progress

#3 SIMPLE PLEASURES

Social City, Playdom
CityVille, Zynga
FarmVille, Zynga

Sims jealousy hack got more mileage than any other piece of AI

#2 YUMMY ON THE EYES

Chuzzle,
PopCap
STYLE

Plants vs. Zombies, PopCap
Petville, Zynga

FarmVille, Zynga
Gorgeous, juicy, happy

Mystery Case Files,
Big Fish Games
“Intriguing”

#1 NICE TO TOUCH

FarmVille, Zynga

Zuma, PopCap Games
Chuzzle, PopCap Games

Wrap-Up

Games for Gamers
Wind-me-up
Challenging
Intense
Realistic
Fast-paced
Competitive
Hard-core
Twitchy
Complex

Games for Everyone
Collaborative
Charming
Beautiful
Useful
Satisfying
Relaxing
Rewarding
Expressive
Connected
Intuitive
Intriguing
Unstressed

We can do better.
unwind
rewarding over time
feel good about
essential appeal

| thank you!

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Designing Games for "the 43-year-old woman"

by Chris Trottier on Mar 14, 2011

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Designing Games for "the 43-year-old woman" Presentation Transcript