Chris Trottier, Zynga, GDC 2011

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

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

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

5. more importantly…

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

7. When I say “not a gamer,” I mean…

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

9. In my world… dice have six sides. exclusively.

10. If there were a spectrum… GAMER NOT A GAMER

11. 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.

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

13. 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!

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

15. 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.

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

17. Understanding (and Respecting) the Accidental Gamer

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

19. Computer time is also crowded.

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

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

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

23. 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.

24. 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…

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

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

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

28. The Art of Woo

29. TOP 10 DEAL-BREAKERS

30. #10 WORK TO PLAY

31. Day 1 No-No’s

32. #9 EYE-HAND COORDINATION

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

34. #8 DUDE FICTIONS

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

36. #7 PINKY-PINK

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

38. #6 RIGID TIMING

39. Mommy’s busy helping her guild right now.

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

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

42. #5 STUCK POINTS

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

44. #4 STRANGERS

45. Strangers are intimidating

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

47. #3 GADGETRY

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

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

50. #2 THE MERE SCENT OF A RIGHT/WRONG CHOICE

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

52. #1 3D CAMERA

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

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

55. TOP 11 TURN-ONS

56. #11 REAL-WORLD VALUE

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

58. not necessarily #1 consideration for moms fun

59. 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

60. #10 HELP ME EXPRESS MYSELF

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

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

63. #9 KEEP EVOLVING

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

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

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

67. #8REAL-WORLD FANTASY

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

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

70. what I’m grinding on in FarmVille right now.

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

72. #7REFLECTS MY PEOPLE

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

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

75. Bijou Phillips

76. #6BIG-DEAL MILESTONES

77. The Sims 2, Maxis/EA The Sims 2, Maxis/EA The Sims 2, Maxis/EA FICTIONALLY meaningful = as important as functionally meaningful

78. FrontierVille, Zynga

79. #5WANTING, GETTING, HAVING

80. Wanting and not having is wonderful But getting is also bliss

81. FarmVille, Zynga

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

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

84. #4SATISFYING CORE ACTION

85. Fairway Solitaire, Big Fish Games

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

87. FarmVille, Zynga

88. A “to do” list where I make actual progress

89. #3 SIMPLE PLEASURES

90. Social City, Playdom CityVille, Zynga FarmVille, Zynga

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

92. #2 YUMMY ON THE EYES

93. Chuzzle, PopCap STYLE

94. Plants vs. Zombies, PopCap Petville, Zynga

95. FarmVille, Zynga Gorgeous, juicy, happy

96. Mystery Case Files, Big Fish Games “Intriguing”

97. #1 NICE TO TOUCH

98. FarmVille, Zynga

99. FrontierVille, Zynga

100. Zuma, PopCap Games Chuzzle, PopCap Games

101. Wrap-Up

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

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

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

105. | thank you!