Final Post: Target Audience Profiling & Iterative Design

The feedback last week help me a lot. I know how to improve my card game. Using the other two research methods, I can explain how I'm going to execute this process.

Target Audience Profiling

After the feedback I get last week, I know what both genders wants in a card game. For the male side, it's easy but for the female side, it's a bit tricky but I have a solution. 

From what I find out, a lot of male players like to play card game because they want to win and socialize with others and for some, the illustration. And what illustration they want? Illustration that can entice them: Cool or Sexy both appeal to males. To illustrate an illustration for males is easy! 

BUT!!! For the females, it's different. What I found out is, not many females plays card games. Many of them like to collect them because of the illustration. The style they collected are cute person or cool guys. For the females who plays, their deck also consist of cute person or cool guys and for few their decks are similar to the males because they also want to win.

So after identifying both genders, I know what direction to take.   

Iterative Design

After the mini interview & a focus group, I use the feedback I get to made changes to my cards. The appearances and the colours has change to Irish influence because it's an Irish theme card game to promote their richness of culture and mythology. One of my friends in the focus group said that "card game need to be influence by something".

Using that feedback, I have created a custom Celtic Knots to make card because from what I found out is Celtic knots plays an important role in Irish culture. The backing is green now is because green is the colour for Irish so it makes sense. So for the front of the cards, there are a lot of Celtic knots making the front binds together giving the image of no start and no ending.

After printing out the cards and look at it, it look legit. Looks like a card game you can buy outside. Showing the cards to my friends and friends that I used to play card game with said that I looks nice and legit. They say that they might buy this card game if I sell it online. So this area of improvement, I think is successful.

For the characters, both genders have their own opinion. For the males, they like it. I think the illustration explains itself and for the females, they ask me whether there's any males for my card game. The answer is yes! But work in progress. BUT the feedback for the appearance of the card, they have the same answer like the males. They think this appearance looks suitable for the card. 

The information I get last week really help me to improve my card game. YES!

So in a way, my target audience like the new appearance of the card. This is an achievement? I think? So the next thing to process on will be to make more cards to form a deck for both faction because the game play now is workable. So if I'm done with the illustration, the cards can be played.    

Front & Back of the Card 

Before

After

Doing a mini interview and a focus group for my GP

During the weekend, Saturday 11/3/17, I met up with my friends who I played trading card game with during my teenage life. We met at our usual card store place at Bishan. They are still playing even now and the place is still full of teenagers and young adults. I don't play trading card game now because it's too expansive to invest on a powerful deck but I still have my old deck that I can play with, so I played with multiple people.

I get my chance to ask them multiple questions, random question that pop up to my mind, something like a interview or a survey? More on the interview part. The bad thing was I didn't have a time to write down their answers and the thought of recording didn't cross my mind during that time but I remember some of the answers.

(It still fresh in my mind now, 12/3/17. (Date Stamp!))

The questions was:

- Why do you play card games?
- Why is purchasing card very expansive?
- If it's very expansive why do you still playing?
- Does the illustration design intrigue you to buy card game?
- Is the layout of the card to simple or just nice or don't even bother as long as the game is fun.
- When do you start playing card game?
- The cards are made up of paper why do you spent money on them?
- What makes you continue to play card game?
- Do you play multiple card card or just this card game?

The answers I gathered:

>"Most people say because it's fun"
>"Some say to kill time"
>"To win"
>"To collect"
>"To be famous"
>"To meet new friends"
>"To socialize"
>"It's a collectors item"
>"To make business?"

>"I just want to win okay!"

>"Because of the illustration?"

>"Everything is costly but getting a cheaper card is hard to get"

>"There are two types of players: one who play and one who collect"

>"I can't use my computer so I'm here"

>"I have played many card game and all of them are interesting different variation of fun"

>"Playing card game is like smoking you can socialize with anyone and you can meet new people"

So I have all this answers or feedback but it doesn't help me to make a better trading card game.

During dinner time, all of us go to MacDonald to eat so this is my chance to conduct a focus group. They say that my card game need to be influence by something. For example, Anime!. All of this card game is an influence of something to make them popular. People also will be interested in playing if the game mechanic is easy to understand and interesting. If this game or show is famous and suddenly it have a card game, people will be interested in playing because of the characters they know and love. The characters need to be beautiful done, the layout doesn't matter to the game. Cards get expansive if that card is popular, its a marketing thing a lot of products are like this.

After that mini discussion, I roughly know what to do for my card game. Illustration must be beautiful done!

Talking about Competitor Analysis and Focus Groups for my GP

For my Graduation Project, I will be conducting a Competitor Analysis and Focus Group for my GP.

Why I conduct this methods is because I want to understand more about card games. Using SWOT Analysis to understand my market rivals.

Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats

My competitor will be CD PROJEKT creator of the popular game series: The Witcher. Why I choose them is because their mechanic of their card game: Gwent is about the same as mine. So using them as my competitor make sense.

This is how I conduct:

Strengths:

- What advantages does your organization have?

How this card game gain its popularity is by the main game where the main character of the game can wonder around the place challenging NPC (non-playable character) in a game of cards. Players like the concept and the developers make this card game into reality.

- What do you do better than anyone else?

All the characters in the card are characters from the game. Players can enjoy the game using their favorite characters and win the game.

- What unique or lowest-cost resources can you draw upon that others can't?

The game is free and the card you going to collect is also free because the developer want their consumer to join the game and making the game fair without overpowered card.

- What do people in your market see as your strengths?

Even thought the game is free, this game has a lot of sponsor to promote the game. Making this game quite popular in the west.

Weaknesses:

- What could you improve?

This game is not popular in Asia. Asian will know this card game if they played the game: The Witcher.

- What should you avoid?

This game should avoid making it a fast pace game because this game required the players to think and plan their moves to win.

- What are people in your market likely to see as weaknesses?

The game is free so people might be afraid that the game won't gain any money from it when it's very popular.

- What factors lose you sales?

It won't get any profits from the game. Making the company to lose money.

Opportunities:

- What good opportunities can you spot?

The card game has potential to go even further. Not only using the game character, they can even create a new faction with a new game play to make the game interesting.

- What interesting trends are you aware of?

More and more games has been transfer to digital format and some has transfer to the mobile phones maybe this game can do the same thing. So that people can play this game everywhere they go.

Threats:

- What obstacles do you face?

Not many people play this game because of the other popular card game. This game has been shadowed by the other popular card games but it has slowly increasing of popularity.

- What are your competitors doing?

Making both physical and digital form of the card game. Making them profit from every angle. Even though their game is free, people can buy the cards they want from others or from the game using actual cash.

- Do you have bad debt or cash-flow problems?

Not currently because of their main game: The Witcher. The game has a lot of Downloadable Content and the game has 3 titles which has good reviews. A lot of westerns like this game and when the card game has it's own game, people go crazy for it.

- Could any of your weaknesses seriously threaten your business?

Because of the game is well known in the west, Asia countries is not aware of this game but from the internet, this game has grown its popularity in the east and more people know about this game and it's card game.

What I intend to do?

I would like to do a SWOT for my card game too but I need more information about the players first. So I have decide to do a focus group to understand my audience. I will find a mixture of genders for my findings because I want to know both genders thoughts. The people inside the group will consist of people who are not interested in card game too. Why? Because I also want to know their thoughts about playing card games. Maybe this could help me to find out more?

Research Methods for My GP

For my Graduation Project, I going to use four of this research methods to help me improve my current findings that I have. By using these methods, maybe it can help me to cover the missing link that I need. 

The methods that I’ll be conducting:

Formative Research

I will use this method to find my focus group for my card game, Neart (An Irish theme trading card game). My main target audience will be aiming at the young adults because from what I have found out during my research, most players are young adults then teenagers even though the game I meant for teenagers. Not that teenagers are not the main demographic for playing card game. Most of them only play it to kill time or to play it because of their friends and the common interest they have.

I need to see whether what type of genres of card game they like to play. From what I have found out, trading card game are popular now especially Japanese card game. But now American card game is rising in popularity too. So, for my card game, I need to have a mixture of Japanese and American layout style to follow the latest trend. For the illustration style, I need to change to something that is semi-realistic. My initial idea for my illustration style is to have a manga style illustration because of the Japanese influence in the modern trading card game. But I need to change the style because of the mainstream trading card game now a day.

From what I have found out, a lot of trading card games has been transfer to digital form mostly Computer games but recently mobile phone games have been rising and A LOT of computer card game has been port to mobile phone. Because a lot of people is using smart phone so using a port game to mobile phone is a good idea. Maybe I will research more in to it.

Target Audience Profiling

Today, both genders play trading card game but a lot of people assume that only males plays them. So, this might be hard to please both gender if I want to make this game into reality.

From what I know (citation needed) Female players like to play card game that mostly have males or cute creatures that is illustrated on the card. And Males like to play card game that mostly have females or creatures that have overpowered attacks or abilities that is illustrated on the card. So, to summaries, male players like to win using non-passive ways and female players like to win using passive ways. But now this ideology is not that true now but I need more research on that if I want both gender to play my card game.

So, to continue my profiling, I need to create two separate personas for both genders to see my theory is true and to have a better understanding from both parties’ perspective. I’m going to create two identities of a modern typical young adult (both genders) that plays trading card game. I want to know how true is my theory and to sort them to different groups. This can help me to understand the target audience and knowing how to effectively reach them.

So now readers, if you are reading this. I would like to know what type of illustration style you like on a card (don’t need to be a card game) and is it true that my theory hypothesis the gender differences. Write down your comment on the blackboard plzzzz.

I order you! Its’ for Science! : )

Iterative Design

My prototype deck is done but I need more improvement and polishing to my design and the game play. I need more people to play my game to eliminate usability flaws before I can finalise the deck and print it in mass production for my graduation project assessment. But before anything happens, I want to know the opinion from different people when they see my illustration and my layout.

*Note to self: I need to do this as soon as possible so that I can let people see and comment. That will be on the next blog. I will spam pictures!

So, readers you must pick one next week plzzz.

Plzzz Like, Comment and Subscribe and I need at least 1000 likes to continue my GP. :p 

Competitor Analysis

For now, I’m looking at a card game called Gwent (my Inspiration for my card game) and Hearthstone (for the layout of the card) I’m looking at how they displaying their cards because this card game is on the digital platform there’s no physical card.

(Only for Gwent): (I’m lying actual the physical card does exist in real life but it’s not meant to play because it’s a collector’s item. It means that it’s part of the game promotion if you pre-order the game, you will receive this free gift.)

So, for my end, I want to do both style one in real life and one in the digital realm. So, that people who want to play the game can have the privilege of having both style of playing. This method has already been done by other trading card games like Yu-gi-oh and Magic the Gathering. One thing I notice in a card game is it’s very expensive just for a single card. A single card just cost you around SGD 30 if you want to upgrade you deck. So, for my card game I want to do the same but only for the rare cards that will be costly and the rest will be in the structure deck.

What makes mine different from the other card game is you don’t need a strong and powerful card to win the game all you need is strategy to keep increasing the number to the highest number possible for two rounds and you will win the match so you don’t even need to spend much on my game just to enjoy the game because if possible I want everyone to play my game not just rich people who just throw their money around to get the powerful deck.

What I intend to do?

For now, I think I will construct a mock up deck to let people try out my game to see whether it need to update any further. For my art style, I need to see whether my players like the type of style that I have illustrated for the Faeries and Monsters that I have interpreted. And finally, the card layout, whether they like it or dislike it because it’s an identify for my card game. I need see how other card games is being design. This might help me to improve my current layout.

Third bi-weekly review

Four weeks has passed and it's time for the final and last bi-weekly review, yet again there are four more research methods that I can use in my Graduation Project. These methods are Interviews, Focus Groups, User Testing and Iterative Design. To summarise them, Interviews is a face to face interaction that occurs among two or more people usually for recruitment or job consultation. This method can help you understand that person's interest and up to date info from that person. This method is usually conduit openly and everything goes with the flow. Focus Groups is a qualitative research method that is used most commonly by companies. It allows the researchers to gather data and receive feedback for products or consumer's needs. It allows you to have a great understanding on the subject you are working on. User Testing is normally use to evaluate a product or service by testing it with representative users. During a test. Participants will try to complete typical tasks while observers watch, listen and take notes. By using this method, it will help the researcher to improve their product and fill in the missing component that is require in the product. And finally Iterative Design, this method is the process of improving and polishing a designed product overtime. This can help you to eliminate usability flaws before the product is designed and launched. By doing this, you can make a prototype of the product and test it and improve the mechanic of the product.

After understanding these four methods, I have found out which method is the most useful to me. Like I said from the last two bi-weekly review, it’s hard to choose one because they are all useful. But this time, I will choose two instead of one because these two research method is related to my Graduation Project. The method I’m choosing for this week are User Testing and Iterative Design. The reason why is, both research methods can help me to improve my card game like the mechanic of the game play and looking at any flaws that my audience can exploit. I want my card game to be fair and fun to play at the same time. By using these methods, I will be able to see if my game mechanic is playable and workable because I have created a new type of game play for my card game. I want to sway away from the common card game mechanic that people are currently playing today. If my game play works, who knows maybe I can sell my card game? I also want to know whether my game play has any flaws to them so that I can improve it.

How I gather the information is by using a prototype deck that I have created not few weeks ago and play around of Neart <-- (the title of my card game) (Irish word for Strength). Actually I did this step already before creating the visual of my card game. I want to see whether my card game is playable and fun to play. The overall process is good but need a bit of changes in the power and the abilities. Now the card game is polish in a way but I need more info from my audience to see the visual of my cards is presentable.

  

Second bi-weekly review

Two weeks has passed and it's time for the second bi-weekly review, this time there are four more research methods that I can use in my Graduation Project. These methods are Content Analysis, Focus Group Discussion, Visual Anthropology/Photo Ethnography and Field Studies. To summarise them, Content Analysis is a quantitative method. It uses numbers and percentages to find the result. It can compress tons of words into fewer content so that it is easy to understand. Focus Group Discussion is about group interviewing and intensive interviewing. Group Interviewing happen naturally and intensive interview is one on one interview. Visual Anthropology help people to have a better understanding of the message and the culture of the given subject even if you are not in that country. This method is commonly use in movies and films. Photo Ethnography is use when you want to understand the culture of a selected subject. You need to be on the field for this method so that you can have a better understanding of the subject’s culture. It’s like putting one in one’s shoe. Field studies uses interviewing, observations and emic / etic research to conduit. You need to be on the field to study the subject. Observing them and interviewing them to understand their ways of living. You might even have to be hand on to get the feel of their culture.

After understanding these four methods, I have found out which method is the most useful to me. Like I have said in the previous bi-weekly review, it’s hard to choose one because they are all useful. The method I’m choosing for this week is Visual Anthropology/Photo Ethnography research. The reason why is, this research help you to understand the subject’s culture. You can be or not in the field to study them. Observing them how they perform their culture in a day to day basis. To get the sufficient information you need for your project.

By using Visual Anthropology/Photo Ethnography research, I will be able to know how my target audience will feel while playing a trading card game. I will be able to join them in a game of cards. Observing them how they play and how they plan their strategy on winning. Using the knowledge, I have gathered, I will be able to mock up a new style of trading card game to the public to try. Also, I will be able to see how many people are playing card games with anime style illustration or realistic style illustration because from what I have notice, a lot of people are play card games with anime style illustration on it. This make me think that anime style illustration in a card game really sells only for this target group that likes to play trading card game. A lot of card game has change even as far as changing an illustration style to another. A card game called Magic the Gathering which illustration style is realistic has become anime style. This makes me think that they are trying to draw in more people to play this card game. From what I heard, a lot of people are looking for this deck of cards because it is very limited only a few has it.

How I gather the information is very common, I will be on the field playing card games. From what I know they are very expensive just to make a perfect deck. Just a single card can sell to at least a S$100. This information is not that great for my graduation project but it is good to know. Maybe walking around and playing card games with others might help me to understand. “To get into their shoes” will be the way to go.

 <---- Japanese Version (Very Rare)

                                                                                             English Version ---->

The Cards

Eng

Jap 

Movie Review: James Cameron’s Avatar

Research Method: Field Studies

1) In Intensive Interviewing, the person giving the information is called an ‘informant’. Name the ‘informant’ in the movie and explain how he/she shares information with the researcher.

The informant in this movie is Neytiri, the female Na’vi. She teaches Jake Sully, the protagonist about their culture and understand how the world of Pandora works. Teaching him that the world is connected with a single entity, the Mother Goddess, Eywa. She also teaches him tracking in the wilderness of Pandora, Archery and even learning to ride the Direhorse (Pa’li) and the Mountain Banshee (Ikran).

2) The researchers in the movie are overt observers. Name the character that is a participant observer and the one that is a non-participant observer. Describe how both of them collect information.

The participant observers in the movie is the Head of the Avatar Program, Dr. Grace Augustine and Jake Sully is also part of the observer but he is both overt and covert. The non-participant observers are the Head Administrator of the RDA and the Chief of Security, Parker Selfridge and Miles Quaritch. 

How Grace collect information is through Jake experience with the Na’vi and also with her own experience back when they first landed on Pandora (She even wrote a book about the plants of Pandora and she also build a school to teach them human culture) and the “present” day where she was allowed back to the tree when Jake has become part of them. Using that she was able to collect information while living together with the Na’vis.

For Miles, how he collects information is through the log reports from Jake. When Jake return to his human form, he need to document down everything that he has learn during the time spent as a Na’vi. He uses Jake’s reports and Grace's report to plan his attack on Pandora to gather the thing that he and Parker wanted, the unobtainium which is located under the Hometree.

3) In the movie, describe the kind of information gathered that can be constituted as emic/etic data

In the movie, they use the emic approach where the protagonist, Jake uses Photo Ethnography research to conduct his study and understanding of the Na’vi’s culture. He literally put himself in the shoes of the Na’vi by learning their culture where everything is connected even the animals and the plants, the flow of energy coming from Eywa, tracking the wilderness of Pandora, Archery and even learning to ride the Direhorse (Pa’li) and the Mountain Banshee (Ikran). By using this method, Jake has a better understanding of their culture and he was even go as far as being accepted by them and one of the Na’vi called him Brother.

For Etic, Miles Quaritch uses Jake's and Grace's research to "experience" the whole process of their documentary. Even as far as knowing where to strike to get what they want, the unobtainium.  

Conclusion

Nice movie. I like all of the Creature appear in the movie especially the Wyvern type creature the Toruk (Great Leonopteryx). The part where Jake tame the Toruk (Great Leonopteryx) give me the feeling that I’m watching the Dreamworks movie “How to Train Your Dragon”. The concept of using their hair to connect with the world and the animals is cool and using Avatar to vessel the human conscious makes the movie link to the concept of the movie. If there’s a word to describe the movie, the word will be bond. Without the “bond” everything will fall apart. The Na’vi uses bonds to connect with the world, animals and even ……. each other and for the humans, they use bonds to gain control of their avatar making them talk, eat and running around the world of Pandora. It’s like having a second body and life. All in all, I like the movie.

<---- I like this creature Soooo Nice!!!

My thought process while watching ----> 

the movie