Steve Jobs said a lot of things. But one thing in particular has always stuck with me when it comes to game design:
‘You’ve got to start with the customer [their problems & requirements]… and work backwards to the technology. You can’t start with the technology and try to figure out where you’re going to try to sell it.’ — Steve Jobs
To my mind, “great games” happen with a design meets the needs and wants of the audience it is given to or attracts. They happen when a design fulfils an experience or lifestyle. And, by contrast, “bad games” happen when a design doesn’t meet the needs of the audience it is given to or attracts. Which isn’t restricted to just games.
To try and illustrate my point: when you have a moment, open a new tab in your browser and Google any car that you like. Literally any car- go wild. Now ask yourself if the design of that car on your screen is a “good design”.
Chances are, it’s a fairly impossible question to answer, or at least it should be! This is because it can be nigh impossible to determine how “good” a design is without first knowing what- and whose- problems the design is attempting to solve. A powerful sports car might be a terrible design for one person; but the perfect design for another. So it stands to reason that, when designing said sports car, it ideally should be catering for the audience it is intended for.
So what does all this stuff about cars and Steve Jobs have to do with crypto games?
Just as a FPS games involve first-person shooting, or a platformer involves jumping, crypto games typically involve their own set of unique mechanics and gameplay. They typically involve- to some extent- tokens. NFTs. LANDs. Trading.
And just as some players (for whatever reason) do or don’t enjoy platforming, some players will or won’t enjoy handling crypto-currency- and that’s fine! Such is the subjectivity of fun. While my nephew might find whacking things with sticks incredibly fun, at 35 that isn’t quite my jam anymore. But power to him! So long as that ‘thing’ isn’t me… TL;DR, if you’re developing a crypto game, it is of vital importance (in my opinion at least) to make sure you ask yourself: ‘what would this particular audience like in their game? Or even want their game to be about- what fantasies would appeal to them most?’ Because, to my mind, design isn’t about the designer. It isn’t about what we want. It is a far more empathetic craft than that. It is thinking about and trying to identify what someone else might want- and how best to deliver that experience.
Many crypto games I see being developed today, based on the fantasy they seemingly aim to offer or aesthetic they’ve adopted, clearly have their sights set on a broad audience- and understandably so! The power of tapping into a broad audience has been seen time and time again in the games industry, be it Fortnite, Mario, Fall Guys, or Minecraft- the list goes on. But the problem arises when this broad audience, attracted by said fantasy or aesthetic, is met with elements they don’t like, want, or even understand.
The more we know and try to understand about the crypto audience, the better we can make games for them- which can be said of any other genre. Or indeed, most industries. Considering how subjective “fun” can be, I would argue that, as designers, it is of the utmost importance to try and offer the right kind of fun to the audience we’re designing for.
Unless, of course, the crypto game in question focuses on the wants and needs of both the traditional gamers it aims to attract as well as crypto fans. Unless, of course, the crypto game in question doesn’t force those traditional gamers to understand what NFTs are or how they differ from regular in-game rewards- but still allows those who are interested to explore that side of the experience if they so choose. Unless, of course, the crypto game can find a way of creating a synergetic and satisfactory relationship between these two audiences.
Unless, of course, that game is Moonfrost ;)
— Arran Topalian | Lead Designer @ Oxalis
