The Experience is King: Social Gaming for the Next Generation

Speakers: Dave Ranyard, Mike Haigh

Track: Game Design

Format: Lecture

Experience Level: All

Description: Real next generation gaming is not about the machine or its capabilities, this should be transparent - it is about the experience the player(s) receive - more and more social games are coming to market in a big way (singstar/eyetoy/buzz/guitar hero/dance, dance revolution). These genre-busting games are based on a competitive performance (singing, dancing, moving etc) and typically the performance is captured using a non-traditional, bespoke controller.

By designing a specific controller, a social game can reach out to many more potential players, as the traditional controller, although an icon of gaming, is actually quite exclusive of the mainstream market.

This poses a tricky chicken & egg development problem: developing the hardware alongside the software. It is only half the problem to create the peripheral - how it will be used, is the true innovation: The Experience is King! Much of this session is based on the author’s own experience developing titles such as SingStar and EyeToy and their associated hardware: The eyetoy Camera, the SingStar Microphones and the buzzers used in Buzz.

Idea Takeaway: Develop an understanding of how social games using a performance capturing peripheral are developed and just how to produce the software and hardware in tandem.

Intended Audience: Game Designers/Producers/Game Directors anyone interested in social gaming, anyone interested in peripherals.