Getting Player Feedback: Reactions vs Comments

As a game designer, I always keep in mind that I create games not for myself, but for others. What I enjoy most is the process itself, the development. But the end product? That's for everyone else!

Keeping that in mind, I always allow myself to be open to feedback from players. The only way I can create the best experiences for people to enjoy, is to hear from them what they want. But what I've discovered is that people tend to not tell you what they really want, well not directly, anyway.

Game balancing is one of the most important, and rewarding, parts of my job. This is the process of making small (and sometimes large) adjustments to gameplay elements to tweak the game's difficulty and ease-of-use. This process is not possible without outside feedback obtained by allowing people to play the game.

There are a couple different ways that I have participated in which to receive and process this information:

• Gameplay Survey: players play through a section of the game (most often a demo or vertical slice of the game) and complete a follow-up questionnaire.

• Usability Test: Having a player play the game while the designer (and other developers) observe. In my experience, the play session is recorded and then watched later. This is usually followed by a brief interview with the player to get their thoughts and comments.

These are two very effective means of getting feedback from your game. In my experience, one has proven to be more useful to me, as a Game Designer than the other. I personally, much prefer the second option: the Usability Test, and I'll explain why.

There are outside factors that can alter a person's responses; someone may not answer truthfully because of a fear of being embarrassed, or being perceived as "dumb". This is most common when asking people if they found the game was too difficult. I've observed play sessions where a player is stuck at point and is visibly frustrated, yet during the post-session interview, when asked if they were ever stuck or had any trouble, the person answers: "Nope. I had no trouble at all!"

Because I was able to watch the player as they were playing, I was able to see the part in which they actually did get stuck (and this was seen repeatedly across multiple test sessions with different players), I was able to identify a potential problem with the design and could think about ways to improve it. The part in question was a specific puzzle that did give the player enough information to logically deduce a solution, trial and error became the only effective method to solve it. Thanks to the information from the play sessions, I was able to identify and fix a problem before release.

Game balancing and testing is a very important part of the design process that must not be overlooked. My experience has taught me that by letting people play your game and by watching how they play, you can learn more about how your game plays than by simply asking them: "So, how was it?"

As with all disciplines of development, a game designer must remain diligent, focused and proactive.

2-for-1: "Long time, no see" & "Hard Times in Lordran"

Well, regular updates sure came to a screeching halt in September... but at least I have a good excuse this time.

That's right, I've taken inspiration from a Rodney Dangerfield movie

I'm bettering myself, one College credit at a time. On top of my very busy work schedule, I am taking some courses at Toronto's George Brown College.

It's been tiring and exhausting, but the payoff should be worthwhile; the self-satisfaction that I am continually bettering myself through education (or something like that).

I just realized that College credits are like Achievements that actually have meaning! Although, I think I'd trade any diploma for the chance to have the Xbox's "Achievement Unlocked" sound (or the PS3's "Trophy Unlocked" sound) play whenever I pass a class.

So, with that out of the way, let's move on to this week's topic:

Hard Times in Lordran


For those who don't know, Lordran is the fictional setting of the game Dark Souls. Dark Souls is one of my most anticipated games of the year ([barely]beating out games like Batman: Arkham City and Uncharted 3!). The only game I'm even looking forward to even more is Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

For the uninitiated, Dark Souls is the spiritual successor (and by that I mean "exact sequel" but can't be called that because it's being distributed by a different publisher) to 2009's Demon's Souls. Demon's Souls is considered to be one of the hardest games ever. I powered my way through that game (earning myself the Platinum Trophy along the way!) and it earned a spot amongst my favorite games ever. Demon's Souls provided a sense of accomplishment that has barely been matched since.


So far, after a week with Dark Souls, I can say that Dark Souls is better than Demon's Souls... and it's also a hell of a lot harder! The advertising campaign gleefully told players: "Prepare to Die", and they weren't kidding. In fact, dying is very much an integral part of Dark Souls, you will do it a lot. But if you able to learn from each death, you will eventually triumph and overcome. Just make sure the big words "YOU DIED" that appear don't get burned into your plasma screen.

Over the next little while, I will keep a diary documenting my journey through Dark Souls. If it goes anything like Demon's Souls did then it should be exciting journey of frustration, loss, despair, joy, more frustration and eventually... victory.

One week in, here's how things are going:

Character Name: Wiegraf
Character Class: Pyromancer
Level: 29
Bosses Killed: 3
Times Died: Already lost count (30+, I think)
Trophy Progress: 7%
Current Mood: Happy Adventurer
Current progress: Trying to kill the Capra Demon, not sure what to do about it as this boss has managed to kill me in less that 5 seconds on 3 separate tries...

Wish me luck, I guess.

FanExpo 2011

This year was my first time at FanExpo (or any kind of con for that matter) and I will start off by saying that I had a great and am completely sold on the experience. I’m ready to sign up for life.

My wife, Courtney, and I attended three out of the four days of the event (Thursday, Saturday and Sunday) and enjoyed every moment. It was a weekend filled with good times and good company.

Here are some of the highlights:

On the Show Floor

The main floor of FanExpo was a bustling city of vendors and exhibitors. The broad scope of the show helps make it a great atmosphere for everyone, from the super-nerdy to the ultra-nerdy. With Gaming, Comics, Sci-Fi, Anime and Horror being represented, there really is a lot going on. And there are plenty of cosplayers on hand too, so you’ll see your fair share of Storm Troopers, Wolverines and Narutoes (Naruti?).

Here’s an awesome Pyramid Head costume from the show floor:

I couldn’t help but feel that my knowledge of Anime is shallow at best, as there were a lot of Anime costumes that I didn’t even have a clue about. Actually, maybe I should take comfort in that :P

Artists Galore

Next to all of the big corporate booths is Artist Alley, where many independent (and very talented) artists set up booths to showcase and sell their artistic creations. This actually proved to be one of the more interesting places for us as we came across several great pieces of art that we just had to have.

One of the things I was hell-bent on finding was anything Mega Man related (which was surprisingly (or maybe unsurprisingly) difficult to find). So when I saw this print by artist Elizabeth Sherry, I had to get it:

The Light family portrait... all kinds of awesome!

Another artist of note was Ricky Kruger, who was showing off some really fantastic superhero paintings. Courtney fell in love with Ricky’s Captain America. It is one of our most prized finds of FanExpo. You can see it and more at Ricky’s website.

Ricky's an awesome dude, and deserves a million high-fives!

http://www.rickykruger.com/

http://sherryillustration.com/

John Waters

Fan conventions are very sycophantic gatherings, so there is never a shortage of celebrities. There were many big names on hand to see and get autographs from, but we were more interested in attending panels and walking the floor than standing in long lines for all-too-brief exchanges with celebrities. There was, however, one person on hand that Courtney couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see in person, John Waters.

We waited patiently as the line inched forward at a slow to non-existent forward pace. Courtney had a photo on hand, ready for an autograph, looking forward to catch little glimpses of his exchanges with the fans. We noted how kind and cool he was carrying himself, as expected.

We got to the front of the line, it was our turn. We walked up, got a smile and an autograph then a quick handshake and I took a few quick photographs of John Waters with Courtney. We walked away and I realized that it all happened so fast, it was a blur.

Marvel Panels: Re-invigorating my burning desire for comics

We attended a few Marvel panels (I was at two and Courtney went to four in total) and all were excellent. Getting the chance to meet comic book writers and editors provided amazing insight into the creative process (which was awesome enough). Getting information on current and upcoming storylines and series’ was cool, and it was all fascinating and occasionally hilarious (Jason Aaron is a master of deadpan humor).

The lesson I learned: It is my Canadian duty to support Alpha Flight. And I’m only too happy to step up.

Marvel Comics panelists (Left to Right): C.B. Cebulski (talent management), Axel Alonso (editor-in-chief) and Jason Aaron (writer)

Retro Gaming Lounge

One of my favorite places of FanExpo was the Retro Gaming Lounge set up on the 800 level. It was a large room with Old Computers (an Apple II and Commodore 64), Retro Consoles (NES’s, SNES’s, N64’s) and some nice rarities (a top-loading NES, an original PONG and a compact Genesis/SEGA-CD duo). There was plenty to look at and even more to play as there were stations set up and ready for Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, Goldeneye and more.

There was lots of cool stuff there and I found it useful for those times I had an hour or so between panels.

We are merely passing through history. But this... this IS history!

Games

There were some games on display, but not very many. Sony had a huge booth set up for Uncharted 3 (the multiplayer beta has been available for a while, so it wasn’t new). Microsoft had a slightly stronger showing with a booth that had Gears of War 3 and Halo: Anniversary multiplayer matches going. I watched gameplay of both (there were lengthy lines of people waiting to play) and came away with more of a desire to pick up Halo: Anniversary than I did before (as in, my interest went from “None” to “A little”). I was reminded of how much I loved the original Halo, so I may actually pick it up now.

Ubisoft was showing off Assassin’s Creed: Revelations and Rayman Origins. As an Assassin’s Creed fan, AC: Revelations is a must-by for me. It was nice to see Rayman Origins, which is a fantastic looking multiplayer platformer (the animation is top-notch!). Unfortunately, the experience was marred by Ubisoft insisting on making the demo run on a 3DTV (I’m not a lover of the current 3D ‘craze’).

The Uncharted 3 booth was pretty cool, but I'm already sold on the game so I didn't stick around too long

In Good Company

Meeting people is easy. Sometimes. FanExpo is one of those times. It is a crowded, fast-paced and sometimes stressful environment, but in the end, everyone is there for the same (or at least, very similar) reasons. It was easy to meet people and start up a conversation (you are literally constantly surrounded by conversation starters).

BrentalFloss

One of the last panels I attended on Sunday afternoon was for Brent Black (AKA Brentalfloss). Brentalfloss is a musician who performs the “…with lyrics” series, where he takes classic videogame themes and adds lyrics.

Interestingly enough, while waiting in line to get into the panel, I noticed that a few places in line in front of me was Tommy Tallarico, a videogame music composer most known for creating the music for the game Earthworm Jim and one of the founders of the Video Games Live concert series (I’ve been twice).

This turned out to be the highlight of my weekend! It was a Q&A session was hilarious, interactive and just a lot of fun. The hour flew by so quick and everyone was having such a good time, that when organizers literally drove us from the room, Brentalfloss took it to the hallway and just kept going. Afterwards, he took the time to meet everyone, one by one. It was really awesome!

Brentalfloss was full of hilarious stories. Everyone had a great time.

http://www.brentalfloss.com

Final Thoughts

I had a great time at FanExpo and recommend it to anyone who has a dedicated interest in Gaming, Comics, Sci-Fi, Anime or Horror. And I highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in many or all of those mediums/genres.

We’ll be at FanExpo 2012 for sure. But we’re also looking forward to San Diego Comic-Con and (hopefully)PAX East as well!

I don't know what took me so long...

A thinking man's game

I really enjoy strategy games, but only of the "turn-based" variety. I believe that turn-based strategy games get the heart of the genre better than RTS (real-time strategy) games do. After all, strategy is about thinking and planning, it's not a race.

Think about the greatest strategy game of all time: chess. It's turn-based. You have to watch you opponents moves and react (and even predict) appropriately. A pure battle of the minds.

Maybe I'm just a little biter because I'm not terribly good (in fact, downright terrible) at RTS games (Warcraft, Starcraft, Command and Conquer). I find that when I'm playing these games, especially when playing against human opponents, I am never able to think. With everything continuously and constantly happening, I don't get a chance to properly plan ahead.

Now before you cry out: "But that's the whole point of RTS's!!!", let me just say that I understand that, I'm simply pointing out how it's not for me. I'm simply saying that to me, a pure strategy game comes down to thinking and completely removes elements that rely on reaction time and precision. If I lose at a strategy game, I want it to be because of my poor decisions or an oversight (which is completely my own fault), not because I mis-clicked on a unit on screen and didn't give him orders fast enough, or worse, because the other guy has created a key-bind for every unit type in the game and I haven't.

This recent revelation of my love of turn-based strategy games has come after I finished the campaign in Advance Wars: Dual Strike for the third time. I also came to the revelation that it is hands down, my favourite DS game.

This game is awesome!

The Wars series (sometimes referred to as the Nintendo Wars series) is a series of turn-based strategy games that have long existed in Japan but were never released in North America until Advance Wars on the Game Boy Advance (previous entries were released in Japan for the Famicom and the Game Boy).

While the games have a "cartoony" look, they are very intricate and expertly balanced military strategy games. I definitely count the Advance Wars games as my personal favourite turn-based strategy games.

From a game design point of view, my appreciation of strategy games comes from the fact that the outcome is almost always decided by the players understanding of the game (or lack thereof). This is different from action games, where perhaps the player has lost because of a slip of the thumb, causing them to miss a jump or fail an attack. The reflex element (some would call it skill) has been completely removed, leaving the player with only their wits to help them get by.

That's why I (heart) strategy games.

I really DO (heart) level editors!

Finally, an update that's on topic with the title of this blog!

First, for anyone who hasn't tried Terry Cavanagh's excellent game, VVVVVV: check it out!

VVVVVV is a 2-D platformer that uses a gravity switching mechanic instead of jumping. It has an cool retro look and an AWESOME soundtrack. I got the game while ago, and enjoyed it quite a bit. However, the game recently piqued my interest once again when v2.0 was released, which included an in-game level editor!

Try this game, it's awesome!

I've been working with it for a few days, and have created my first level. It's available on my website here.

If you have VVVVVV, I encourage you to download the level and try it out. Leave and comments below, or e-mail me (jason.canam@gmail.com).

Install instructions: download the *.vvvvvv file and place into [user\Documents\VVVVVV] (Win Vista) or [user\My Documents\VVVVVV] (WIn XP). You should see other *.vvvvvv files in that directory.

I really appreciate the inclusion of the level editor, and has really helped me to fall in love with this game all over again.

Everyone should try VVVVVV. Check out the Humble Indie Bundle and support indie developers!

Mystery without the mystery: Storytelling in casual games

I have spent the last year working on casual PC/Mac games. There has been a fair share of ups and downs along the way. Most of the downs have been the direct result of my stubbornness and contempt for casual games. To be a successful designer, you cannot have a lack of respect for the audience you are designing for. Sounds easy enough, but it's a lesson that has taken the better part of a year to sink in.

When designing games for the casual audience, there are a few different challenges that must be overcome. And by "overcome", I don't mean "dealt with", I mean "worked with". This where having respect for your audience comes in. Casual games present themselves with different rules and expectations than "core" games, and it's your job as designer to stick to those rules. Otherwise, you run the risk of creating something for yourself and not for your audience (I know I've been guilty of this from time to time).

One of these challenges that I have learned how to work with is the challenge of storytelling in a casual game. Let me begin by explaining my (former) process of writing a story for a casual adventure game.

I begin by writing a complex, convoluted story filled with murder and mystery. It features secret identities and double crosses. I begin by leaving the reader disoriented and confused. Only at the end do I reveal all of the plot twists and explain what has happened. I am writing an award-winning novel (or so I think). Next, I think of how to fit the "amazing" story into the context of a game. Calling it shoehorning would be an understatement.

This, needless to say, was proven to be ineffective on many occasions. We would get feedback from players complaining that the story was confusing, the goals unclear and the world uninteresting. My initial reaction was to scoff at these "insults", responding only with "well they just don't get it!"

My counter-argument would be to point out that I've played games before where I've been left out of the loop until the very end (side note: using the argument "but other games do it!" like a 5 year old is not the way to win over your fellow developers when you're pitching a game design concept).

My stories weren't working in these casual games, I had to do something. I did the only thing I could do: learn.

One interesting thing about game development is that there is never a shortage of opinion about your game. You will hear criticisms from fellow developers, from your bosses, from the publisher and from your audience. Because harsh criticism is always a tough pill to swallow, it's far too easy to dismiss all of this feedback and simply move on (this is the wrong thing to do). It takes time, but when you eventually learn to embrace this feedback and learn from it, your games will improve drastically.

What did I learn about storytelling, specifically? Well, simply put, I learned how to streamline my stories into easily digestible (yet still exciting) tales that get the point quickly and draw the player into the world immediately.

What do I mean by this? Let me give a few examples from a game that I have worked on:

In the first draft of my story, the character meets several characters, including the villain. The player has no idea who any of these characters are, and does learn who any of them are until the very end of the story (all of the characters have overlapping stories and a shared history). The problem with this was that players were playing a demo version of the game (chapter 1 of a 6 chapter game), and had no idea what was going on. This was a problem because people were judging the game based on this demo sneak peek, and they were not impressed. Of course, my reaction was to tell them that they have to wait until they can play the entire game to understand the story. This did not go over well at all.

The game was being seriously judged based on this player feedback, and all of this negative feedback was holding the game back, something had to be done. I had to step back and re-examine my approach to this story. I had to think about who I was telling this story for and how to best deliver it.

My re-write of the story featured a more obvious villain (the villain is introduced to the player right away) and setting the player off in a chase after this villain. For the purposes of a game, this provides the player with an immediate goal. This is important and was lacking in the previous version. To add an element of intrigue (and to give players the satisfaction of experiencing the story at their own pace), clues are hidden throughout the game world. There are newspaper clippings, advertisements and notes left behind for the player to find that help them learn about the villain as they pursue him.

This approach has proven to be much more successful. Players are no longer left confused and disoriented but are given a clear goal. Most importantly, players are able to experience the story at their own pace and can learn (or ignore) as much as they choose. This method works much better than having characters on screen talking back and forth for a long time (a good sign that the game designer is trying to flaunt his "amazing" storytelling ability).

As I've said, this is a lesson that's easier taught than learned, as it took me a few development cycles to really learn the lesson. Most importantly, the real lesson is to understand your audience and what your design goals are. If you simply try to do "what you think is best, period", then you are setting yourself up for failure.

Humility is a powerful tool, indeed.

Pause for a sec and check this out

I picked up a good book recently that I'd like to recommend to anyone who loves games, and especially anyone who wants to know more about making games.

All your base are belong to us by Harold Goldberg. Using a tired old meme as a title aside, it's a good read. It features a lot of stories about the people behind many excellent games.

I'm sure I can whet most of your appetites by mentioning there's a fascinating chapter about the development of Bioshock, with some inspirational stories about the early career of Ken Levine (my hero, and yours).

The title of this photo is: "Ken Levine +1"

I've read books about gaming history, and technical books about development, but not one like this that really focuses on the people themselves. There's lots of stories that resonate with me like stories about the eternal struggles between creative teams and marketing teams (making a game that's creative and original vs. making a game that's guaranteed profit).

I think it's a must read for anyone in the industry, but also for anyone who just wants to get know the people who make games. I mean, people love "making of" features about movies, so why not games?

Give it a try, if you don't like it... I'll stay still and give you a free headshot next time I'm online.

I (Heart) Great Design: #1

Here's a new bi-weekly feature that I'll be posting here: I (Heart) Great Design where I talk about some of the features and elements of games that have most impressed me and have stuck with me over the years.

So, in this first installment I would like to call out a particularily good level in a very overlooked game.

The Great Tower from the SNES game Skyblazer.

The Great Tower is the second to last level in the game and it is remarkable because it's a great example of a how to build a final area that culminates with you having to use everything you've learned about that game up to that point. This level features enemies from every area in the game and requires you to use every ability you've gained throughout the adventure.

It truly is the "Skyblazer final exam".

This is a design element that I believe should be in every game. Using the combined knowledge of everything you've encountered to overcome one final challenge, it's exactly how a game should build towards its conclusion.

Games that effectively pull this off: all of the games in the Legend of Zelda series.

The final dungeon in a Zelda game always requires you to use every piece of arsenal you've collected to get through. It's nice because it typically gives you another use for that all too specific item that was quite under-used throughout the game (I'm looking at you, Spinner).

Games that surprisingly don't: Metroid games (makes me so sad).

Actually, Metroid games almost always have disappointing final areas. The final area of a Metroid game is always a very linear, and straightforward experience (see: Tourian from Super Metroid or the Impact Crater from Metroid Prime), which is strange as this conflicts with the very nature of the rest of the game. These final areas very rarely require you to use an of your abilities either, they're the complete antithesis to what I'm pointing out in this entry.

It seems that Metroid can learn something from a 15 year old SNES game that hardly anyone has played. Or, (more likely), Metroid can learn from Zelda games...

Either way, I'd like to see more games use this kind of design in their endgame sequences.

The most recent example that I can think of is the Grandmaster Galaxy from Super Mario Galaxy 2. I could write a whole 'nother entry about the Grandmaster Galaxy. In fact, I'm going to do just that.

Priorities and Principles

I've already decided. I'm buying Duke Nukem Forever on day one, no matter what. No matter what I hear, no matter what people say, no matter what I read. I'm getting that game.

Gaming is so important to me that this happens often. I buy most of my games completely out of principle. I ignore reviews and I don't listen to anyone's opinion. This hasn't been a foolproof system, either (far from it). I've made some very unfortunate purchases that I completely regret.

The most recent being Metroid: Other M, easily one of my least favourite games of all time. I could go on and on about how much I hate that game, but I'll save it for another time.

The point I want to make is, I don't think there's any conceivable scenario in which I wouldn't buy the latest Metroid game. I have committed myself to getting every Metroid game, period. I had my doubts about Other M leading up to release, but I got it anyway. Like I said, I do that a lot.

Back to Duke Nukem Forever; I am so psyched!

Do I think the game will be perfect? No.
Will it be revolutionary? No.
Do it look like the best game ever? No, not really.
Will it be fun? It sure does.
(Pro Tip: That last question is the most important!)

It's more of how important the game is to me. As a developer, I'm fascinated with its absolutely epic development time (in case you didn't know, various people have been working on this game for almost 15 years, it was originally supposed to be released in 1998). It's long been a running gag in the development community. I for one am really impressed and glad that Randy Pitchford and Gearbox Software (the guys who made Borderlands) stepped up to finish the job.

It is very important to me to show my support. How do you show support for a game? Well, the easiest way, of course, is to buy it!!

I have personal investment in the game, too. Duke Nukem 3D is one of my favourite games ever (top 20, probably, definitely top 30). I've been looking forward to this game for over 10 years.

Waiting for over 10 years... That's exactly what DNF's biggest problem will be: it's completely unrealistic expectations of game that's taken so long to come out. There's no way it'll live up to expectations. As long as people don't resent the game too much for this, I think it'll do fine.

Lastly, I will say that I've been keeping up to date on all of the reveals, new trailers, and gameplay info. I think the game looks great! It looks like a lot of fun. Anyone who complains about the violence, nudity and fart/dick jokes just doesn't understand what Duke Nukem is. It's part of the game's identity, not the character's.

If everything I saw made me think that the game looked terrible, I probably wouldn't be so inclined to get it. But the game looks good, and that's enough for me (some of the time). In the end, that's all the game has to be: good. Not every game needs to be on the same level as Fallout 3 or Super Mario Galaxy.

So, On June 14th, I'll finish off my last piece of gum and be ready to go get some!

Who's with me?

My LBP Dilemma

Well, I guess I'll start off by acknowledging the fact that I haven't updated my blog in over a year (it's been a busy year!). I'm making my springtime 2011 resolution (New Year's resolutions are for chumps) to update this blog on at least a monthly basis. Trust me, it's more for my own benefit than yours...

To stay on topic with the title of this blog, I figured I'd talk about LittleBigPlanet 2, a game I love so much but just don't have the time or energy to take advantage of properly. The same thing has happened to me with LBP2 as with the first LBP game: I have published exactly zero levels.

Turns out my LBP moon is just like the our moon: lifeless and boring.

For a guy who loves level editors so much, this is sad. When the first LBP came out, I was so psyched. It felt like a gaming gift from above! When I got it, I played through the story levels and hundreds of user-created levels. But when I settled in and started to create my own levels, I quickly lost interest. I became so overwhelmed with the thought that I just couldn't spare the dozens (and hundreds) of hours needed to really make the worlds that were in my mind come to life. Late last year, leading up to the release of LBP2, I was getting my self pumped up for some level building. I was looking forward to all of the new and exciting features of LittleBigPlanet 2, and all of the possibilities. Sure enough, the exact same thing happened.

Sorry to disappoint you, Sackboy.

15 years ago, I had no problem sinking 100+ hours into a Duke Nukem 3D campaign or a DOOM episode. But now, I just can't do it.

I'm stuck in a situation where I want to build an LBP level, and yet can't muster the energy to do so.

Is anyone else having the same experience? Or am I simply lazy?

...and I just realized the scary thought of being too lazy to play a videogame...