My 10 Points to Powerful Experience Design


Here are my 10 Points to creating a powerful User Experience.

1.     Harness technology
2.     Morph & Adapt
3.     Create a compelling story
4.     Design powerful exploration
5.     Reduce complexity
6.     Decrease target knowledge
7.     Create synergy
8.     Form expectation
9.     Generate loyalty
10. Incentivize, Socalize, Gamify

Badges + Coupons = Scanable coupon



Let’s face it, there is no getting away from social games. And truthfully, who would want to get away from them. Social games are the most lucrative and successful sector of gaming at the moment. The advent of sites such as facebook and the evolution of the iphone are the primary reasons this sector is so successful. But, let’s be honest, we can always improve on a good thing. Games are great, and so are all of the achievements that go along with them. But the achievement needs to evolve just as everything else. Honestly, who cares about an achievement when only my gaming ecosystem cares and I don’t physically receive anything tangible. Which leads me to my quote, Badges + Coupons = Scanable coupon. Apps like scvngr, google and facebook places all have this idea, but I think we need to take it one step further. Simplify it; turn the actual badge into a scanable coupon. Augmented codes are the wave of the future and we need to begin to evolve our achievement systems within the game space. This idea can transcend across all platforms and truly begin to give physical feedback back to the gaming community. Imagine playing the latest Call of Duty game, and unlocking an achievment. Those achievements are emailed to you in digital form where you can redeem them individually or you can link them together so that you can redeem the accumulated sum for free games, discounts for games, swag, etc. This can work from advergames, mobile, console and any type of gamified experience you choose to create. Gamers want physical things they can use, talk about and utilize.

It has already begun with the company Tap.me and will only begin to evolve from there. So get out there and play games and never stop thinking how we can evolve our community. Game On!

Leadership Tactics


Becoming a leader in the entertainment industry is not an easy task and being an experience designer requires a through understanding and practice in the category of leadership. Through my experience in the entertainment industry either, you have it or you don't. Leadership is not something that you can fake, and when you try, it is vividly apparent. So what do you do if you are put in a position of leadership and have no idea where to start. Well, I believe that leadership is broken up into 4 categories: Strategy, Encouragement, Support and Management. Within each main category are subcategories that are the primary components that define that category. The graph below outlines these elements is a easily digestible format. If you follow these core elements and build on their foundation, then you are on way to being a successful leader.

Leadership Tactics Chart v1.0: (Click Image to Enlarge)

The Omitted Game Mechanic Spec


I have recently been developing a Spec for defining exactly what your game is NOT and clearly outlining what has been omitted from the Game Spec. I have created a template that you can download HERE in word format. This is always great to keep updated along with the spec for when mechanics have been removed for numerous reasons. It is also useful to see all of the omitted mechanics as one complete document along with the reasoning for the removal of the specific mechanic. Things change by the minute in game design and sometimes without our knowledge. Having a document the team can work off of and can reference at any given time that clearly articulates the reasoning for mechanic extraction and more useful than you know.

Defining your game's Value System



When developing the core concept for your game it is essential to identify your value system. Most any and all types will fall under the following categories: Health, Resources, Currency, Freedom, Morality & Alliances. A solid process is to determine where your tiered scale falls in relation to your game’s value system. Reorder the tiers as you see fit so you can have a defined representation of your systems arrangement. Once this is ascertained, a proper development structure can be established.

I have included the EPS file HERE for your convenience. 



Design Guidelines that will improve any game


So I was reading fellow game designer Mike Darga's blog and he posted a few guidelines that will improve any game.

1. If you want to change your players' behavior, you need to change your game design.
2. The game must teach the player what the game expects the player to know.
3. The game should never teach the player to do something the player is expected not to do.
4. Whatever actions the player will perform the most often must be the easiest actions to perform.

I agree with all the former guidelines and am going to add a few of my own.

5. Familiarity is not necessarily a bad thing: Example: while at EA we were designing a 3rd person shooter and were mapping the controller mechanics and behavior. During our play testing we noticed people were comparing our game to Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 and were distressed in the fact that our controller mapping didn't follow a similar layout as MOW2. So we took a step back and remapped our controller mechanics in a similar fashion with MOW 2's layout and each of the testers had a much more enjoyable experience. Drafting off a successful mechanic is not necessarily a bad thing and can make your life that much easier and your game that much more successful.

6. If your target demographic is 13-30, then target 13:  We always expect our players to know too much and always assume they will "just get it". Trust me, this is not always the case. Always target the lowest portion of your demographic and your game will be that much more successful. It is always the case when you try to assume too much from your players where we create road blocks and frustration points that create negative experiences for the player.

7. A friendly reminder is always the best medicine: This is in addition to number 6. There are numerous games that I have played where they just assume you will remember a simple combat, driving, flying, etc mechanic. But the fact of the matter is most people will take a short break from your game and then have to relearn your game's behaviors the next time they return. Assistance motivators are the answer for this quandary. Lot's of games now will guide your through basic mechanics while you play the game. But we can build it smarter, we can build in timers that know the length of your vacation and then reintroduce you to the game leisurely.

8. Design for the unexpected: This has to be one of the biggest pitfalls of game design and is in continuation of 6 & 7. Game exploitation is a fact that most designers do not account for and are not cognizant of. If there is the smallest possibility that an exploit can be achieved, trust me, a player will find it. A good example is the Call of Duty series. In Modern Warfare 2 balancing and camping was a huge problem and it wasn't until Black Ops came out where they fixed all those issues. A player shouldn't have to wait for an entirely new game to fix major issues such as balancing and level camping. So a good rule of thumb is to design for the exploiter in mind from the off set and you will have a much more enjoyable experience.

9. Simplify mechanics that normally frustrate players: Almost all games rely on old game play mechanics. Since that is the case there is no reason to reinvent the wheel since most likely you game will have a handful of it's own new mechanics. But not all games just let a good thing settle. They try to tweak the old mechanics in hopes they can improve it when in the end they just make it worse. The rule of thumb here should be don't add to the mechanic only subtract. Simplify the mechanic so the player can execute it easier therefore enhancing the game play experience instead of hindering it.

10. Design it to break: If you are not pushing the boundaries of your tech, story and design then you are doing yourself a disservice as well as your consumer. Always think outside the box and push your tech to it's breaking point. It is here where you will find what you are really made of. It is also here where you will find the most reward once it all gets figured out. Trust me, it is at the breaking point where the best things come to light.

The Game Design Playbook


With the ever changing world of game play mechanics and behavior it is hard to have a good foundation of what is required to make a fun and engaging game. With much research and my own personal experience I have compiled my own game design playbook. It is an ever evolving list of requirements and recommendations that I use when tasked with starting a new Game Design Document. It has helped me over the years and now I want to share it with my fellow designers. You can grab the PDF here.

I will keep this document updated as new mechanics evolve. Enjoy and keep designing great games.