Making Games That Stand Out and Survive

In this 2019 GDC talk, Monomi Park founder Nick Popovich explains how you can make your game stand out and survive amongst the thousands of games released every year.
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[@Akard517hell]

gif is basically an elevator pitch image

[@dougdug]

Has to show it with pizazz too. Like the question at 52:00 ish if your game doesn't look good in a gif then it isn't splashy or lacks the clarity it needs to be satisfying. Even factorio can appear exciting to it's target demo in a gif. Feels like every game needs to strive for that level of visuals.

[@ivarangquist9184]

Game design is much more psychology than I anticipated

[@SolidDavid197]

Oh absolutely especially with visual communication and making your game intuitive.

[@jellycore1316]

Yup! ^^ I getcha!

[@youneskasdi]

It wasn't always like this, people used to play any game you present it to them now with how high the competition got game developers have to actually get tricky to even give their game a chance

[@revenfox]

Ah ye na facken oath caaaaant

[@VinTJ]

As Marina Diez tweeted once somewhere on twitter, game design is all about empathy. Good game design is about putting yourself in the shoes of the players and what they want

[@AXLplosion]

I'm surprised I've never heard of friction in games before, seems like such a no-brainer to think about while designing your game.

[@rykehuss3435]

Friction can start even with the main menu. If it looks ugly, lacks basic options like mouse sensitivity, key rebinding etc that immediately adds friction to the first impression itself.

[@goddydog5754]

That was a great talk! The concept of "home" is something I`ve never thought about.

[@KryyssTV]

The way he presented it was actually very different but the concept is not new. What he is talking about is varying the tempo to avoid fatigue. In stories, it would be overwhelming for the viewer/reader to be bombarded with a constant stream of new information, plot developments and so forth. You often need to allow some time for somone to intellectually digest that new info by moving to more familiar scenes or characters. This would be the 'home' for the story. In music, the listener is emotionally engaged so a chorus functions as an emotional 'home' that the rest of the song branches off from taking the listener on an emotional journey before returning again. In games, a player is both emotionally and intellectually engaged so without a 'home' they can become emotionally and intellectually fatigued. Side quests, collectables, minigames and achievements are popular because they function as the 'home' from the central gameplay. Players can often tell when fatigue is setting in, but they don't want to stop playing so developers need to provide these features. This all ties into the typical attention span of players and the time investment of a game. If these 'home' activities are trivial then players are less inclined to do them because it feels like their progression has stalled, this is why players would much rather do side quests with a reward of xp, items or new content than try to earn an achievement that just gives you a tickbox on the completion screen.

[@goddydog5754]

@@KryyssTV You are right, in a nutshell it is just balancing action and peaceful moments in the game, but I like the way he describes it, especially how intuitive it is for the beginners.

[@vitriolicAmaranth]

@@KryyssTV He isn't just talking about varying tempo. He's specifically talking about player-led tempo that allows the player to make progress at a slower but still significant rate by deliberately focusing on an endless or near-endless lower-tempo activity. It's more similar to what Jenova Chen called "flow," where a game's difficulty can be adjusted organically by moving away from difficult challenges or increased by seeking them out. It also practically requires a game that is open in some sense, and note that almost everything he lists is an open-world game. In something like a sequential sidescrolling platformer, you might be able to stall a little on facing the next challenge by collecting a few coins or powerups or something, but once those are all gone, you either quit playing or face the next challenge; there generally isn't some way you can just say "yeah maybe later" and go tend a farm or something. That isn't to say that such a mechanic would be impossible in that kind of game; Making a game with a traditional paradigm like a rail shooter or sidescrolling platformer that has a "home" could be a takeaway from the talk. Note that this is where I would distinguish "home" from "flow"; "Flow" in a sidescrolling platformer would be a fork in the road where you can take the difficult high road that has more points or whatever available, and a low road where it's just a couple of easy jumps or something but no point bonus, while "home" would be an option, if you're stuck, to leave and do something else that may help you get past the point where you're stuck at the cost, perhaps, of forfeiting the level (for example, maybe you'd go play some kind of brewing minigame that is always available between levels that could let you make a consumable powerup that could get you through the difficult portion). In the third and final instance, variable tempo would be a portion following the difficult portion where you can easily traverse, maybe with some art assets shown off- As far as side-scrolling platformers go, Trine does this well, with "breathing moments" that are enjoyable to look at in between puzzles and action segments, but none of those moments are elective.

[@KryyssTV]

@@vitriolicAmaranth I have to disagree entirely. Flow is a state of mind caused by being fully engaged with an activity. This is itself mentally exhausting over long periods even if the activity is not difficult. It's the gameplay equivilent of being fully immersed in a book to the point where you lose track of time. The tempo being discussed here is like rotating between reading a book, cooking a meal and going for a walk all in a continual loop. Each will eventually cause fatigue but if you've been standing around cooking for hours then sitting to read a book is refreshing. But then the strain caused by the concentration needed to read will eventually stop being refreshing but an acitivity like walking then becomes refreshing as your mind can rest.

[@vitriolicAmaranth]

​@@KryyssTV It's a confusing use of the word "flow." It refers to the same psychological phenomenon you're talking about, but Jenova Chen defined it very restrictively as it relates to games, as a state of being "in the zone" (which more general definition is what is typically called "flow state" elsewhere) stemming from player-led difficulty curves that can go up and down as the player becomes uncomfortable (frustrated or bored). That's why I mentioned Jenova Chen specifically by name- I was referring to his conception of dynamic difficulty which he identified as being practically synonymous with flow in games.

[@DarkMatterVisible]

This talk actually helped me decide on a couple changes to my game. I think I'll check out Slime Rancher now.

[@Kntrytnt]

It's a lot of good fun

[@seditt5146]

I am not much of a gamer but there is something oddly satisfying about the core mechanics in slime rancher of sucking these things up and shooting them out.

[@-ism8153]

Slime Rancher is fun. Lots of exploration, and you often settle into a rythm when taking care of your slimes. I bought it before it was finished, and I still put tons of time into it.

[@ossiehalvorson7702]

It's pretty boring tbh, but good to kill some time with.

[@RossOzarka]

This guy's gif idea reminds me of the fake mobile game ads that don't show you actual gameplay, but just animation of a fake game that looks appealing. They are successful because the fake gameplay gets you thinking "oh, if I was playing I would do it a different way" and then you click because it got you thinking.

[@arcverson4963]

That "game" with the red stick-man trying to pass without getting hit by a large rotating red poll Lmao

[@RandyLutcavich]

Watched this years later and had the same thought!

[@alec1020]

Just wanna add that you need to be careful to not overdo the aspect of home in your game, if ur game is centered around gameplay then u want the more challenging activities (the ones that often cause friction but also tend to be the most rewarding upon accomplishment) to have the greatest rewards. If u make the more mundane less challenging activities too rewarding to the point where they become almost mandatory to do whether you want to or not then those activities which are supposed to be "the place u call home" become more like chores and create the friction u were trying to avoid by adding them in.

[@jellycore1316]

That's a good point! Thanks!

[@rapasdecoeur7017]

True !

[@Lunareon]

Solid talk, great tips. "Home" really describes the feeling, which pulls you to play the same game again and again, perfectly. It's that sense of familiarity and predictability our brains take great comfort in, in a life that otherwise feels chaotic and random.

[@rendiggietydog]

I love the concept of home, especially when quite a few games I play are either quite mentally tiring, or ive forgotten the controls because i don't play it very often. I think transistor did a great job at the home concept with their (I forget what their called) rest bases which have challenges and just a little area to play with your dog and a beach ball or jukebox. it was a really nice low stress environment to try and remember my playstyle and provided a great place to just put down the game for the night without worrying about being in the middle of a level, or just have a break after an intense boss battle.

[@talverdesign]

Good one! I've Immediately remembered Transistor "home", too

[@Sokolva]

In Dark Souls, the world itself becomes your home as you gain the skill and knowledge to navigate it with ease.

[@thefinalday5858]

HIM : a place to call home ME: fishing mini game

[@donmarelio]

Worked for WoW. So, you know...

[@baconchaney]

I don't even like fishing irl but add a decent fishing minigame and I fall into a black hole. LoZ, Breath of Fire etc, so damn awesome!

[@cliffredroad5394]

I immediately thought of this too lmao

[@spankyspork5808]

@@baconchaney And now Cruelty Squad!

[@VarticTube]

Amazing talk, so simple yet so true. At minute 33:00 when he pulled out a list of reasons not to play a game in my library I instantly thought of 1-3 examples from my collection for each reason.

[@andrewstewart7078]

Dunno if someone mentioned this already but, for me, "home" in Dark Souls is the little runs you do to grind some souls on routes you're now comfortable with. Can jump into it for 10 mins or stick around for a few hours.

[@zaidlacksalastname4905]

Farming trolls in the early game of Elden ring was super chill. Vulgar militia farming later on was also cool

[@TheVertical92]

That Dark Souls Part is on Point. Many Players fear the Loss of their Progress. And i thought i would also. But when you realize that the Value of the Souls isnt even that big, because of your own Skill Progress...then you think "i could even beat this Game without leveling"

[@diadsalies]

What a wonderful talk. I love the insights into 'home', that's definitely something that's been on my mind but not specifically defined. Nice to think of it as a formal concept.

[@pajeetsingh]

Suddenly 100 game related gifs started trending on twitter . Talk: Gifs are not relevant now.

[@ZedAmadeus]

When did he say that? He talks a lot about how gifs are useful for selling your games, and that it's easier if the person looking at them can understand a lot about your game just through a few seconds of a gif

[@IamHueGraves]

@@ZedAmadeus He didn't, the joke is that someone will after an oversaturation due to this talk

[@emberytp]

Kinda surprised that he said "home" and didn't mention "main hub" like do you understand how long I've spent running around the main hubs in Hat in Time, Crash Tag Team Racing or Mario Galaxy 1? I love games that let me just mess around without concequence to become comfortable with them before I commit myself to something in it, or even just to enjoy the mechanics a bit once I feel too much friction from the missions.

[@doccatface6868]

Good showing Nick! It's amazing how many things are obvious the instant you hear them, but go unsaid. Pretty dead on and comprehensive.

[@plegianscum]

100% agree with having a home. I feel like far too many games don't let you relax and I find that frustrating. Sometimes I want to be in a certain atmosphere, but I experience friction stopping me from enjoying that aspect of the game.

[@u1849ka]

Basically my entire reaction to Borderlands 2. 1 was such a kickback and relax kind of game, and then 2 decided you had to be on top form all the time just to play it, and it just felt like getting kicked out of the club.

[@JS-kr8fs]

The Destiny bounties and patrols section really spoke to me on a spiritual level. It's the one part of Destiny 2 I always engage every day I log in, and the part where I tend to log off is realizing I don't want to do Strikes, Crucible or other matchmade activities. Matchmade activities are work. Wandering around the open world, engaging in patrols, bounties and events at my own pace is relaxing.

[@Sparrow420]

Great talk overall. 39:00 one thing about daily quest for example - they can be a gateway into repetition, grind and abandoning the game unless you keep them unique, but you can do special weekly events that actually have the players work towards a global goal together, also increasing how much players communicate if you do it right. but i'll save that for a decade or two from now when i'll be attemping to make an mmo, haha

[@theunheardprophet4315]

Follow your dream, good luck!

[@CodingWithUnity]

Would be cool if games did what tv shows did and gave you a recap of your game play when starting a new session. 90% of the time would skip, but after a long break or "high points" of the game it would be fun to watch. Would help with the friction issue as well.

[@Sungorth]

A lot of sound advice. Feels like there's lots of ancient wisdom around the idea of minimizing risk and maximizing advantages as they come.

[@unsuspiciousdweller8967]

Too much of this, however, can lead to cookie cutter games that are unoriginal and forgettable, like a fair chunk of AAA titles.

[@dhruvatilak1987]

Minimizing the risk can lead to less success. For example, you're making a game with a cliche, the story works but there r a thousand more games whose story is similar who might even do better.

[@cescimes]

@@dhruvatilak1987 not very advantageous then, isn't it?)

[@helpumuch6887]

This presentation is spot on, as someone who loves good games and has been excited to play many over the years, sometimes it takes months/years to find time to deep dive into a game the way you want. Dishonored 2 released right before I went away to school and I was always too broke or busy to get it and play it. Which is super sad because it’s amazing like the first one

[@21coute]

One of the biggest reasons why I like Dragon Age: Inquisition more than Dragon Age: Origins is because it has way more "home". You can walk around your giant fort admiring the sights, talk to companions, spend time upgrading your equipment, go back to familiar areas and close rifts, complete easy quests, etc... Origins had little of that. I still love the game mind you, I just got so exhausted playing it sometimes, especially every run after the first. Two parts that really tired me are: that long ass trip to the fade that had you changing into different spirit forms and the whole choose a king / deep roads chapter in Orzammar. It was all really interesting and all but after a while of being in the fade / the deep roads I just wanted a damn break from the main story and I wanted to do something mindless and relaxing for awhile. Even if I stopped playing the game to take a break, the thought of loading it back up and still being in the tedious and depressing fade or deeproads made me just want to play something else.

[@jenbcamping]

Lots of people have problems with the Fade and I do too (and the deeproads is also a bit too big with no escape), yet Origins is one of my all-time favorite games and WAY better than Inquisition. Origins for me, had the most fantastic feeling of "home" every time you made camp. If you go back and play it in 2020, the campsite can seem kind of cheesy and easily manipulated, but the mix of the atmosphere, music, characters, interactions etc. at the camp made some kind of game-magic for me and I'll never forget it.

[@MrUth99]

I spoilered DAO endings for myself because I got tired of playing it and just wanted to find out how it ended already, so I could move on.

[@ThousandAnt]

Absolutely killer talk! Really appreciate you sharing all this novel. Very useful and actionable, and I love the "home" concept as someone making a cute/cozy game myself.

[@MoonLiteNite]

Factorio updated trailer is dope! They got all the HD textures in there. Can't wait for 1.0!

[@plastictouch6796]

Home in Dark souls is getting good. Once you get good every place in the game feels like home because it is familiar, you have mastered it, you know the trick to beating every boss, every enemy and if you die and lose your souls it's no big deal because you know you can just grind them back.

[@RSProduxx]

48:40 that´s probably the #1 sentence you hear from most Euro Truck/ ATS players, when asked what makes the games so great: Relaxation up to a somewhat-meditative level... There´s a thread on the Steam forums from someone asking "isn´t it boring" almost every other week and you can be sure that most answers will revolve around that, long before "i love trucks"

[@RSProduxx]

@@forest-dweller sure is. not everyone plays games for excitement (which again is very subjective) and adrynaline all the time.

[@yaris684]

His emphasis on homes is what im taking home.

[@ffthack]

I have a huge numbers of hours in slime rancher. Your video helped me feel more engaged in life and reconnection to what I want to express and create. Great job. Successful video. Stand over the basket for the basketball challenge.

[@nathanhajek9039]

One of the best GDC talks-thanks!

[@simonchen6698]

This talk was fantastic, thank you for posting!

[@Ben_of_Milam_Music]

Actually, Dark Souls has a "home" other than Firelink Shrine: Grinding. People look at me weird when I say I play Dark Souls to relax, but it's true. Nothing like kicking back and bullying Dark Knights until they drop Titanite Chunks.

[@irrellevents]

Never even played it, but I thought that was where he was gonna go

[@RaceSmokie]

Great speech! Thank you.

[@funasylumstudio]

To be honest I think simplicity is the best thing you can do as a dev. I recently just stopped playing new games cause they were just so overcomplicated, but in the wrong ways, they overcomplicate environments, even graphics. Games like Vampire Survivor are games that were hardly marketed but are now best sellers simply on virtue of being fun and simple. I got a lil postey above my desk that says "K.I.S.S." And I look at it every time I get the temptation to add something useless to my little tower defense game LOL

[@OH-tj4qn]

You should watch that Zach Gage and Bennett Foddy talk about putting your name on your game !

[@funasylumstudio]

@@OH-tj4qn What are they referring to here? The actual name of the developer (like given name), or the actual company name?

[@funasylumstudio]

@@OH-tj4qn Never mind, they said it. Thanks for the vid, listening to it now

[@YTRingoster]

I grok this talk.

[@Ad-im1ne]

I'm so glad I now know that word in order to describe games I love.

[@ZxCrono]

new Scrabble word: Acquired

[@SaxaphoneMan42]

@@iamlordstarbuilder5595 the term came from a book written in '61, it does still hold relevance today, typically with programmers and devs, as he said

[@JeanLucMG]

Came for Slime Rancher, stayed for Nick's great taste in games

[@dwilliams21]

Fantastic talk; I'm going to watch again and take notes.

[@adibrahman9297]

One of the best talks of GDC

[@isyfrisco]

Is...is he sipping milk?

[@StefanoTalarico]

No, it's boxed water from Boxed Water is Better. I think GDC dropped bottled water for this from a couple of years now, apparently it's a greener choice.

[@tomsko863]

@@StefanoTalarico I never used it, but if it's a waxed or is otherwise heavily coated then it's not recyclable and a larger percentage of people don't reuse those "boxes" compared to a good solid bottle.

[@PlebNC]

I think paper bottles are a well intentioned idea but isn't effective because you're trading plastic pollution for deforestation as the paper has to come from somewhere and even if the paper comes from a renewable forest it still requires chopping down a bunch of trees and destroying a habitat each time the trees are fallen and the subsequent displacement of animals as result.

[@herpderpitypurple73]

@@PlebNC Paper farms.

[@PlebNC]

@@Generic8864 I agree but deforestation renewability is slow and results in a habitat being cut down over and over.

[@Piano_Albert]

great talk, best gdc talk i've seen so far

[@seph.]

I know this will get buried under a number of comments in the comment section of a one year old video, but nevertheless: You mentioned Three Rings, and i freaked out. While Slime Ranch is not really my cup of tea (although i can see myself playing it), Spiral Knights is one of the best games that i have ever experienced. The moment you mentioned Three Rings, everything within your speech suddenly fell into place and came together. I immediately understood what exactly you meant by "Home", it made so much sense. One of the things i spent hundreds upon hundreds of hours on within Spiral Knights was just sit around in the Haven, chatting with people, trading or just simply listening to the fountain sounds and the amazing calming, meditative music, enjoying the cozy "Home" atmosphere that you and the team had created. I cannot thank you enough for that game. Amazing job, Nick.

[@le_chronicc]

Great move repeating the questions before answering them.

[@BigGigant]

thx for the talk

[@spencechan]

It's kind of ironic that it took me (and many others that I know) way longer to understand what Slime Rancher was about than the average game. Not sure a gif of that game can sell you on anything other than the cuteness of the slimes

[@xetra1155]

the screenshot analogy is on point. I was reading an article about the "The Sims 1" like almost everyday until release and imagined how this game could be

[@SuperEssenceOfficial]

Learned so much, thank you

[@crazyjak56]

I love that poochie joke so much.

[@RglMrn]

Amazing talk. Thank you.

[@hplovecraftmacncheese]

Comparing Diablo 3 to Macaroni and Cheese is a very apt comparison. A brief, satisfying experience of very low quality and value.

[@samohickey]

Great talk! Really has me motivated. These tips are priceless. :)

[@xbiodreadx]

WOW, hes a genius. Thanks for your presentation!

[@B_Carr007i]

Awesome design talk!

[@NoCodeFilmmaker]

I LOVE THIS!!! This has to HANDS DOWN be the best speaker I've ever seen. Great info too. I'm a filmmaker as well as a game dev so this is great for packaging films as well. THANKS :)

[@StreetArtist360]

Great talk.

[@AsasinoManik]

Thanks very informative

[@678crazydave]

Amazing talk

[@SpeedOfDarkStudios]

You don't have to have a marketing budget per se for your game to succeed, but you DO have to do some form of marketing, and preferably many forms.

[@zaidlacksalastname4905]

Fantastic talk. The thing about home sums up the red dead 2 experience. Walk around and relax, maybe with some hunting, then do a mission when you're ready to roll.

[@maxjohnson808]

I think this is a must-watch for all game developers.

[@keyvanyaghoubian6695]

Talking about "Competition", made me realize that we are also competing with guys like You and how hard it is.

[@JohnK68]

Slime Ranger, one of those rare games i deeply enjoyed.

[@aussieraver7182]

Great talk!

[@SilverwindWorkshop]

Dark Souls actually has some of my favorite "home" mechanics 1. Bonfires, they are exactly what I think of when this topic is brought up. Nothing is more relieving in gaming than finally making it to the bonfire where you can stop and breathe for a second 2. Grinding souls is actually very relaxing as you're temporarily not under the normal loop of "Go new distant and scary places -> conserve flask uses. Instead you're free to make casual mistakes and flask as much as you want before refreshing at the bonfire and doing it again. Dark Souls is surprisingly a cozy game to some people lol

[@emoneytrain]

"minecraft is pure home" very true

[@Rene-uz3eb]

I did write down the concept that the game should feel like a sort of home on a few pages, some 2 years ago

[@Abhishek-wt7op]

Good talk!

[@nuclearbeeberman]

awesome content and awesome how he presented it :)

[@thanatosor]

12:05 - I like the feeling of cherry-pick the best core gameplay that work in a GIF, while also work for every indie limited resource. In reality, we can’t do anything and also anything mean nothing work well.

[@THExRISER]

42:08 Idk man everytime I come back to Firelink Shrine I feel like I'm home again. But then again I know you weren't necessarily talking about hub areas.

[@ffthack]

Wow, someone mentioned audio in games. Something I'm into. Try the daredevil thing or batman sonar video schtick.

[@crab-dogjones4659]

You know, I get that making games is a business with lots of technical labor involved, but I really think the industry could use some more artist type people.

[@oliviabean8264]

Anytime I come across Euridyces while playing Hades that's home, and it is an amazing one. Sometimes I'll spend a couple minutes listening to her sing, sometimes I just say hi and take off... regardless I'm always much more relaxed after. It does this so well I've used it as a safe space during therapy sessions when things get a little to intense.

[@sarcosmic6982]

That's pretty amazing, honestly. I think if you let Supergiant know that their game created such a space for you, they'd really appreciate hearing it. ☺️

[@oliviabean8264]

@@sarcosmic6982 My brains in a weird space but hopefully I'll remember to do that, good idea :)

[@Hinternet]

The best example of why Long Term support matters is Among us, the game was out for 2 years and didn't do well, then Covid hit and everyone was inside and it blew up into what it is now.

[@garygray5107]

I've never met anyone who found games through GIFs lol but to each there own.

[@PurpleFreezerPage]

In regard to GIFs.. Creators of minecraft showed a couple pages of their confidential design book - and one of the design principals was "one block at a time". Essentially minecraft has no copy paste functionality. Everything is very.. hands on. You do almost everything by hand. (Redstone is the biggest exception.) The main reason this is important is the game is more watchable and co-operation is smoother. Personally, I was sold on minecraft the moment I saw a let's play of it. I saw someone kill a sheep with it's own wool, and they broke an indent on a hill side and build a house into it - one block at a time. I instantly understood what the player can do.

[@caterpillarnana]

Holy crap, I'm going back to the Far Far Range and hit G.

[@noirlavender6409]

dude I love slime rancher it seriously need more attention

[@KryyssTV]

Many years ago, I saw a similar talk at GDC saying that players need to feel engaged within the first 20 mins of the game because that is the typical attention span of people. We're now down from 'engage within 20 mins' to 'engage within 20 seconds'. I really worry about what effect society is having on people when I see stuff like this. Games are entering an age where the most popular titles are more like toys due to how shallow they are but can deliver simple, brief moments of entertainment only to be quickly discarded for the next shiny toy to grab the user's attention.

[@willhart2188]

Home is where the cat is.

[@XaviAndreu]

Great

[@laka1469]

I don't feel like it will do people's attention spans good if we keep compressing everything into flashy images that don't mean much. There's only so much meaning you can put in a short time. What does that leave complex and narrative-focused games with?

[@Gumby-ce1fd]

Wow really inspiring vid

[@hakonwollan3516]

I wish this guy was my uncle

[@Deck_Dynasty]

What if he was the touchy kind tho?

[@hakonwollan3516]

@@Deck_Dynasty Even better

[@seditt5146]

@@hakonwollan3516 You had a weird family growing up didn't you?

[@dichebach]

I KNEW it . . .

[@MegaPieru3000]

Uncle..? How old are you?

[@keithjourdian6116]

Does the gif concept work for trading card games?

[@acibiber53]

So I bought the Slime Rancher this year, because of the Overwhelming Positive comments, and found the home he is talking about. It was fun for some time, but missing a very important key element, for me, that I left it quicker than I anticipated. As he mentioned, our time and attention is very limited. So when I start playing this cute ranch game, first couple of runs to gather slimes are ok. But traversal becomes a very big issue each time you go farther. Even though, it was obvious that after some time we would be getting teleportation, and our speed boost would increase, I wasn't able to wait until then. Maybe I would when I was younger, but not now, with all the job and responsibility of the family. My addition to this would be: Your players should be able to do meaningful additions to their prior experience within the first few minutes of each sitting. Basics like travel shouldn't be creating friction, as he mentioned in the presentation. Well, if you have a RDR2-like world which is literally alive and every corner gives you different sound of an animal, maybe reducing this kind of friction could take longer time. But even then, you have to do it after some time. And when your game has like a low-poly not really interesting linear areas, you better make me make things faster, otherwise the attention will be lost, because there are other mediums that could give me same satisfaction without the burden of slow foot traversal. He kinda mentioned this throughout the presentation with the principles he stated, but I wanted to specifically point out this travel issue, as it started to become an issue for me and keeps me from playing even the really amazing games due to unnecessary time required for moving around.

[@Morraak]

I'm of the Field of Dreams mindset. If you build it, they will come. It might not be a hit but there's no guarantee in life. Each game has certain aspects that certain individuals like that others may not so make the game that you want to see exist.

[@DOSRetroGamer]

But in this industry, soo many people are building soo many playfields...

[@adisaikkonen]

"How to reduce friction: Make your game a non-challenging grindfest." Gotcha. Cookie Clicker confirmed the peak of design. I jest, of course, but many of the things listed under what Popovich considers "home" are exactly the things that lead to friction for me. The endless grind of daily quests in WoW stopped me from playing it in TBC. Battle Pass objectives also frequently lead to awful gameplay and stop me from playing games the way I'd want to - and make me feel like I'm playing inefficiently if I don't participate. If you are willing to do repetitive trivial tasks for in-game rewards, you might as well work overtime, learn an instrument or sign up for Duolingo instead. The two latter ones are notably also more fun than most MMO dailies.

[@Cyberian_Khatru]

I guess that's just poor implementation on a cool idea. My interpretation goes along the lines that daily quests just don't feel rewarding or important. So, off the top of my head, I could mention Crash Team Racing, and it's home could be the adventure mode hub, or just a normal race in easy mode, both of with can just be used for practicing drifting or shortcuts. So you get better at those things without much stress if you're having a hard time with one of the bosses, time trials, etc. I think the design of dailies is usually flawed because devs don't put more than a fleeting thought into them.

[@jeromeciarkowski1367]

Adi Saikkonen with that line of logic, why play video games at all? You may perceive them are a grindfest-but the low-effort means easy to pick up and start for others.

[@adisaikkonen]

@@jeromeciarkowski1367 : Not all games are repetitive and tedious, and I do in fact refuse to play the video games that are. And not everything that is easy to pick up necessarily contains anything of value. Empty, pointless Hollywood blockbusters come under the fire of critique a lot, yet they are no doubt easy to pick up and watch. Would your answer to someone critiquing Michael Bay explosionfest to be to ask them: "Why watch movies at all?". If nothing else, it really reveals how lowly you think of the medium, if you consider its primary function to be literally wasting time. Video games have three basic functions: As art, as refreshment, and as pasttime. Grindy games only succeed in the last one, as they are rarely refreshing to play and frequently so invested in their own systems of keeping the player "engaged", or rather hostage, for as long as possible to ever bother making any statements about the real world or to provoke any meaningful thought. Indeed, it seems like these games truly aim to fill the hole of religion in being "opiate for the masses", provoking as little thought and requiring as little effort as possible.

[@jeromeciarkowski1367]

@@adisaikkonen That's simply your opinion. You stated "If you are willing to do repetitive trivial tasks for in-game rewards, you might as well work overtime, learn an instrument or sign up for Duolingo instead. The two latter ones are notably also more fun than most MMO dailies." because your perception is that it is simply not fun for you and you perceive it as a waste time that could be better utilized doing other things. Whereas other people may not have the same insight; other people may enjoy the mindless nature of grindfests, dailies, and the mundane. Perhaps they find relaxation, perhaps they find gradual progress and take pride in such. I'm saying the barrier you draw is arbitrary between worthwhile video games and waste-of-time video games. And not everyone agrees with that location of that barrier. That is simply all.

[@jeromeciarkowski1367]

@@adisaikkonen And nah, I literally have the same perception that everything we do in life is to waste time. Smaller projects to distract you from the immediate that scale to larger projects. Then we die. Of course, what we do should be what we love to make life worthwhile.

[@GoldenWind]

As always great lecture and a lot of useful information, thanks to author!😊

[@Jacob_Friis]

0:30 is it just a picture, or is it from a game? If so, what game?

[@toldfable]

Noita did this very well

[@NextBeack]

I totally grok this video

[@hacktivitynow8457]

Good presentation but the miss at 36:18 was hard to watch

[@gameexplorer4963]

djif :P but otherwise great talk very much on point in everything. and definitely one worth watching. (never heard anyone using the term grok btw...)

[@Cyberfoxxy]

now i really want to see that gif

[@aussieraver7182]

14:29 SO TRUE!

[@idklol4197]

47:11 is no one else perturbed by what is being said here

[@dichebach]

Fascinating talk. Re: the first point about "design to grok players in a gif;" Mr. Popovich makes the very good point that "plenty of good selling games do not do this." I'm afraid the genre I'm going for might be in this slot. I cannot think of how one could use this approach of marketing with a game like Stardew Valley, Paper's Please or Nethergate. ADDIT: from my standpoint--and perhaps I'm narrow minded on this--his first point 1. Design to grok players with a gif; and his second point 2. Staying relevant, are somewhat oppositional. This does not detract from the value of his message at all. I agree with his points and think they are incredibly valuable. However. the fact that the type of game design that serves (1) (grokable from a gif) seems in some ways opposite to the type of game design that serves (2) is a stumbling block. Lets take Minecraft for example. Clearly a game that serves (2) to extraordinary degrees. Some players have proably put in 15,000 hours with that game! However, I find it quite difficult to imagine the "T-Rex Moment" for a .gif promoting Minecraft. I mean . . . the Ender Dragon but what percentage of players ever even make it to that part of the game!?

[@cringeproof100]

I know I'm a year late lol, but I think Minecraft's awe inspiring images are those huge scale mountains and castles etc... when you're not familiar with the game those landscapes are very impressive and unique

[@juanrodriguez9971]

"Sell it with a GIF" What I get from that sentence is something simple but bigger: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sell your game in the most simple way(s) possible. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Almost nobody is going to watch your full trailer or even read the text in it. Almost nobody is going to read the small text even if is a big spoiler. Almost nobody is going to see over 5 seconds of your ad and pay attention. Almost nobody is going to read your full Facebook post. Almost nobody is going to go through the intro of your development video. And almost nobody is going to read your full comment. Make it as direct, as sellable, as digestible, as easy to understand as possible, because people's time, attention, and screen size is limited, very, very limited, sell it with the first 10 words and 30 frames or prepare to die. Don't be artistic patient, be fast and direct.