Jason Schklar Founder, Initial Experience Consulting Game & User Experience Consultant Guerrilla Band: The role of Serendipity and Community in Games User-testing 09/22/09 Funologists Live & In Person: Guerilla Game Research

Jason Schklar

Founder, Initial Experience Consulting

Game & User Experience Consultant

User-testing, producering, editing, design directing... What kinds of “funology” work do I do? 09/22/09 Funologists Live & In Person: Guerilla Game Research

User-testing, producering, editing, design directing...

Ensure the core mechanic is usable, playable and fun. Then work backwards to create an approachable and enjoyable first 5, 15, 60 minutes and beyond. My specific focus is: Initial Experience 09/22/09 Funologists Live & In Person: Guerilla Game Research

Ensure the core mechanic is usable, playable and fun. Then work backwards to create an approachable and enjoyable first 5, 15, 60 minutes and beyond.

The goal: Make flight combat fun for Action Adventure gamers. Big Budget, Big Team, Big Expectations... 09/22/09 Funologists Live & In Person: Guerilla Game Research

The goal: Make flight combat fun for Action Adventure gamers.

When we actually put Action Adventure gamers in the cockpit, they had very different ideas about how planes are meant to be flown. And, not surprisingly, Big Problems... 09/22/09 Funologists Live & In Person: Guerilla Game Research

When we actually put Action Adventure gamers in the cockpit, they had very different ideas about how planes are meant to be flown.

State of the art equipment, expensive studies, and lots of boring reports... Reports that fell on deaf ears. So, of course we tried Big Solutions 09/22/09 Funologists Live & In Person: Guerilla Game Research

State of the art equipment, expensive studies, and lots of boring reports...

Reports that fell on deaf ears.

Serendipity: Hard Work + Luck Players crashed constantly. Players were unable to aim effectively. Why? The game expected subtlety. Action Adventure gamers are not subtle. The usual boring report findings The sound of one stick tapping... 09/22/09 Funologists Live & In Person: Guerilla Game Research Notice the headsets...

Players crashed constantly.

Players were unable to aim effectively.

Why? The game expected subtlety. Action Adventure gamers are not subtle.

The usual boring report findings

The sound of one stick tapping...

Notice the headsets...

"The guerrilla band is ... the fighting vanguard of the people. It draws its great force from the mass of the people themselves. " Ché on Guerrilla Bands 09/22/09 Funologists Live & In Person: Guerilla Game Research

"The guerrilla band is ... the fighting vanguard of the people. It draws its great force from the mass of the people themselves. "

Community: Forming the Guerrilla Band Lone Revolutionary The User-testing Irregulars 09/22/09 Funologists Live & In Person: Guerilla Game Research

Lone Revolutionary

The User-testing Irregulars

What this “Guerrilla Band” did... Core Flight Mechanics: RITE Usability Initial Experience: Collaborative Design Balance & Polish Content: Daily Strike Team Review Metacritic: 88% AIAS Action Adventure GotY (2003) ~1M lifetime sales Commando “strike” teams Results 09/22/09 Funologists Live & In Person: Guerilla Game Research

Core Flight Mechanics: RITE Usability

Initial Experience: Collaborative Design

Balance & Polish Content: Daily Strike Team Review

Metacritic: 88%

AIAS Action Adventure GotY (2003)

~1M lifetime sales

Commando “strike” teams

Results

Recap: What is funology? Someone who keeps game developers from covering their eyes when the freight train of player experience collides with the soft, fluffy tailed bunny of design vision and implementation. Convey useful observations in a way that encourages additional iteration. Involve the team in communal user-testing. Take advantage of the occasional lucky break. Talkin’ about my definition... What successful funologists do: 09/22/09 Funologists Live & In Person: Guerilla Game Research

Someone who keeps game developers from covering their eyes when the freight train of player experience collides with the soft, fluffy tailed bunny of design vision and implementation.

Convey useful observations in a way that encourages additional iteration.

Involve the team in communal user-testing.

Take advantage of the occasional lucky break.

Talkin’ about my definition...

What successful funologists do: