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From Competitive Instinctto Competitive AdvantageGamers as Employees and Customers
Jeff DeChambeau December 1, 2009
Examine the gaming experience
Implications for managers and marketers
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Games are really big
3 Copyright nGenera 2009
Modern Warfare II (Infinity Ward)
“Games are the new movies”
Ghostbusters (1.25M units)
Batman (>2M units)
Grant Theft Auto IV
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
$60-$80/unit
Games are really big
“Games are the new movies”
Ghostbusters (1.25M units)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (>2M units)
Grand Theft Auto IV
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
$60-80/unit
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CoD: Modern Warfare II
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Who are these people?
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GenderGender
Men 55%
Women 50%
AgeAge
18-29 81%
30-49 60%
50-64 40%
65+ 23%
Household IncomeHousehold Income
<$30,000 52%
$30,000 - $49,999 59%
$50,000 - $74,999 62%
>$75,000 56%
FrequencyFrequencyFrequencyFrequencyFrequency
Daily Weekly Monthly Less
All 21% 28% 27% 20%
18-29 20% 30% 30% 16%
30-49 20% 26% 25% 24%
50-64 19% 30% 25% 24%
65+ 36% 28% 17% 14%
Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project Survey, October-December 2007. n=2054 total adults, margin of error is +/-2%
Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project Survey, October-December 2007. n=1063 total adults, margin of error is +/-3%
The numbers
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Games are their own worlds
6 Copyright nGenera 2009
Spore (Maxis)
People invest a lot (!) of time in these worlds
Successful games are successful for a reason
Best games share common design principles
Gamers are likely to play the best games
We can therefore talk about the “gaming experience”
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Games have their own logic
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So does the organization!
In games, this logic is explicitly and implicitly taught to the player
Very specific rules and criteria must be met to win
Winning is always the goal
Gamers are therefore predisposed to following rules
The games have to teach the gamers how to play and win
Let’s look at an example of an entire game that’s a tutorial, Portal
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Portal videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TluRVBhmf8w
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Present obstacle
Introduce skill
Confirm competence
Increase challenge
Combine & summarize
Add to toolbox
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Wired explaining Portal
Games teaching gamers
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Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap), GTA3 (Rockstar), NBA 2K10 (Visual Concepts)Legend of Zelda: OoT (Nintendo), Starcraft 2 (Blizzard), Homeworld (Relic)
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Optimize the fun
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Team Fortress 2 (Valve Software)
Gamers are playing to win
Other gamers are means to victory
Camp, bait, exploit, hack
How do you encourage supportive behavior?
Games generate lots of perfect data
Leads to “local optimization” and “optimal strategies”
Few strategies are better than being the fastest
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Team Fortress 2 (Valve Software)
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Bioshock (2K)
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Gamers fail often
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Despair Incorporated
Failure is a core dynamic for all games
Gamers want to win, just not too easily
Failures resets strategies
Encourage new solutions & skills
Attempted in quick succession
Results in a fearless, iterative approach
Skills are mastered through repetition
Example: Braid
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Braid videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqtSKkyJgFM
Forza Motorsports 3http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZPHswbgeuY
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Beyond the final boss
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Counter-Strike & Half-Life 2 (Valve Software)
HL2DQCounter-Strike© 2009 Moxie Insight. All Rights Reserved.
Core takeaways
Gamers are self-interested (maybe even lazy)
Gamers have a need for speed
Gamers demand engagement
Gamers experiment (and fail) readily
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Gamers are self-interestedManagersClearly define tasks and “completion conditions”
Explain the bigger picture
Make altruism a system trait
Beware of a “peers as resources” mentality
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MarketersHelp them win, and you win too
Don’t distract, annoy, or detract from the experience
Appeal to their vanity
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Gamers have a need for speed
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ManagersGive them urgent projects
Beware the tension between speed and velocity
Expect frustration in response to slow peers, processes, and systems
Present tasks in series
MarketersTarget them carefully
Be respectful of their time and succinct with your message
Give them an edge
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Gamers demand engagement
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ManagersThey are predisposed to following rules
Carefully open up feedback data
Draw clear links between behaviors and results
Recognize wins publicly
Give them a trophy case
MarketersCreate engaging, meaningful consumer experiences
Extend virtual experiences into the physical world
Extend physical experiences into virtual worlds
Offer “context aware” products
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Gamers experiment readily
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ManagersSet the scope and context
They’re not afraid to fail, but failure isn’t always “no biggie”
Clearly specify what tools can (or can’t) be used when solving problems
MarketersUnderstand the core dynamics of how games work
Create campaigns that show gamers that you understand their shared experience
Experiment yourself
© 2009 Moxie Insight. All Rights Reserved.
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Related researchGamers as employees and customers, January 2010, by Jeff DeChambeau
Valve Software: Engaging prosumers, competitors, and communities, November 2009, by Jeff DeChambeau
The Art of Warcraft - Leadership, Metrics, Design and Business Intelligence for the Collaborative Enterprise, and Radical Decentralization: Organizational Design, May and June 2009, by Alan Majer
Game Time: Marketing Opportunities in Social Gaming, August 2009, by Catherine Thorn
23 © 2009 Moxie Insight. All Rights Reserved.
Jeff DeChambeaujeffd@moxieinsight.com
416.836.8880