Greetings, fellow marketers. It’s me. Benny. I come bearing a simple request from the Game Developers Conference. Play deliberately. In your daily life, realize when you are playing something. Then, pay attention to why and how you’re playing what you’re playing.

It can be anything. Texas Hold ‘em with your buddies. Monopoly with the family. Angry Birds on your phone. Call of Duty: Black Ops against your brother from Toadsuck, AR. Just play and pay attention to why and how you are playing. It’s really that simple. The why and how of this simple request are just a click away. If you’d love to read, mosey on down.

It seems that we as marketers have finally started to pay attention to games as something other than a place for digital out-of-home. There seems to have been a collective realization that our consumers are playing more and more games for longer and longer time periods. A realization that when people are playing games, they’re utterly engaged. Unable or unwilling to divide attention for those (oh so prevalent) marketing messages.

And so – obviously – we want a piece of that action. The result of this newfound attention has been something called “gamification.” It’s a very new, very amorphous term. But, for most marketers, it seems to represent a way to easily bring the mojo that makes games to engaging to our marketing programs.

And that’s awesome. There are a ton of companies out there already who are doing great work democratizing the lowest hanging fruits of gaming mojo: The points and the leaderboards and the achievements and the avatar customization and the like. Fantastic. I love ‘em. But I also recognize that they’re really superficial. Shallow. Only scratching the surface.

Gamers know this too. That’s why at GDC this year, game developers were screaming bloody murder about the term “gamification” and the future it seems to be leading the industry towards. It’s not that these low hanging fruits are BAD. It’s just that there’s so much more vibrancy underneath the hood of gaming. It feels like an amazing opportunity squandered.

A surefire way to begin to understand this is to pay attention to the power of games. Play deliberately from time to time. Make note of the mechanics, mojo, and special sauce the game designer is employing to entice engagement. Note your feelings and engagement – and how different mechanics subtly influence them. When you’re addicted to finding lost cows – think about WHY you’re addicted.

It sounds simple enough – but it can actually be quite hard. After all, games are fun and entertaining. It’s a similar situation to losing 10 minutes browsing Facebook when you’re trying to get something done for a Facebook project But – as difficult as it can be – we must play deliberately in order to better understand games and how they do what they do.

Maybe just log the time under “research.” I won’t tell!

Related posts:

1. GDC11: Recap 101
2. PAX 2010 – Part 1: Ambassadors of Play
3. The Marketing Implications of CES 2010

What the heck was Denuo doing at GDC? That’s the question you may be asking yourself. Well, we love a lot of things at Denuo. If you click the refresh button on your browser you’ll see our website header cycle through some of them. One of those things is an intense passion for games. And (our logic goes) what better place to learn about games than the conference for those folks who have spent their lives MAKING them.

For the 25th edition of the conference, this logic held. Denuo did have a place at GDC. What was most surprising, perhaps, was how much of an opportunity marketers truly have in the games space.

The industry finds itself amidst an unprecedented pastiche of innovation and change. Motion control, social media, smartphones, mainstream acceptance – four trends that in and of THEMSELVES can potentially turn the industry upside down are all hitting at the same time.

These four major shifts are changing the way we create, consume, and ponder games. They’re also interacting with each other in unprecedented ways to create brand new COMBINATIONS of innovative possibilities.

This is the place the “videogame” industry finds itself in. A place of immense upheaval. But more importantly – a place of opportunity. Never before has the medium of games seemed so wide open. The very definition of “videogame” itself seems up for grabs.

Let’s be clear – Denuo attended the 25th Game Developers Conference. The game developer is still very much the heart of this conference. But the teachers, the lessons, and the students learning those lessons were a much, much broader audience than just “developers.”

Games are as big an opportunity as you’ve been hearing – probably bigger. Outside signs have obviously pointed to this – but GDC11 proved that the internals of the industry are just as “white space” as the outside suggests. The games industry is indeed turning into something bigger, greater, and more wonderful than we thought possible. Get on this train while it’s still in the station – it’s going to be one helluva ride.

We’re in the process of distilling the beautiful chaos of our notes, videos, pictures, and internal debates into snack-sized insightful bites for you guys. In the meantime, here are our thoughts on five of the most talked about topics coming out of this year’s conference:

What’s with all the hate for gamification? - Gamification is being used to describe a wide range of products and services that examine how the elements that make games so engaging might be applied to the things in our lives that AREN’T so fun. It’s such a hot topic, that it necessitated a whole lecture/panel series at this year’s conference and the diversity of talks on the subject matched the diversity of approaches out there. Some want to take games’ most elementary mechanics (points, leaderboards, etc.) and apply them across a wide swath of marketing initiatives. Others are taking a deeper look at what makes games so compelling and bringing that “fun” to the real world to improve our reality. Not everyone was so bullish, however; there was plenty of gamification hate. Developers took issue with everything from the term “gamification” itself, to how it should be used to bring good to the world, to even the very base principles of game mechanics. Some went as far to say “Gamification is how you sell games to marketers who don’t know better.” As marketers are sometimes inclined to say, “a bad story is better than no story.” Regardless, gamification is here to stay – now we’ve got to figure out what to actually DO with it.

The Monster that is Social Games - No more arguing, social games are a big deal. Even with resistance from the hardcore, revenue from social games is projected to eclipse 2010’s substantial $1B number by year’s end, and that’s just the beginning. With some of gaming’s greatest designer minds making the jump to the social scene, and major players like Adobe and Unity announcing updated 3D and Flash export capabilities, these games will only become more robust and complex; quelling a major complaint from the hardcore. The increase in tablet penetration and smart phone technology further skyrockets the potential growth. As more resources (cash, mindshare, and talent) are dedicated to the social games space, so follows an exponential shift in opportunity and innovation.

Ok, I get it, they’re a big deal. But are social games evil? – Like all new forms of entertainment, social games are under some initial scrutiny. Sure they can be fun, and some even inspire meaningful social interactions, but in many cases the only way to advance in these games is to invest real money or bug your friends for help. Couldn’t it be argued that playing Wii or Rock Band with friends is a much more social experience? Now that major publishers are porting their AAA console titles to the social space, the question needs to be asked – Have we allowed ourselves to be backed into a corner by social games?

The Evolution of Exposition – New game announcements traditionally feature flashy, polished graphics and the title’s unique gameplay feature wrapped in a :60 soundtrack for mass consumption. A strange trend to consider when most games start in a designer’s head as a story or experience he’d like to share with the world. Unfortunately, realistic visuals or a revolutionary game mechanic are easier aspects for marketers to sell, ultimately stealing resources from the original core component. As games continue in the footsteps of their film brethren, from nascent curiosity to respected medium, this deprecating trend is not going unnoticed. GDC11 featured an overwhelming number of panels and lectures aimed at elevating story-telling, character development, and player identity. From the ludonarrative parity in Valve’s Portal, to the mythic archetypes evident via Nathan Drake in Uncharted 2, condensing the identity gap and minimizing traditional passive methods of exposition will set the stage for more impactful, dynamic experiences and the intellectual growth of the entire industry.

Iwata’s Keynote: We Must Protect This House – Nintendo President Satoru Iwata is one of the most respected executives in the game industry. With experience in nearly all areas of gaming, it’s safe to say that when he talks, people listen. So when Iwata warned the thousands in attendance that the high volume, low quality games currently flooding Facebook and App Stores could ruin gaming for good, for better or worse, people took note. Because content, not quality is what drives profit for social networks and smartphone manufacturers, there is little motivation to maintain the high value of videogame software. Some took this as an affront to the booming social and mobile markets. Others called it an accurate depiction of the current state of games. No matter what feelings were elicited, Iwata’s keynote in many ways was a call to arms, as he challenged attendees with a simple question: Is maintaining the high value of games a priority or not?

All images courtesy of the Official GDC Flickr

Related posts:

1. Marketing Lesson from GDC11: PLAY!
2. DenuoFlash: Matt Story Talks Sports Gaming in Vegas
3. PLAYED – March/April 2010

My entertainment-time is no longer leisure-time. It’s a full time job. Movies on demand. Games on demand. Books on demand. Time-shifted TV. Digitally distributed games with demos, each and every one. Ratings on EVERYTHING. Ratings on ratings. It all conspires against me. It burdens me with media overload. Worse yet, media guilt.

Because when things are on demand AND the collective knowledge of the crowd tells me it’s a “must play/watch/read.” What ELSE am I supposed to feel? Bad. For not consuming it all. Our entertainment has become an obligation – and technology is marching on to ensure that “media guilt” is not stopping any time soon. It’s only going to get worse.

Content overload has been a problem since they built libraries and started offering more than three stations of television. So my newfound media guilt isn’t a consequence of content. It’s about access.

There have never been MORE ways to consume a wide range of content on demand. Not to mention competition and technology has driven prices way, way down (sometimes to the precarious price of free). There’s just a ton to watch, play and read for insanely cheap prices on almost ALL our modern screens.

This has an effect on all of us. Water cooler talk is now limitless. To stay “in the know” you’ve not only got to consume the stuff that’s currently being produced but you’ve also got to catch up on stuff you missed. How many recommendations normally come from co-workers?

Now how much has the improvement in access increased the quantity of recommendations? A lot. A whole lot. And that’s not even counting the whole slew of new ways to GET recommendations. Twitter feeds. Facebook walls. Netflix recommendations. It all adds to the queue. And the guilt.

Look, I get it. I mean, who wouldn’t feel guilty about missing out on that AMAZING second season of Weeds? Gladwell’s Outliers surely does change lives. And yes, HBO miniseries John Adams is like a little HD time machine. Sure – Battlestar Galactica is one of the best series of the decade. And I agree, Final Fantasy VII is the game of a generation.

I UNDERSTAND. But dammit, just because it’s good and I have access to it doesn’t mean I HAVE to watch it.

Nights have become a decision between what I want to watch/play/read (reruns of King of the Hill and the Office) and what I should be watching/playing/reading (anything else). Just because you CAN eat filet mignon every night doesn’t mean you WANT to. Sometimes (maybe a little too often) you crave a McDonald’s burger.

So I’m still coming to grips with media guilt. But I’ve learned some coping mechanisms to allay the gnawing feeling in my gut. Just ENJOY it. I’ve stopped trying to catch up on my queue… and now I just look at it with pride. It’s a badge of never being bored.

But this isn’t going to get better. And just like the information overload on the web made curation necessary, media curation is going to be a big thing in the next decade.

In a world where entertainment is always available – I want to know what I should watch based on my mood, my social network, and my area. What’s going to suit my needs? What do I actually “have to watch?” What’s going to be the right balance of Mickey D’s and filet mignon on a given day? People are going to want easy answers to these questions pretty soon. Our media is going to have to present itself to us rather than just be available to us.

So while it still exists – I’m at peace with my massive queue of media. I accept it as the modern, first-world “problem” it is.

Now off to watch the pilot of Battlestar Galactica on Netflix. Wait, no… the second episode of Walking Dead that iTune automatically downloaded. Or maybe that book on mRSA I’ve been reading on my iPad. Or perhaps one of those WiiWare games I’ve been missing out on. Crap, is Hell’s Kitchen on tonight?!

No related posts.

iOS has turned out to be a success. Over 120 million iOS devices sold, plenty of happy customers (many a Denuologist counted among them), and plenty of cool stuff on the horizon. But I’m left wanting. There’s just SOMETHING off. There has been since the app store launched, actually. The games are great. There are tons of them. And they’re generally cheap and well made. But I have yet to experience “that iOS game.”

Every game knows “that game.” The game that defines a platform. The game that serves as a centerpiece for a gaming system. The game that just would NOT be possible without that piece of hardware. Wii has Mario. Xbox has Halo. PS3 has Uncharted. iOS has… Angry Birds?

Before we dig into the meat of this argument, lets get some gaming jargon out of the way. You’ll often hear folks talk about first, second, and third party developers in the console gaming space. Third party developers are developers who don’t make their own hardware and don’t hold any monetary or contractual allegiances to a specific piece of hardware. Most developers are third party – including EA, Activision, and Ubisoft. The iOS development world is made exclusively of what, in the traditional console space, would be called third party developers.

Second party developers still have independent identities – but also have contractual or monetary agreements associated with specific hardware manufacturers. They produce games exclusively for a particular hardware manufacturer. In exchange manufacturers will provide internal guidance and access to these developers. A great example is Retro Studios – who made the Metroid Prime series and is now creating Donkey Kong Country: Returns on behalf of Nintendo.

First party and second party developers are almost the same – except for one key difference: these are the folks who are integrated into the actual hardware company. This means the have the support of the entire organization internally to tap into during the game development process. With first (and second) party development, hardware and software can work together seamlessly. They have the closest relationship with the hardware and often times they’re involved in the hardware design process. This means the games that come out of these teams take full advantage of the hardware’s unique features before other teams. The highest rated, highest profile, and highest selling games come from these internal first-parties. Case in point: 8 of the top 10 titles in 2009 and 6 of the top 10 titles in 2008 were developed by first party developers. The marriage of intimate software and hardware knowledge is what gives first party development their advantage.

Steve Jobs recently reiterated that success for Apple comes from an “integrated” approach, it’s marriage between hardware and software. It’s what makes Apple’s built-in apps so damn good (and why they were able to not have an “app store” for so long). Apple’s internal teams make the best apps. And developers look towards these apps for inspiration in terms of simplicity, usability, function and design. iOS game developers have no such leader or inspiration. Let me be clear – there are great games for the iOS platform. But there is no consistent leadership in the iOS game development space.

Normally the hardware manufacturer, through first and second parties, is the one who demonstrates leadership by continuing to push the limits of what the hardware can do. If iOS is to become a legitimate platform for portable gaming in the same vein the PSP or the DS – this consistent leadership in game development is going to be necessary. This type of consistent development leadership simply isn’t possible from third party developers.

Apple has long-ignored gaming on its platforms. Mac gaming has, in the past, been an oxymoron.The success of the app store, specifically when it comes to games has changed that. Apple has started to talk like a gaming company. In multiple keynotes Apple has talked up their big numbers in comparison to traditional gaming hardware. They’ve recently launched an official GameCenter app to centralize achievements, multiplayer, and leaderboards across iOS games. But it’s time to stop the talk and start to walk.

With its Scrooge McDuck levels of cash on hand, Apple certainly has a lot of options when it comes to upping its game. Many independent third party developers are doing amazing things with the platform – and big companies have not shied away from simply acquiring good app developers (see Twitter and Tweetie). Apple can either start from scratch, or absorb someone who has already demonstrated iOS mastery. Microsoft has gone the former route with high profilei acquisitions under its “Microsoft Games Studios” label. Regardless of the path they choose, the direction is clear. To get serious in gaming Apple needs to start leading in gaming. Let’s just hope they don’t call it “Pippin” when it launches.

Related posts:

1. The Object of the Game Is To Make the Game, 2
2. Matt Story talks mobile gaming at Digital Hollywood
3. PLAYED – February 2010

Dan isn’t one to shy away from telling us what to listen to – and now he’s moved on to tell us what to watch. This session of Denuo U features Dan’s lessons in all things Hitchcock.

You’ll find recommendations on what movies to watch, common themes, and some nifty pictures of key scenes from each movie. Enjoy.

Related posts:

1. Denuo-U: Blumberg’s Draft Strategies
2. Denuo-U: Stephanie’s Blog Lessons
3. Coming to grips with my media guilt