What We Talk About When We Talk About Mid-Core
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Stanford University's Design School (d.school as it's stylized) had its first game design class in the spring of 2014. The class, called "Game Design: Making Fun" (http://dschool.stanford.edu/classes/game-design-making-fun/) invited me to give a guest lecture on the emerging trend of mid-core gaming. Thank you to teaching team of Michael St. Clair, Mathias Crawford, and Dan Klein for the invite.
![Industry Chatter
We segment the gaming audience by lifestyle patterns:
(1) Hardcore arranges their schedules around their gaming.
(2) Mid-core arranges their gaming around their daily schedule.
(3) Casual entertains self with games when time presents itself.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
"Games that are easy to learn and allow advancement with short gaming
sessions, but are more engaging, more competitive and more challenging
than other social and casual games.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
It's really about distilling what you'd consider a 'hardcore' game down to
its core essence [by] making a great, deep game more 'accessible' - both in
terms of time and platform access.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/midcoredschoollecture-140429191314-phpapp01/85/What-We-Talk-About-When-We-Talk-About-Mid-Core-3-320.jpg)
![Three Trends
We segment the gaming audience by lifestyle patterns:
(1) Hardcore arranges their schedules around their gaming.
(2) Mid-core arranges their gaming around their daily schedule.
(3) Casual entertains self with games when time presents itself.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
"Games that are easy to learn and allow advancement with short gaming
sessions, but are more engaging, more competitive and more challenging
than other social and casual games.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
It's really about distilling what you'd consider a 'hardcore' game down to
its core essence [by] making a great, deep game more 'accessible' - both in
terms of time and platform access.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
Social Games
MOGs](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/midcoredschoollecture-140429191314-phpapp01/85/What-We-Talk-About-When-We-Talk-About-Mid-Core-4-320.jpg)
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What We Talk About When We Talk About Mid-Core
- 1. Welcome! What We Talk About When We Talk About Mid-Core by Adam Gutterman Director, Games Monetization Unity Technologies | Unity Games adam@unity3d.com @adamgutterman
- 3. Industry Chatter We segment the gaming audience by lifestyle patterns: (1) Hardcore arranges their schedules around their gaming. (2) Mid-core arranges their gaming around their daily schedule. (3) Casual entertains self with games when time presents itself. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- "Games that are easy to learn and allow advancement with short gaming sessions, but are more engaging, more competitive and more challenging than other social and casual games. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- It's really about distilling what you'd consider a 'hardcore' game down to its core essence [by] making a great, deep game more 'accessible' - both in terms of time and platform access.
- 4. Three Trends We segment the gaming audience by lifestyle patterns: (1) Hardcore arranges their schedules around their gaming. (2) Mid-core arranges their gaming around their daily schedule. (3) Casual entertains self with games when time presents itself. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- "Games that are easy to learn and allow advancement with short gaming sessions, but are more engaging, more competitive and more challenging than other social and casual games. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- It's really about distilling what you'd consider a 'hardcore' game down to its core essence [by] making a great, deep game more 'accessible' - both in terms of time and platform access. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Social Games MOGs
- 5. Perfunctory Outline Common Design Elements Social Games Multiplayer Online Games (MOGs) iOS & Android Common Design Elements of Mid-Core Audience Convergence: Whats Next
- 6. Trend 1: Social Games (1) Common Design Elements Genre = Tycoon = Build for the sake of building 3X = eXplore, eXpand, eXploit (eXterminate) eXploit = Resource management No shared spaces = Persistent single-player world --> little replay value Theming + Art Direction Various themes, from farming to restaurant management to city building Iconic cartoonish graphics Accessibility Free Browser Gentle, asymptotic learning curve Quests = continued tutorial Being good = Understanding of rules x Efficient execution --> Execution in Social Games is trivial Short session length (<10 minutes) Energy system Appointment mechanics Fit for platform interaction pattern?
- 7. Trend 1: Social Games (2) Common Design Elements Social interaction Social due to social networks Parallel play Lightly cooperative viral Trojan Horse pure gameplay mechanic Friend ladder Leaderboard No clear comparative mechanic Asynchronous Real identity
- 9. Trend 2: MOGs (1) Common Design Elements Genre = Tactical Strategy 1st Person Shooters, 3rd Person Shooters, RTS, MOBA --> Match-based, real-time, often co-op PvP 1X = eXterminate High replay value Multiple scenarios + Deep character classes to explore + New opponents Theming + Art Direction Deeply developed narratives in modern war, sci-fi, or fantasy context Hyper-realistic graphics, graphic representation of violence Accessibility Paid --> Free Internet-connected Desktop (Steam) / Console Steep learning curve Understanding of rules is complex (with emergent gameplay and even UI strategies) Being good = Understanding x Efficient execution Efficient execution has very high correlation coefficient with APM Medium-to-long session length (15-60+ minutes)
- 10. Trend 2: MOGs (2) Common Design Elements Social interaction Exclusionary in that players are unforgiving to n00bs (steep learning curve) Engaging in that its synchronous w/real-time chat Highly cooperative + highly competitive (as pure gameplay) Clear winners and losers of each match = Clear comparative mechanic Anonymous identity (but you know who your friends are)
- 11. Trend 3: iOS & Android Contributing Design Elements Touch screen (usually) doubles visual modality and UI --> intuitive Controllers AirPlay Native vs. skeumorphic UI LTE > Wifi = consistent, fast connections Pervasiveness Almost everyone has an iOS or Android phone Its always in your pocket or bag Social plumbing (Game Center / GPGS / Facebook) Multiple ID options Cloud save states
- 12. Mid-Core Design (1) Common Design Elements Genre = Mid-Core Mobile-optimized 4X = eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate --> eXterminate = asynchronous, active player vs. passive player Replayability Same eXterminate mechanic Game as a service --> never ending fountain new tools of war to learn and employ New opponents Theming + Art Direction Modern war, sci-fi, or fantasy narrative context serves as framework only Cartoonish realism, abstracted violence Accessibility Free Internet-connected mobile devices Cloud save states allow for seamless access via all player-owned mobile devices Steadily advancing learning curve Understanding of rules grows in complexity as persistency grows Being good = Understanding x Efficient execution Efficient execution correlates to toolbox and strategy, not APM Short-to-medium session length (5-20 minutes) Energy mechanic is present but de-emphasized Appointment mechanics still very present Both make more sense for mobile interaction pattern
- 13. Mid-Core Design (2) Common Design Elements Social interaction Many options for player identity and social graph Asynchronous interactions Clear winners and losers of each match = Clear comparative mechanic
- 14. Audience Why Is The Audience For Mid-Core So Much Larger Than That Of Core? Free Pervasive platform The Goldilocks Learning Curve Easy initial solo gameplay Complex, deeply engaging elder gameplay Social Goldilocks Zone Highly social elder game mechanic Asynchronous nature is less demanding than real time (email vs. phone) Players can use real or anonymous identity Short sessions that can be played almost anywhere Abstracted violence makes traditionally core themes more accessible Artistic Goldilocks Zone = not too realistic or iconic
- 15. Scott McClouds Picture Plane
- 16. Scott McClouds Picture Plane Core Mid-Core Casual
- 17. Convergence: Whats Next Social + Mid-Core While social games have a far larger audience, mid-core games have a much higher ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) Can social games incorporate design elements of mid-core to increase its ARPU while maintaining its vast audience? Will mid-core continue to borrow from social to increase its audience? Will mid-core crash into social, creating a blockbuster Hollywood four- quadrant film experience of mass appeal? Shared Persistence + Real-Time Game of War is starting to look like a MOG/MMO Real-time interactions Persistent shared world Are real-time MOGs or even MMOs the next trend on mobile?
- 18. Thanks! Questions now? Ask away! Questions later? Ping me: adam@unity3d.com @adamgutterman
Editor's Notes
- #3: 5 of the 10 top grossing games in 2013 were mid-core.Mobile is where most of the growth in the industry is occurring.