First of all why is defining the target audience crucial for a game designer?
'If you want consumers to take it upon themselves to download your app, you’d better do your best to make sure they want what you’re offering. (...) By figuring out who is most likely to be interested in your app, you can plan the design and functionality around their preferences, while crafting a marketing plan influenced by the past successes of similar programs.' Source
Identifying the target audience isn't a straightforward job. I used to think that my prototypes are aimed for the mass market, by which I thought that anyone at any age would be willing to give it a go, and enjoy the experience. That way however, I'm giving myself little to no manourver when it comes to design work, because I want to please everybody, and that's simply impossible.
Therefore I need to narrow down who my prototypes are particularly aimed for.
I'm creating a 2D twitch based mobile game that is easy to learn and hard to master. The game I've designed is one that is considered an endless runner, a non commiting game which can be played at any given time, for as short period of time as 1-2 minutes (whilst waiting for the bus for example).
Having done some research, I found information and graphs about mobile gamers and their preferences:
From this website I found out that there are now 1 billion active smartphones and tablets using apps around the world every month. Games account for 88% of the iTunes top grossing apps, and make up 28/30 of the top grossing apps on Google Play.
ESA EF 2014 informed me with the following graph that smart phone gamers are constantly increasing in numbers:
How long during a day does an average smartphone gamer play for?
'Most players (68%) spend little time gaming on their phones: 0-1 hours per day. A small percentage (2%) game for 11 or more hours per day. This data points to the casual nature of gaming for many of these people. Gaming is something they do when they have time to kill, like at the bus stop, or on breaks from work.' Source
So what type of audience plays endless runners? In the graph below we can find this out:
'While males tend to prefer competitive, player vs. player games, females, according to the study, tend to gravitate towards games that are less competitive and tend to be played in a more enduring way.' Source
As we can see, endless runners place themselves in the following demographic:
Gender: slightly dominated by female, but generally neutral
Average age: 23
How about commitment? How often do players play endless runners, and how commited are they to return to the game after a period of 30 days? The graph below will explain it to us:
As we can see, the amount of sessions a week that players are willing to play endless runners isn't the greatest, however they are very likely to try it again a month after first use. The reason for this, is as I've mentioned before, games of this type can be played at any time as they're very straightforward and easy to pick up and play, and don't require remembering the mechanics when trying again after a longer period of separation.
Having found out more about my audience, how do I now gain success with my prototypes?
On this and this website, that talk about Flappy Bird which is also an endless runner and aims at the same target audience as my prototypes, we can find out the list of particular features that's made this game so popular and successful. If I follow these, I'll have a better chance to satisfy my target audience:
- Addiction to simplicity - the simpler the game is, the more willing my players will be to return to it. That is true especially with my audience, which represents casual gamers. Hence for my dissertation I'm making games that are easy to learn.
- Addiction to early wins - reward players as soon as possible, to encourage them to try again.
- Strike a nerve - make your game almost frustratingly difficult. This will keep players want to try and play the game 'one more time' to get better at it. Hence my games are difficult to master!
Sources:
ESA EF 2014 [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.theesa.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ESA_EF_2014.pdf [Accessed 1st December 2014]
Know Your Target Audience: Mobile App Development Tips [ONLINE] Available at: https://fbombmedia.com/know-target-audience-mobile-app-development-tips/#prettyPhoto [Accessed 1st December 2014]
Gamer Demographics that Every Developer Should Know [ONLINE] Available at: http://blog.apptopia.com/game-demographics-that-every-developer-should-know/ [Accessed 1st December 2014]
Mobile Social Gamers: The New Mass-Market Powerhouse [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.flurry.com/bid/57219/Mobile-Social-Gamers-The-New-Mass-Market-Powerhouse#.VKYQfYdGZjI [Accessed 1st December 2014]
Define your target audience [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.eldergame.com/2008/05/define-your-target-audience/ [Accessed 1st December 2014]
5 WAYS TO EMULATE FLAPPY BIRD'S SUCCESS—AND AVOID ITS FAILURE
[ONLINE] Available at: http://www.fastcompany.com/3028295/lessons-learned/5-ways-to-emulate-flappy-birds-success-and-avoid-its-failure [Accessed 1st December 2014]
6 Lessons Every Entrepreneur Can Learn From Flappy Bird (R.I.P.) [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.shopify.co.uk/blog/12221109-6-lessons-every-entrepreneur-can-learn-from-flappy-bird-r-i-p [Accessed 1st December 2014]
Demographic Breakdown of Casual, Mid-Core and Hard-Core Mobile Gamers [ONLINE] Available at: http://developers.magmic.com/demographic-breakdown-casual-mid-core-hard-core-mobile-gamers/ [Accessed 1st December 2014]
2013 Gamers Survey Results: Demographics, Platforms and Smartphone Use [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.bigfishgames.com/blog/2013-gamers-survey-results-demographics-platforms-and-smartphone-use/ [Accessed 1st December 2014]
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