experiences can be judged by their interest curves - mkii

EXPERIENCES CAN BE JUDGED BY THEIR INTEREST CURVES2015-05-28 ~ Michele Bianchi

Presentation outline

What comprises Interest?

What are Interest Curves?

Interest Factor Examples

WHAT ARE INTEREST CURVES?Understanding how engagement changes through time

II

Tomb Raider - 2013 Square Enix

THINK ABOUT THE LAST MOVIE YOU LOVED

Chances are that your engagement in the movie was not always at its maximum

REDLINE - 2009 MADHOUSE

Interest Curve

Time

Inte

rest

The “Hook”

Time

Inte

rest

The “Business”

Time

Inte

rest

The “Climax”

Time

Inte

rest

The Interest Curve done wrong

Time

Inte

rest

Interest Curves for Videogames (and long experiences)

Overall game

Starting from an introduction to capture the interest, then levels or stages that grow in interest to culminate in a final climax (e.g. final boss)

Each Level

Each new level introduces an aesthetic or a mechanic that is presented in a series of challenges following the same pattern, to reach a “local climax” (e.g. level boss, story revelation)

Each challenge

Even single challenges can be designed with interest curves in mind, with an introduction and increasing difficulty (sometimes they end up in Quick Time Events, or QTE)

Lens of the Interest Curve

Is there a climax?

Ask testers to draw a Curve. Is it similar to the one envisioned?

Draw the Interest Curve of the Experience, what’s its shape?

Does it have a hook?

Does it have a gradually increasing interest with rests?

What could be changed to fix the Curve?

Is there a fractal in the Curve? Is it needed?

WHAT COMPRISES INTEREST?A deeper look at three Interest factors

II

Child of Eden - 2011 Ubisoft

Proposed Interest Factors

Poetry of Presentation

Projection

Inherent Interest

Factor 1: Inherent Interest

Some things are more inherently interesting than others.Risk is more interesting than safety, unusual is more interesting than ordinary.

Garry’s Mod - 2004 Valve Corporation

Lens of the Inherent Interest

What higher instincts does it appeal to?

What aspects of the game will capture immediately the

interest of players?

Does it let the players experience something they have never

experienced before?

What base instincts does it appeal to?

Do dramatic change and dramatic change anticipation happen

in it?

Factor 2: Poetry of Presentation

The more beautiful the artistry used in presenting the experience the more interesting and compelling the guests will find it.

Persona 4: The Golden - 2012 Atlus

The Lens of Beauty

Some things are not beautiful per-se, but can be if

mixed together. How can elements of my game be

composed in a way that it is poetic and beautiful?

What does beauty means in the context of my game?

What elements make up my game? How can they be

more beautiful?

Factor 3: Projection

The more an experience happen to someone close to us the more it is interesting.Our empathy allows us to put in the place of others (even virtual avatars) and perceive their experience as ours.

Final Fantasy XII - 2006 Square Enix

Lens of Projection

Do players get to be a character they could imagine

themselves to be?

Is there an activity in my game that once a player starts doing,

it is hard to stop?

What is there in my game that players can relate to?

What is there in my game that capture the players’

imagination?

Are there places in my game that players have always wanted

to visit?

Are there characters in my game that players would be

interested to meet?

Do the players get to do things that they would like to do in

real life but cannot?

INTEREST FACTOR EXAMPLESA couple examples to understand Interest Factors

III

Vagrant Story - 2000 Squaresoft

High Inherent Interest: fire performing

Fire performing is an example of High Inherent Interest event.

What they do is very risky and it is very hard not to see what’s happening when they perform.

However, the poetry is limited, as it is the projection.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AnnanStaff2.jpg

High Poetry: Violin Concert

While the events are not interesting (a bow rubbed against strings) and we do not project on the players, if the music is beautiful we are strongly interested in the performance.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yuri%27s_Night_Violinist_GSFC_2010_17.jpg

High Projection: Tetris

Tetris is a game of blocks constantly falling, leaving little space to inherent interest and poetry.

However success or failure is entirely on the shoulders of the players, making the projection very intense.

Tetris - 1984 Aleksej Patinov

Thanks!

ANY QUESTIONS?@Jazzinghen

MicheleBianchi@protonmail.com / jazzinghen@gmail.com

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