Vision & Gameplay Deconstruction - Marie Mejerwall

SERVICE SUMMARY

DEEP ANALYSIS:

VISION & GAMEPLAY

This is Marie’s Deconstruction for all games that want to strengthen their identity and increase their chances to be well-received by gamers. It examines all part of a game’s design – from the high level vision to the core gameplay to the compulsion loops. The goal with the deconstruction is equal part to assess how the game is likely to perform on release, but also to unveil improvements that help it perform better whilst striving to fulfill its creative goals and vision. A lot of focus is spent on the target audience, and what mechanics cater to them, with rich comparison and inspiration from other games. Finally, the analysis dives into factor’s that increases the game’s stickiness and strengthens retention, such as social features, compulsion loops, difficulty progression, onboarding and player learning. The result of the analysis is then concluded in a report that gets presented over a video call, concluding top improvement areas and opportunities that can enhance the game before launch.

GOALS

This deconstruction aims to:

Sharpen game identity

Tighten the gameplay

Improve stickiness

Increase retention

Make the game more enjoyable

Strengthen system design

Boost appeal to target audience

ASPECTS IMPROVED

High level vision and pillars
USP's, market fit and differentiation
Target audience and player motivations
Innovation & complexity
Core gameplay challenges and depth
Gameplay difficulty progression
Compulsion loops, structures and flows

Pacing, beats, frequencies and intensity
Retention - strength & how long it will last
Monetization model & player value offering
System design
Tone, emotion & immersion
Social glue & replayability

PROCESS

Click any step below to read more about Marie’s deconstruction process:

Step 1: Briefing

Marie hears about the game and it’s premises and uses her questionnaire to ask questions to the team.

Step 2: Reading

Marie reads vision decks and relevant design documents and roadma.ps

Step 3: Playing

Marie plays your game thoroughly, records screenshots and sequences for analysis, comparison and demonstration.

Step 4: Breaking down

Marie starts sorting her notes and mapping your game out on her matrices to get it all “on the board”, divided by feature area.

She starts logically and emotionally map out how well the features are connected using her famous models. She paints synergies that exist and marks those that are lacking to make it all come together in the best way possible.

Step 5: Competitor research

Marie plays competitors, watches streams, reads wiki’s and otherwise compares their features. to yours

Step 6: Comparison

Marie starts working with the information on your game, other games and her own knowledge and creativity to see where your game lacks, but also what opportunities it has and how it can excel further than its opponents.

Step 7: The Queen's Gambit

Marie uses her talent and trained ability to make connections in her head between all information about your game, comparison, but also all other games she has played.

She projects in her head what your game will be on its current trajectory.

She channels her inner gamer and empathizes how she would feel about that game – her expectations, needs, wishes and how they would be fulfilled.

Marie starts seeing areas your game would lack and connects her former gamer experiences to identify ways it can improve the player experience in these areas.

She also looks at areas that are satisfactory and up to market standard to find ways it can excel further than its opponents.

She finally looks at your core game vision and ambition to come up with additional or alternative features that the team might not have thought of that could lift the whole experience.

Step 8: Conclusions

Marie concludes all her thoughts in a final summary:
– How well features stack up versus opponents
– How features can be improved even further
– How well the features are connected
– Points out features that are not adding to the experience and instead diluting the game’s cohesion and soul
– What else could be added to lift the experience

She then summarizes her conclusions and recommendations:
– Ranks areas in need of most improvement and what they need
– Must-haves, should-have’s and opportunities to consider for launch
– Recommended action plan that plot the game’s path forward

Step 9: Presenting

Marie presents the report to the team live before handing it over.

Step 10: Discussions

Marie is available to bounce thoughts and suggestions with the team as they digest the report. She assists them in making their plan forward.

TESTIMONIALS

"Leaves nothing to chance"

"Marie has a been coaching one of our teams in early stage of development and she and her model is very thorough, leaving nothing to chance when it comes to work out a vision for their upcoming title."

Per Holmén

Sweden Game Startup

"Brought new perspectives"

"Marie helped us to understand our game World of Pirates better, to analyze our competition, and to identify key features for our next development steps. She researched thoroughly in a short time and her game analysis brought to light new perspectives for our game. We are looking forward to our future collaborations!"

Edwin Tuzar

Zartu Games

"Highlighted ways to greatly improve the game"

"Marie helped out during the development of KreatureKind, offering her insights into the potential of the game in general and the progression design in particular. After a meeting in which we discussed the fundamentals of the game, Marie played through the current build and offered a detailed evaluation of the game’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as suggestions for improvements.

The input from Marie has been very helpful, and has highlighted ways to greatly improve the game when continuing the development. Her feedback has been concrete and clear, and overall easy to act upon. I highly recommend Marie to anyone looking to improve the design of their game!"

Anna Högberg Jenelius

Valiant Game Studios

"Understands the players"

"Nowadays, in our crowded and competitive market, it is essential to understand the motivation of our players in order to serve them best. Marie is perfect for that task, by switching into the perspective of the clients in order to identify room for improvements and to question ourselves about the offered quality. This skill is very valuable as it also includes a more unbiased mindset and the attitude of remaining hungry for improvements."