Targeting a Market

cover 08

Why Do I Care? Isn't This for Marketing People?

Targeting a Market

Not to mitigate risk.
But to break into an opportunity or a purpose.
Tradeoff for marketing professionals:
- Targeting a market increases "market penetration" but decreases "mass-marked appeal".
For serious games: Achieve a specific purpose, not sell as much as possible.

Learning About Your Target Market

Probably you know very little about what kinds of things will appeal to the market.

Where to learn about a market:

Scientific Research in psychology or advertising.
Previous Work from the game publisher.
Outside Experts.
Do Research: Contact people in that market; Ask what they would like.

Many targeted games fail miserably, often because the development team trying to make a game for a specific market get it wrong.

Abilities of the Target Market

It's important for a designer to take into account the whole picture of a target market.

Reading Abilities Mostly age related.
Learning Curve Using interfaces and controllers.
Cognitive Abilities Mostly age related.
Learning Style Men and women learn differently.
Physical Abilities Ergonomic and motor control aspects.

Reading Abilities

Children start reading by ages four or five.
Even "Save Game","Load Game", etc. can stop a kid.
In certain markets people besides children might have difficulty reading.

Echoing game text with voice-overs or using spoken dialogues can help here.

Learning Curve

A game controller might be something older individuals don’t understand.
If the perceived learning curve is high, people will dismiss it.
Controllers that resemble a pen or a tv remote control use perceived knowledge to their advantage.
Common conventions for experienced players may be unfamiliar and confusing to someone else.

Explain carefully what these elements are and how to use them, without initially overwhelming the player.

Cognitive Abilities

Young kids give up on strategic games, disinterested or frustrated.
Competitive players find chance games boring.

The cognitive challenge present in the game is dependent upon the target market... or will define it.

Learning Style

Men use exploratory learning: grab the controller and go.
Women use modelling behavior: watch first, or at the very least read the manual.

Take these different learning styles into account when creating game tutorials.

Physical Abilities

Young children have yet to establish good motor control.
A precision game, provided that’ not the main goal, might cause more frustration than fun. Older individuals, particularly those with arthritis, may have difficulty with the repetitive pressing and clicking required by many games.

In creating your product, consider the motor skills of your target audience.

Focus Groups

Focus groups are invaluable to game designers, particularly those targeting a market outside their own experience.

Focus groups bringing together a group that represents the desired target market.
They give an opportunity to:
- Solicit questions.
- Test theories.
- Watch their game being played or considered as a concept.
Often illuminates unanticipated problems, suggests improvements, and validates design decision.

Encourage your testers to give feedback by responding positively and not defending your ideas.

The Mass Market

Targeting a range as wide as possible across all demographics requires an understanding of a broad range of demographics in order to avoid excluding anyone.

Eurogames, in general, are family games that can be enjoyed by all ages, male and female. Their main traits are: