Great quotes from a lame developer

Logo still needs work...

I've just read a great mini-article interviewing former Crystal Dynamics programmer Bradley Johnson. In it he says:

Making iPhone games is quite a bit different than console games, if the audience can't pick up your game and figure out what's going on in 30 seconds then you've probably already lost 95% of your audience. 

This man speaks the truth... He then goes on to say:

That's why playtesting has been so important, so that we can recognize how people play the game and fix the problem areas

What quotes, two real gems there. Couldn't have out it better myself! Go check out his game here.

Free game usability review

So I've been writing reviews for a while now... Mostly big games, post release.

I think it's time to change that. There's little point analysing a game that's already out there - it's too late to make any significant changes. So I'm throwing my gates open to you all (as it were). If you've got a game in development, and want a game usability review (I'm looking at you, small indie developers and students), let me know!

And for all of you thinking that you don't need it... (not sure why you'd think that if you've made it to this site) what is there to lose? Free's nothing. Plus - free advertising here.

Note - I will write about my experiences in this blog, but I'll get you sign off anything I put down before it goes live. Can't say fairer then that can I? Anyone who's interested email me. alistair dot gray84 at googlemail dot com...

'I can't work the buttons'

Interesting reading in 'Games TM' magazine this month (number 95, with Red Dead Redemption on the front cover).

In it there's a quote from Jens Matthies, creative director of Machinegames. The discussion is around violence in videogames... Matthies says that violence isn't necessarily the reason non-gamers don't play games, but rather the gaming knowledge needed to start hasn't developed. Definately no arguments here!

Now, the quote - "I remember we tried testing The Darkness with a group of non-gamers and it was a complete disaster. They couldn't even work out how to leave the first room. They just didn't understand the controls or how to interact with the game".

I've not played The Darkness, but the concept of playtesting a complex 1st person shooter with non-gamers is... interesting. The playtesters would need to get some help to get going, and they'd spend their time coming to terms with the concept, rather than the game.

The key question you must ask before recruiting for playtesting - who's your audience? If the developers of The Darkness were genuinely targeting non-gamers from the outset it's a valid to bring in non-gamers... And the results should have led to some major design adjustments. If the game isn't aimed at 'non-gamers' - what will you gain by playtesting with them?

Everything you test will have a target audience. That is who will be using the product, that is who will buy the product. So make sure they can use it. If you have some extra budget, perform more rounds of testing, don't expand the playtesting audience to see how you can do in other demographics.

Additional rounds of testing allow you to "mark your homework" - you can check and see how well your changes fix the problems encountered, and make sure no new problems are introduced.

Microsoft patents online user generated help

So, according to my sources, Microsoft is placing an online help system, with content from both developers and gamers themselves. I (obviously) think this is a great idea. Hints in games are of interest to me, and I just wrote about how great it was to see Batman Arcane Asylum using hints when players fell at set pieces.




I don't want to be told what to do, let me work it out in my own slow slow way... (I hate Cluedo)

They've got a tough balance to find between hints giving away too much and too little. I'm sure they've thought it through more then me but I presume levels of obvious-ness will need to be introduced (level 1 could be a cryptic clue, and level 5 could be being told exactly what to do), supported by user ratings (something that was noticeable for its absence in Spore).

My only concern is that the patent is too strong and hamstrings Sony/Nintendo/anyone else really getting to grips with help/hints and tips in games as well. With the major developers pushing each other to develop the best/most useful and user friendly hints systems for people, great systems will develop. I'm sure they won't be put off though.

The article mentions in-game hints for Super Mario Wii... I've just got that and it's waiting for me to find enough energy to fight it's shrink wrap off. Expect some feedback on the hint system (and the rest of the game) soon.