Simplicity and Subject Matter
There's article on Primotech, if you haven't seen it already...

Is the XBox 360 Really Mom Friendly?

This isn't a survey - it's one woman's attitude and opinion on several games for the XBox 360. But her personal account (and her son's commentary) provide a glimpse into reasons WHY (or why not) that a survey wouldn't reveal.

One of the most telling pieces of information came in the interview at the end of the article:

Alex: What about the Arcade Games, weren’t those easier?

Mrs. P: Hexic I liked a lot, but Marble Blast was pretty tough. I think when it comes to winning over this audience, the simpler the better. But I also think spending over $400 is absurd just to play a Mattel card game that goes for $5 in real life, for instance.

Alex: What may make you want to purchase the console or play other games?

Mrs. P: I think the biggest factor would be if I could find a game that I could relate to, containing subject matter that I enjoy. Again, that’s partially why I liked Condemned. I think too often though, the plot is quite insipid. I think strong dramatic elements, like story and visuals and music, would be a bigger draw to older generations than unique gameplay mechanics or what have you.

I think the biggest problem is a simple lack of experience. It seemed like, in a game such as Prey, you knew exactly where to go after looking at a puzzle or roadblock, whereas it’d take me an exorbitant amount of time to move onto the next task or area. And it took me a very long time to develop the ability to move freely in the game and feel comfortable with the controls, to some extent. I could see some people just getting too frustrated to continue, however.

Simplicity and Subject matter.

I'm a geek, and a guy, so I relate well to subject matter involving blowing the crap out of aliens in space ships. Or beating up goblins with a sword. And geek guys *used* to be the prime audience for games. But that's been changing for a while. Games are mainstream, and the fastest-growing audience right now is women aged 40+. And many adults would rather play casual games than watch television or movies, according to this recent survey:

Casual Gaming Taking Places of Daily Activities

So is gaming ready for more psychological thrillers? More detective stories with less combat and more detecting? More romances? I don't know. As I've commented before, games tend towards violence because violence is way, way easier to do than other forms of human interaction.

That is, if we're trying to SIMULATE human interaction, like we simulate violence - simulating the full causality. But what about abstracting the interface a bit more? It's been done, especially in board games. Chess doesn't accurately simulate any real-world battle strategies, but it still represents (and, to a degree, teaches) battlefield tactics. Monopoly is a horrible simulation of real-world corporate strategy and economics, but it still conveys the feeling of portraying a ruthless real-estate tycoon.

What if you have to collect and play cards to get certain emotional responses from other characters, rather than directly simulating a conversation? Combine the (relative) simplicity of a game of Poker with the subject matter of mystery novel?

Labels: Game Design

- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 9:13 AM (Permalink)