Comments on: No on-screen map? There goes part of your potential audience.

By: [....]

[....] — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:28:00 +0000

hello does this map disghn atuelly work?

By: fornetti

fornetti — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 12:56:45 +0000

I do not believe this

By: Azaroth » Blog Archive » Identifying Your Potential Audience

Azaroth » Blog Archive » Identifying Your Potential Audience — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 11:50:57 +0000

[...] example of the fact that things can boil down to minute details like On-Screen Maps. Eric Heimburg notes that this simple feature leans heavily on the decisions of many people, and [...]

By: Todd Berkebile

Todd Berkebile — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 05:00:14 +0000

Personally I keep wishing that Team Fortress 2 had a map HUD. Perhaps male FPS gamers over 22 need maps too ;)

The way I see it, any game where a HUD map will help you play better should have one. In PC-land even if you don’t add a HUD map to your game the players (err, hackers) will simply add one for you (like the Magellan Decal plug-in for AC). Even in console land a custom proxy based solution (like ShowEQ) can give some players a great advantage by adding mapping features.

Of course I come from the server engineering side where I invest enormous time in ensuring that I only send the client the minimum amount of data needed to provide the desired player experience. After all that work I want every scrap I data I send to be displayed for everyone to use.

By: Eric

Eric — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 04:44:41 +0000

Brent – for me the last paragraph is the key of it all; most game designers simply don’t consider what target audience they’re designing for. A pet peeve of mine is sitting in meetings where people say, “We’re designing this game for all PC gamers to enjoy!” There’s no such game, at least not in any of the common genres. I do think that “traditional” WoW-esque MMOs pretty much require and expect a map/compass/radar now, but the upcoming MMO-FPSes have a much harder decision to make, regarding exactly who they’re targeting.

Aaron – interesting angle on choosing the target audience; you’re right that you can’t pick the exact audience in a vacuum. You have to narrow it down during the prototype stage.

By: Aaron Miller

Aaron Miller — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 03:56:29 +0000

Even FPS games need a compass sometimes. I’ve been having this problem with Halo 3. Because it’s a fast-paced shooter, I often get spun around during the fighting. It’s particularly a problem in some of the Flood levels, where there aren’t enough visuals to distinguish forward from back (or sideways). The guiding arrow works well enough, but it doesn’t show up until I’ve been wandering around lost for 30 seconds or so. It would have been smart to let the player activate the arrow whenever needed.

With most games, I’d have no map or compass as default, but I’d have a small icon on the screen to be sure the player knows they can turn a guidance system on. And I’d keep the guidance simple… NPC guides and the like often end up being annoying at some point.

As for picking a target audience, my experience is only in other forms of entertainment (fiction, music), but I figure that’s the first revision stage. Brainstorm the core of your game first. Then define a target audience and use that to hone and cut away, rather than to build ideas.

By: brent

brent — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 03:02:10 +0000

Wow, it is a very good thing you decided to include that last paragraph, because up until then you were rather blindly attacking a game design DECISION and completely forgetting that your way isn’t necessarily THE way. But, you exonerated yourself with that last bit.

Going for sensationalism? Or perhaps a last minute (blog design) decision to soften the message a bit seeing as this is week one?

Either way. Welcome to the fray.