Gamers as Customers and Employees

From Competitive Instinctto Competitive AdvantageGamers as Employees and Customers

Jeff DeChambeau December 1, 2009

Examine the gaming experience

Implications for managers and marketers

2 © 2009 Moxie Insight. All Rights Reserved.

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

© 2009 Moxie Insight. All Rights Reserved.

CoD: Modern Warfare II

3

Copyright nGenera 20094

Who are these people?



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


Games are their own worlds


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”


Games have their own logic

7

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


Portal videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TluRVBhmf8w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TluRVBhmf8w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TluRVBhmf8w


Present obstacle

Introduce skill

Confirm competence

Increase challenge

Combine & summarize

Add to toolbox

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Wired explaining Portal

Games teaching gamers


Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap), GTA3 (Rockstar), NBA 2K10 (Visual Concepts)Legend of Zelda: OoT (Nintendo), Starcraft 2 (Blizzard), Homeworld (Relic)

Copyright nGenera 2009© 2009 Moxie Insight. All Rights Reserved. 10


Optimize the fun


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


Team Fortress 2 (Valve Software)



Bioshock (2K)



Gamers fail often


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


Braid videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqtSKkyJgFM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqtSKkyJgFM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqtSKkyJgFM

Forza Motorsports 3http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZPHswbgeuY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZPHswbgeuY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZPHswbgeuY


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

18 Copyright nGenera 2009© 2009 Moxie Insight. All Rights Reserved.


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



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



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



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



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 [email protected]

416.836.8880

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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Gamers as Customers and Employees