The effects of games depend on the author intentions: from games that "fascinate and dupe" players to the creation of applied games for change.

1. Videogames
saving
and
damning
players
Pietro Polsinelli
@ppolsinelli
for Media Mutations 2015
http://www.mediamutations.org/

2. There may be different reasons for
you to get into game production.
2

3. To
Fascinate
Dupe
and
Get Rich
© Mauro Vanetti. The FDGR target.
3

4. To
use a new media
so to
bring about change
4

5. DAMNING
(FDGR)

6. Lets
Fascinate casual gamers with
addictive tricks
Dupe with virtual goods through in
app purchases
and
Get Rich! 6

7. Target casual gamers.
Well, your target moves fast.
(check out Vili Lehdonvirta @ViliLe studies)
7

8. Long chat with a developer for the
dark forces.
Design for betting addiction is very
simple and universal.
Simplistic combinatorial models and
“almost won” feedback.
8

9. 9

10. But if you want FDGR
outside betting and scams,
things are more complex.
10

11. There once was the idea
that all casual games
were built in a serial
isomorphic way.
11

12. A B testing does not work? Let’s use machine learning!
http://www.kdnuggets.com/2015/03/interview-vince-darley-king-
analytics-gaming.html
12

13. 13

14. (BTW
not a model of
scientific discovery
either.)
14

15. Reductionistic approaches
are not a universal solution.
15

16. Not reductionistic view of gamers,
but a reductionistic view of games.
(This theme will return in the applied
games side, unfortunately.)
16

17. Beyond A/B testing

18. Lets go back to FDGR with different ideas.
18

19. Lets do a narrative based game
with lots or reading, multiple
choices, simplistic tech and low
quality design.
19

20. Will never work for FDGR!!!!
Can’t do testing nor automated learning.
Will actually need a good writer!!!
Reading? On Mobile? Naaah.
DOOMED TO FAILURE
20

21. Wrong. Relations and gossip:
narrative! (Kardashian Hollywood)

22. “Kim Kardashian: Hollywood
is really good, and no amount
of brand power or lunar
gravity could have made it so
popular if it wasn't”
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/232790/Gamasutr
as_Best_of_2014_Leigh_Alexanders_Top_5_Games.php
22

23. “We had iterated on this
product twice before so we
knew that it would retain and
monetize well.”
http://gamasutra.com/view/news/221720/QA_Keeping_up_with_hit_mobile_game_
Kim_Kardashian_Hollywood.php
23

24. “the economy was very well balanced
after much iteration on the Stardom
product.
We optimized the monetization system for
Kim Kardashian: Hollywood through the
beta process, once we understood how
users were responding to the content. ”
http://gamasutra.com/view/news/221720/QA_Keeping_up_with_hit_mobile_game_Kim_Kard
ashian_Hollywood.php
24

25. How do you feel about the whole thing?
“Media coverage of a free-to play-game, both
positive and negative, drives downloads. We
turn those downloads into revenue.
Revenue is what keeps Glu Canada thriving, and
that makes me happy.”
http://gamasutra.com/view/news/221720/QA_Keeping_up_with_hit_mobile_game_Kim_Kard
ashian_Hollywood.php
25

26. 1. Test on users
2. Iterate same genre
3. Good copy
4. Good mechanics (rhythm!)
5. Mediocre graphics, tech
26

27. Futile attempts to resist our FDGR plan.
27

28. FDGR mission accomplished.
28

29. SAVING

30. Try wondering when playing a game:
Am I learning anything?
Is it a process that brings any kind of
soul change?
30

31. Games and change???
It turns out that games have a certain
relationship to learning.
31

33. Also what is it about video games? We
don’t talk about ‘social impact’
movies; nor do we talk about
‘educational’ books.
Why do we have these bipolar gaming
categories?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2015/05/10/how-to-transform-education-with-video-games/
33

34. At least some games have a
relationship with an interesting
learning process.
Here “saving” players in the limited
sense of stimulating a learning /
transformational process. Just like a
good book or movie.
34

35. Lets get to my field:
indie and applied games
35

36. EXAMPLES

37. My experience: mainly been of
transforming game / gamification
concepts in something else
37

38. Transformation 1/3
Games for
Social Impact

39. Monday, May 25, 2015
… to develop and implement a
game infused e-learning tool
to promote early access to
services with neglect and
abuse for young people on the
move in Europe
Mission. 39

40. Kids becoming aware and
capable of dealing with
situations of neglect and
abuse.
40

41. EU project: deal with these
matters harmonically and
effectively across EU.
41

42. One big problem in applied
games is the
decorational
approach
(or gamification based)
42

43. Pick a mod, just change the labels ...
43

44. Collateral story gets in the way
of play.
44

45. Designing Games for Social
Impact
RE-DESIGN

46. Beyond secondary
narrative

47. Inspired by ...
47

48. Inspired by Dumb Ways To Die. Specific mechanics.
48

49. Represent notions with
characters
49

50. Inspired by Dominions: cards are characters,actions, a universe.
50

51. Universe made of simple
atoms.
51

52. Build up of awareness defines
the game mechanics.
52

53. Game loop: shit happens.
53

54. Deal with it and keep your
universe together.
54

55. Your identity, your self is
complex stuff.
55

56. 56

57. 57

58. 58

59. 59

60. Participative Action Research
60

61. Monday, May 25, 2015
State of mind.
61

62. Monday, May 25, 2015
Profile and story.
62

63. Monday, May 25, 2015
Situation: sleeping out
63

64. Monday, May 25, 2015
Situation: sleeping out choices
64

65. Monday, May 25, 2015
THE SECRET: A narrative tool.
65

66. Designing Games
for Social Impact
TIPS

67. If untamed, stories
kill fun in loops
67

68. If Games Were Like Game Stories ...
68

69. From Nick Case If Games Were Like Game Stories...
Games don’t’ branch, they evolve.
69

70. Even branching games do not have branching at their core.
70

71. Transformation 2/6
Games for
Health

72. Help people that are evolving
towards a chronic desease by
influencing behavior and
disrupting this evolution.
NDA 
72

73. Is the romantic approach to
games fit for Applied games?
My "fight" with a doctor can
make us gain information
73

74. Customer thinks (s)he knows what “game”
means.This is a problem.
74

75. Designing Games for Health
RE-DESIGN

76. Monday, May 25, 2015
Category, competition,
avatar, war, reward, levels
Vs.
Inclusive, mentor, path,
story, transformation
A language change.
76

77. Redesigned by including negative feedback,
turning avatar to mentor, building an AI.
77

78. What is bizarre is that it is the
same doctor that explained me
that learning, being informed
about d_abe_es this disease
influences the cure.
78

79. Applied game design elicits a
dialogue between designer and
customer, both evolving
knowledge
#noestimates
79

80. Designing Games for Health
TIPS

81. Ian Bogost: gamification is
bullshit.
81

82. Ian Bogost “gamification is bullshit”
82

83. 83

84. Distinguish (and then merge) projective
experiences and couching.
84

85. Genre and inclusiveness.
85

86. Power of baptism. Comes in many forms...
86

87. the greatest invention
of the video game era
was – and continues
to be – “single-play”.
Applied game’ customers often don’t get this.
Independence, absence.
87

88. Beyond the avatar: Discarding the relatable avatar for a
meaningful voice learning from poetry
88

89. Example 3/6
Sustainability
(NDA )

90. Inspired by 10000000 by the way good slides
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1020125/Making
90

91. The simplest addictive
mechanics frequently used in
FDGR can be turned and used
for a learning process with
depth.
91

92. A sustainable world .
92

93. The design / development loop.
93

94. FINALE

95. So what? FDGR and TEACH,
damning and saving.
The difference is not in the game
intrinsic quality.
It is in the aim of the designer, which
too is not black and white.
95

96. You will need full game design skils – and more - to
create good games that teach something.
96

97. Indie games today are weird,
experimental, artisanal, radical and
creatively uncompromising.
Can applied games be like that too,
please?
(thanks Matteo Pozzi)
97

98. My twitter stream is mostly
dedicated to game design:
http://twitter.com/ppolsinelli
A blog on game design
http://designagame.eu
98

99. There are more things in games and
videogames, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your
philosophy.
99

100. Beyond

103. Persuasive UIs
103

104. Addiction by Design Natascha Schull
http://gelconference.com/videos/2008/natasha_schull
97% is given by the slot machine – study IT

105. 105

106. Some
references

107. Monday, May 25, 2015
Dilbert:
http://dilbert.com/strip/1995-01-
28
Image references
107

108. http://nativex.com/blog/5-important-lessons-kim-
kardashian-taught-us-about-mobile-game-development/
http://www.bustle.com/articles/29451-we-played-kim-
kardashians-iphone-game-so-you-dont-have-to
http://www.quora.com/Why-is-the-Kim-Kardashian-game-
so-successful-Is-it-a-good-game-Should-game-
development-companies-hire-celebrity-designers
Kardashian discussion references.
108

109. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/232790/Gamasutras_
Best_of_2014_Leigh_Alexanders_Top_5_Games.php
http://gamasutra.com/view/news/221720/QA_Keeping_up_
with_hit_mobile_game_Kim_Kardashian_Hollywood.php
http://www.quora.com/Why-is-the-Kim-Kardashian-
game-so-successful-Is-it-a-good-game-Should-
game-development-companies-hire-celebrity-
designers
Kardashian discussion references.
109