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Martin's avatar
Martin

I’ve spoken to a lot of people over the years about data – what and how do they use it. Almost all use the systems provided by the engine/store front and little else. I believe this can easily be expanded with a bit of planning and implementation in the game.

Therefore, my talk would be; Data – it is not just “Sales”

In short…

It would be split into three areas, Planning, Development and Published. Note: no mention of sales, this is a sub-set of Published.

Planning: Looking at the market. Investigating your ideas. Will they work? Rough plan and timeframes, money etc

Development: In depth plan. In game analysis, data recording, feedback. Custom triggers and data collection

Published: In game analysis, data recording and feedback. Storefront data. Reviews, social media

I’ve sat in a lot of different talks. I’ve helped and been on stage for a few (play testing). Doing them is not easy unless you are very confident public speaker. The above is an idea to open people’s minds to data but I would never do it.

Boomer's avatar
BoomerMod
Martin

I would be sat front and centre! I lectured for a little while on Data Analytics for Esports. I had support with the data analysis side of it, but I found it all really fascinating!

Mostly it was helping students design their methodologies for gathering and analysing gameplay data, developing questions with value-adding or actionable responses, and endless discussions about different types of visualisation! 😆

Genuinely I would love to go to this talk!

MargotCandy's avatar
MargotCandy
Martin

Data is king in so many industries and contexts. I would love to see this talk. :)

MargotCandy's avatar
MargotCandy

My career started in linguistic games testing. Therefore my talk would be around software testing in the games industry with a focus on translations.

What I would love to explore in a talk is how to get translators and linguistic testers involved sooner in the development process, while also being at the right time.

Things I have observed in the past is that while translations and voice overs were recorded early, these were sometimes too early and the translator did not know the correct context and hence the text did not make sense once it was seen in game.

There are a few examples I would talk about from gulp 15 years ago. :D This would cover Fallout 3, Killzone 2 and some general nintendo games that I was involved in.

Makster's avatar
Makster
MargotCandy

Incredible. I'm really into the translating scene especially for fan translations Japan to English.

The discourse is incredible on social media but as a translator I appreciate the changes in script to keep with more modern vernacular but when is it too far and who really signs off on it - the translator or the director/ creative lead

MargotCandy's avatar
MargotCandy
Makster

Yeah that's an interesting discussion on who signs it off in the end.

I have been surprised how much input I could have as a linguistic games tester, as I am not an officially trained translator but I did translate a lot of items and rankings in some games as those were missed. No idea what the final review process was for some of them.

You also mention the Japanese and English angle. Something I started to do over the last couple of years is watch manga series in English but also with English subtitles on and sometimes the meaning is quite different. :D

Boomer's avatar
BoomerMod
MargotCandy

That's so cool! If you don't mind me asking, what languages did you specialise in?

the translator did not know the correct context and hence the text did not make sense once it was seen in game.

I imagine this is quite a common problem. With games being worked on right until the moment they're shipped / published (and even after!), how can we improve the process?

Between you and Martin, it sounds like we might have the beginnings of our own mini conference here! 😄

MargotCandy's avatar
MargotCandy
Boomer

I specialised in German, but there was a Peppa Pig game where my French was deemed good enough :D

I have been out of touch with the linguistic games testing angle for a while but things I would hope are more common now are story board packs that would be provided to the translation teams (more often than not these are third party companies), regular check ins or stand ups with the translation teams to encourage dialogue around tricky to translate areas, so they can get feedback from the game developer sooner, and also simple things like guidelines on how big certain text fields are.

For German it can be really beneficial to know what size your dialogue boxes are, or your button text can only be X amount of characters.

German has useful and common abbreviations so using these from the start could help with the final linguistic QA process and avoid bugs, as finding them late is costly.

Boomer's avatar
BoomerMod
MargotCandy

That's really interesting! Keeping everyone informed must be difficult when some of the team are contracted through external companies.

I wonder which phrases vary most by length in different languages? 🤔

Sturmer's avatar
Sturmer

My presentation would be geared towards small and indie game studios that have little or no marketing budget. I'll discuss how to identify and connect with content creators, and how to leverage guerrilla and viral marketing strategies through social media and SEO. Additionally, I'll emphasize the importance of building brand and product awareness well before the initial release, among other promotional tactics.

Boomer's avatar
BoomerMod
Sturmer

I'd love to hear what a (near) zero-budget indie marketing campaign would involve!

EveOnlineTutorials's avatar
EveOnlineTutorials

Topic - MMO's & Why they are failing

I would give a topic on MMOs and why they are constantly being rushed out, as unfinished products, I would ask the audience after giving examples of failed MMO launches, what they feel, companies could do better, how they can listen to players before rushing products out and how they need to put the game itself first before profit if they want long term profits and not short term gains before a product fails.

Would be my topic

MargotCandy's avatar
MargotCandy
EveOnlineTutorials

Are there any specific case studies you would mention? No worries if you can't on here due to NDAs or something.

I am not a MMO player.

However I was part of the software team for one geared towards young children back in the early years of my career, and it did fail in certain european markets, due to parents' attitude to screen time being quite different compared with the US and UK. At leats that was the feedback, and what the post launch market research showed. (note post launch sigh)

EveOnlineTutorials's avatar
EveOnlineTutorials
MargotCandy

So one I would mention is say No Mans Sky, was hyped and promises made and when released, millions where hyped for it, it was nothing like promised. Of course, then you have things like MCT hidden in games until release etc.

Makster's avatar
Makster
MargotCandy

I think around the 7th gen of consoles it was an interesting time. As companies often do, they chase trends and with the massive success of WoW (following EverQuest 2) I felt there was a string of poorly optimised MMOs: Dungeons & Dragons Online, The Matrix Online, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, Age of Conan, Star Wars Galaxies (and then later The Old Republic), and Hellgate: London. I think many after an initial buy in for the game, quickly saw a slump in player base before going Free To Play and then being shut down. There can be a whole subsection could be about Second Life (or Metaverse 1.0) as a side tangent on MMO busienss.

I think the only successful ones I remember are City of Heroes (they were a bit too early to really catch the comic book heroes boom) and Guild Wars

Boomer's avatar
BoomerMod
EveOnlineTutorials

It'd be great to compare how game genres relate to funding models, revenue, and in-game economies (using real money).

Makster's avatar
Makster

With Rooster Teeth closing, and how Red vs. Blue was such a big part of my life, I’d give a talk on:

Machinima (not the YT channel) - what is it and where did it go?

I felt Machinima encapsulated a lot of what early 00’s internet was: nerd culture, creativity, and collaboration. It was taking game engines and animation and then overlaying your own audio on top of it, capturing it, editing and then distribution.

I’d cover:

- What Machinima is
- Distribution and popularisation of Machinima on the internet
- Key Figure heads: Paul Marino (ILL Clan), Rooster Teeth, Few Smooth Films
- Case Studies/ Examples
  - Red vs Blue
  - A Day in the Life of a Portal Turret
  - This Spartan Life

And then in closing: what did Machinima evolve into/ its decline

It’s something I’m really passionate about and, based on my age, I grew up at the right time to see the whole lifecycle of this medium which most people would only vaguely remember.

Boomer's avatar
BoomerMod
Makster

We could tag team it! 😄 I'll kick off with demoscene and that leads directly into machinima!

If you're interested in all of that, you should check out the Completely Machinima podcast by my uni supervisor 😁

Makster's avatar
Makster
Boomer

@boomer I should have included you in the post being a fellow RT UK alumni

A
Asim

I would honestly give a talk about the benefits of games that most parents hate!

The benefits of Fortnite & what we can learn from it. Games are designed to be addicting but that is not a bad thing in my opinion. We are learning how to invest time and enjoy repeating the same action in a certain medium right. Fortnite keeps players interested by their daily quests and achieveable goals which are short and measurable. E.g Kill 3 people using a pistol and it shows your how many kills you have gotten and rewards you when you complete it

Using this mindset parents could help children complete certain tasks like housework, E.G Wash 3 plates in the house, have it be measurable e.g like a graph on the fridge and you can reward the child with a chocolate for doing this. Overtime You can adjust the task/reward ration or even reward them with 30 minutes of gaming time! Use the psychology of gaming to your advantage

Boomer's avatar
BoomerMod
Asim

There's so much potential for games as a tool for education, particularly outside the classroom.

This is the first thing that came to my mind:

  • The Great Fire of London, 1666 - Minecraft

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHxd1zKz9ts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lwJN8RHgHc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4IQ6k6jn5k

Video Credits: BlockWorks via Museum of London

Martin's avatar
Martin
Asim

I wrote a mobile puzzle counting game (not published). Easy to play, difficult to complete. Showed it to a couple of teachers and they loved it as at the same time as being a game it also taught counting.

Gaming is great for a lot more than just "gaming" - teaching, health care/recovery, mental health, etc

D
Dean

I'd love to talk about player experiences in a game and how that might be misaligned with AAA studios.

If you look at the games that have blown up over the last 6-12 months, so many of them have been from smaller studios who are great at doing 1-2 things really well (Enshrouded, Palworld, Helldivers, etc).

I'd love to see a AAA studio get back to basics and nail what a player wants from a game.

Boomer's avatar
BoomerMod
Dean

That'd be really interesting! I wonder where in the process it starts to break down? 🤔

Could it be:

  • the game design shifts between the pitch and it being published?

  • poor market analysis by publishers, meaning they sign less-appealing games?

  • reduced ability/willingness by larger studios to deviate from popular formats?

  • confirmation bias, so it seems like smaller studios are having greater success, when in reality we're only hearing about the successful ones?

Whatever the reason, it'd be great to hear AAA studios open up about their process.

D
Dean
Boomer

It's definitely interesting - I think there is some confirmation bias as people like to give AAA companies a harder time, however, I also think it's due to them trying to make forever games - when people want experiences and to consumer numerous games. Not chose one game to play for the rest of their life, with continuous DLC, seasons, etc. I think people generally like to have a single game they come back to and then smaller experiences in the 10-40 hour range that can be completed - and at a lower price point.

So I think it's generally market alignment and general consumer demand which is being overlooked.

Boomer's avatar
BoomerMod
Dean

That's a great point! Maybe it's an over-fixation on the attention economy.

Rather than bigger studios capturing all of our attention, would playing a range of games reduce player churn on live service / annual games?

avrona's avatar
avrona

DRM in the modern age. Going over methods of DRM nowadays and their tradeoffs would be pretty insightful for both devs and gamers. Talking about the real impact on performance, old copy protection methods that could be making a comeback, and looking forward to how tech advances can help make future forms of DRM that both protect games and don't annoy the player.

It's an extremely confusing, convoluted, and controversial topic nowadays, with modern DRM schemes either tanking performance, and especially always online DRM potentially making games unplayable if the servers go offline or your connection drops or some reason. With my background in tech I think it would be a fairly interesting talk, talking about how the current situation can be improved for the benefit of both parties.

M
Misfitsworld

My talk would be about having fun while playing games & what helps you to escape from everyday life , how gaming can help keep your mind sharp but also be a distraction from the thoughts in your head, it doesn't matter your skill, age all that matters is you have fun

FrostySomething's avatar
FrostySomething

In the age of digital libraries and live service games, I’d look at the challenges we face in documenting and archiving video games in 2020s. How do we preserve games in a way that future generations can experience? When e-shop platforms close as console generations move on, how do we ensure games are not lost in time? And with live service games, it’s all very well preserving the code and having a launchable version of say Fortnite, but so much of these experiences are about the social events that make your playthrough unique to you and your party. It’s not a new problem. It’s a challenge that’s been around since the early MMO days. But I’d be curious to explore whether it’s harder or easier today to document and preserve video game experiences.

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