Archive for the ‘ Game Design ’ Category

Education MMOs: UR Doin It Wrong

Many game people like the idea of educational MMOs (or at least acknowledging the real learning opportunities present in entertainment MMOs), and educators like the idea of gamified curriculum to engage what they perceive as a gamer generation of kids, so there has been momentum for educational MMOs for many years now. But are education MMOs effectively targeting the aspects of MMO design that really get players engaged and motivated, or are they focusing too much on making the sale and pleasing whoever is paying for the game development? [ READ MORE ]

Gamer Humor for the Minor Illusion of Win

Do you think the familiarity of gamer humor and other gamer conventions lend appeal to productivity apps? Or will the gamer humor limit the potential market of this productivity app to gamers and sabre-toothed limes? Gameification may be encouraging game designers to apply the stock tools* of game design to applications that might be much better without even a whiff of Leeroy Jenkins' chicken[ READ MORE ]

N00b Proof Your Funware. Tech Support Will Thank You.

It's easier than you might think to confuse even your "smartest" customers with funware, games, leaderboards, and random whimsical weirdness they weren't expecting because users have mental models of how stuff works. Software and web site work a certain way, and offer certain expected features, based on the user's past experiences. When you dump your new funware features into an experience that already has a mental map that is incongruent with funware, you are responsible for designing an informative, gentle segue from the old mental model of how your software works to the new one that includes funware. [ READ MORE ]

Nicole Lazzaro: a Useful Theory of Fun

Do you think about the full spectrum of fun when you design user experiences? Do you spend as much time thinking about player emotions as you spend on the game mechanic and rule design? Check out Nicole Lazzaro's work. She is insightful, comprehensive, and she thinks outside the box of the mainstream video game industry. [ READ MORE ]

Know the Limits of Game Mechanics

If you're a website or app designer, there is a good introductory slideshow now for using game mechanics effectively in non-game product designs, thanks to Sebastian Deterding. It's a wonderful summary of how games are effective motivators and the pitfalls you might encounter if you try to leverage game mechanics in your user experience design for products that aren't traditional games. It's best watched in fullscreen because there is a lot of small text, but it's well worth your time[ READ MORE ]

Game Industry Outsiders Weren’t Surprised. At All.

The typical pro game developer is not surprised when the latest AAA console game sells well, but they seem a few beats behind when it comes to understanding how their craft relates to engaging, motivating interactive entertainment like Club Penguin, Stardoll, IMVU, Second Life's Ozimals, Foursquare, Polyvore, and HuffPost Badges. I don't think the problem is elitism, just that the world of entertainment looks very different from inside the vertical market known as the games industry[ READ MORE ]

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