Video Game Industry Lessons For Product Managers

So I can only speak for myself, but back in the day I used to be quite good at video games – you know, the big stand alone game units that you could only find in arcades. Since then, I’ve tried to keep up with the home game consoles, but I must confess to having lost my skills.

These days I have to confine myself to an occasional run at Half-Life just to reassure myself that I still have it. Which brings up an interesting point, wouldn’t be be great to be a product manger at a video game company?

The Video Game Industry

If you are the type of person who is easily impressed by big numbers, then try this one out for size. The video game Grand Theft Auto IV brought in over $300M in a single day when it was released. That was double what the most recent Batman movie brought in the day that it opened.

The industry and its product managers do have their challenges – things are getting tougher. The cost and complexity of developing games are rising with every new release. Oh, and you can imagine just how fickle video game customers are – one bad release and your product line could be done for.

What Does It Take To Have A Successful Video Game Product?

Success in the video game industry depends on a combination of solid risk management and savvy research and development. This part of the business will never change. However, the way that video games are sold and how they are being distributed is undergoing a fundamental change that is affecting all product managers.

One new model for video game manufacturers involves subscription online offerings. In this product offering, users can download the game code for free and then they pay a monthly charge to be allowed to connect to servers that generate the game playing environment where all subscribers can play at the same time.

One of the largest video game manufactures, Activision Blizzard, already generates more than $1B in revenue and more than $500M in profit from its World of Warcraft subscription business. Clearly this is the wave of the future.

Another new focus is what gaming experts are calling the “casual” market. This is how video game product managers are trying to expand their potential customer base – they are trying to create products that appeal to game players who don’t have a lot of time to learn complicated rules. One of the better examples of a popular casual game is Guitar Hero.

Another key decision that video game product managers need to make is to pick which game console they will develop games for. For example. games made for the Nintendo DS can be developed more cheaply than those for consoles, manufactures can experiment far more cheaply in ways that they can’t do for the PlayStation or the Wii.

The Future Of Video Game Products

The video game business is a rough business to be a product manger in. Publishers need to sell about one million copies of a game on the PS3 or Xbox 360 just to break even. This constant pressure to be successful is generating creative new ideas for product managers.

One new idea that has only just reciently started to show up in video games is the idea of in-game advertising. Sponsered ads can show up on billboards, on character’s clothing, or even as shopfronts in the environment. Because so many of these games are online, ads can be changed over time – nothing is fixed.

An additional way to make money that is just starting to be implemented is that the game is free for gamers to play, but they must pay for extra items such as new gear for their players. With certain market sectors, e.g. teen girls, this can produce rich rewards.

Final Thoughts

Every product manager yearns for the opportunity to be responsible for a product that is truly popular and video games sure seem to fit that description. However, the video game industry is a rough and tumble battlefield that punishes products that fall behind and insists on constant innovation.

Even if you are not working in the video game industry, you can still learn from what they are doing. Moving as much of your product support and update process online to reduce costs and boost customer interaction is one innovation that we can all explore doing.

If product mangers can find ways to work innovations from the video game into how they are managing their products, then they will have have found yet another way that great product managers make their product(s) fantastically successful.

Video Games Tester – Do You Have What It Takes?

There are some fundamental characteristics that are exhibited my most successful testers that help them do well in this job market. If you are looking for video game tester jobs it certainly helps to enjoy playing these kinds of games, and in most cases the time spent in gaming activities has improved your eye-hand coordination to the point that you have good gaming skills and an understanding of game play beyond the average person.

Unfortunately most “want to-be” game testers fool themselves into believing that a love of video gaming and some talent is all that is required to be successful at game tester jobs and get paid to play games all day long. Should you be fortunate enough to be hired under this false sense of understanding, you will be in for a rude awakening, and in many cases not last long in any game testers jobs.

It is vital that we make an important distinction between being paid to test video games and video game beta testing. Game beta testing is done by volunteers, who usually test the full version of the game just before the release date looking for any last minute problems to report. No payment is generally involved for game beta testing other than getting to play a new game before the general public sees it. This article focuses on the actual job where people get paid to play video type games in the role of testers.

Welcome to the “real world” of being a paid video games tester. Your job is very important despite the fact that you are often making only minimum wages as an entry level games tester. The fate of the gaming development company is on your shoulders since you are the ones who must find any problems or “bugs” within the game so they can be fixed or eliminated before the game can be sold to the buying public. No game development company can afford to have a “lemon” or seriously flawed game released to the public. It could cost them millions of dollars in research and development and destroy their reputation in the competitive game marketplace for a long time.

Game testers jobs may require you to work on many repetitive tasks such as playing the same level of the game numerous times, switching the gaming device on and off over and over, checking and rechecking in-game messaging capabilities, and the list goes on. Close to the release date of the game, you may be requested to work extended hours to ensure any and all potential problems with the video game have been identified by your team of video game testers and still be fixed in time.

So what kind of job qualities do you need to be a successful paid video games tester? Given the kinds of work that you will be required to do, especially as an entry level tester, the following qualities will serve you well.

Are you…

willing to do the same task over and over again looking for potential problems?
a patient person who understands that some testing tasks may take a great deal of time and cannot be rushed through to get done as quickly as possible?
very deliberate and meticulous in your approach to finding problems and solving problems?
not easily bored as you may required to do video game testing tasks that are very dull and repetitive?
a team player, as most often you will be part of a group of video game testers working on different parts of the same game, so you need to relate and get along well with others.
capable of following explicit directions about a task and not prone to trying to “do your own thing”?
tenacious in your approach to successful accomplishing your game testing tasks and not one who gives up easily if things are not going well?
able to effectively communicate both verbally and in writing very detailed information concerning any “bugs” in the video game you discover so that they can be fixed?
flexible with respect to being “on call” for possible shift work or having to put in extra hours if required by your development team leader?
able to deal with job pressure and stress effectively, especially when given job deadlines to meet?
capable of “keeping job secrets”, since as a paid video game tester you will be required to never discuss your testing work outside the testing site or face instant job termination and possible criminal charges if you do.
These job qualities are certainly not “written in stone” as the only ones that matter to be a successful games tester, however they do provide a good starting point for your own self-analysis as to whether or not you could be successful in game tester jobs. Do you have what it takes to be a video games tester?

Internet and Video Game Addiction – 5 Essentials For Preventing Stimulus Addiction

Video games have become the number one choice for screen entertainment, surpassing TV/DVD viewing and movie-going. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 99% of boys, ages 12-17 and 94% of girls in the same age range play video games. Eighty percent play five or more different genres, with racing, puzzles, sports, and action being the most common. (1)

What they play, of course, determines whether the game is harmful or helpful to their developing minds and spirits. When kids play action-packed, fast paced, or violent video games, in particular, they increasingly need more powerful images in order to respond emotionally to the game. This is called stimulus addiction. The term “stimulus addiction” describes the habit that is formed as kids seek out more and more stimulating games to hold their interest. Instead of playing in their natural world, kids are spending more and more time playing in the artificially constructed world of video games.

Often kids start out with simple non-violent video games and move into increasingly violent games because violent games are the most stimulating. They require the part of our brain that reacts, rather than reasons. Violent video games focus on the constant need to destroy in order to stay in the game. Violent images increase arousal levels of neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) that excite and entice kids to keep playing. Video games today display more horrific violence, with sharp images and realistic graphics. Words, ideas, and images of brutality not ever imagined to be “entertainment” ten years ago currently fill up much of our kids’ leisure time, habituating them to hyped stimulation in the process.

Although the fast pace and emotionally vivid images of manufactured horror are definitely habit-forming, even nonviolent games can become addictive.

Gamer addiction is a real tragedy of our times. Recently two parents expressed major concerns over too much time spent with video games:

A dad of a fourth grader overheard his nine-year old in conversation with a friend:

“I’ll finish her off by ripping out her heart.”
“No, cut off her head instead.”
“But I want to rip her heart out.”
“I want to see her head fly off.”
“Oh, all right, let’s see her head roll. There! Look at all that blood. Cool.”

They were excitedly playing a video game they had just downloaded. This father felt lucky to overhear his son, disturbing as it was. He was able to steer the boys to non-violent games, more appropriate for their age and more in alignment with the family’s values.

A mom of a fifteen year-old felt hopeless about what to do about her daughter staying up until two in the morning playing video games and not being prepared for school the next day. By coaching this mom to take the appropriate steps her daughter got back on track-with better grades and a much better attitude. It was a process that took a lot of will power on this mom’s part. She stayed with it, despite difficulties, learning through the PCI™ Coaching to reinforce positive behaviors and open up more appropriate possibilities for her daughter.

Online gaming, in the lives of too many high school and college students, takes precedent over academics, sports, hobbies, art, dance, and other forms of self-expression. researchers have found that a survey of 1500 teenagers indicated 25% were compulsive video gamers. Fifty per cent of those surveyed used the word “addiction” to describe a friend’s gaming behaviors. Because excitement becomes the reward for playing and because the games are set up to reinforce behavior intermittently, they are extremely habit-forming, and even potentially addicting.

It’s easy to get lost in the fantasy worlds of screen technologies. Now with hand-held video games children as young as four years old are playing video games-despite experts warning that this could be a very detrimental habit leading to dangerous life-long problems.

Parents, the good news is that there are focused strategies you can take to prevent stimulus addiction in our ever encroaching digital culture: Think carefully and act consciously. I will personally guarantee that these five seeming simple strategies are simply powerful. They can help your child or teen in profound ways.

Five Essentials for Preventing Internet and Video Game Addiction:

1. Keep kids curious about non-screen reality.
Game playing and web surfing often stems from boredom. Kids who don’t know what to do end up in front of a video game console or a computer. Yet, if there were other things to do, he or she may easily choose an alternative. Keep a list handy of age-appropriate activities, including lots of books from the local library. By enticing kids to turn to other activities when bored, chances are they won’t get into a video game habit. They will know how to entertain themselves without the need for hyped stimulation. Make your home an enriched environment for all sorts of creative and artistic endeavors. Do what fires you up, too–you light a spark in your children every time you enhance and use your own creativity!

2. Give kids more control through appropriate decision-making.
Responsible autonomy means that kids make decisions and feel a sense of control over regular daily decisions. Video games tap into kids’ need for control. If they only feel in control when they are playing these games, then they will naturally want to play the games more often. Give kids decisions in which you can live with either choice. An example for a young child might be: “Do you want to wear the blue of yellow shirt today?” Both have long sleeves and will keep the child warm. An example for an older child or teen might be: “When is a good day for you to help me with dinner this week?” You acknowledge that the child’s schedule is in his/her control-giving over this decision when you can be flexible about the outcome. The more your child or teen makes, values, and sees the effects of his/her decisions, the less likely he or she will be crave external stimulus to feel pleasure. Mindful activities will become more pleasurable as your child develops a strong sense of self through internal control.

3. Broaden kid’s sources of excitement.
In video game play, the excitement is the reward. The “high” of reaching another level, killing off enemies, or quickly pushing the right button at the right time engenders a rush that feeds on itself. Direct reinforcement multiplies the excitement and pleasure. If video game playing is the only source of a child’s or a teen’s excitement-then other activities will go by the wayside. Gamer addiction happens because there are few opportunities in which the young person feels that level of excitement brought on by a video game. When children and tees are excited about a pursuit such as sports or art, music or academics, community service or church then they have other avenues in which to feel excitement about the outcome. One of the major jobs of parenting in a media age is for moms and dads to broaden opportunities for kids to use their skills and talents. The excitement of living and creating must become the reward.

4. Teach children how to go inside themselves.
When kids know how to meander in their internal landscapes, they are more self-directed. They can entertain themselves more easily. Give children and teens time to just sit and think-even if for only five or ten minutes at a stretch. Just a tiny practice starts the bud blooming. Kids will come to need this kind of “inside time.” Before asking a question you can say, “Before you respond honey, I want you to take a minute to think about your answer.” Consciously giving “think-time” provides a powerful model that it’s important to take the time necessary to carefully consider an idea. Most video games are fast. They do not grow that part of the brain that is used in thoughtful reflection. This takes time. It’s not a quick decision. By encouraging children and teens to do some slow pondering inside themselves, parents counter gamer addiction.

5. Help children stay connected to the 3-D world through lots of physical activity.
When Play Station commands: “Play in Our World”-you better believe they know what they’re doing. This is a well-thought out phrase to make children and teens believers that the video game world is the best world to play in. As illogical it may seem to most adults, youngsters do not have the thinking capacity to understand the long-term ramifications of this ad on attitude formation and the manufacturing of a need. To be “cool” a person better “play in their world.” Playing video games with our kids can go a long way to modeling proper use of this great tool for a fun time-out for the real-world. But like anything else, it’s a question of balance. If kids aren’t getting enough exercise outside, for instance, their lives are out of balance in favor of the screen-machine. If kids don’t find their competence in various 3-D world activities, they might as well be tethered to the 2-D world. Parents who take a breather to kick or toss a ball, bike or hike, model for kids the value of life beyond a small screen. By nurturing our children’s innate propensity to explore the natural world, parents move kids out of the world of video games and give them the know-how and the spirit to create a better world-a world we will all enjoy playing in!

Copyright, Gloria DeGaetano, 2010. All Rights Reserved.
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Reference

Benefits of Gaming – PC and Video Games

Share this article on FacebookShare this article on TwitterShare this article on LinkedinShare this article on RedditShare this article on PinterestExpert Author Eric Alexander
New PC and video games are not only capable of providing fun and excitement for everyone, but they can also give certain benefits and advantages.

With the help of advanced technology and popularity, the gaming industry has advanced and expanded rapidly over the years.

If we are looking for categorization of videos games, they are broadly divided into eight major categories:

Action

These are fast paced and may contain a large amount of violence due to this. Action games are usually inappropriate for children. Such games fall under the category “M” (mature-rated). Examples are Halo, Star Wars, Jedi Knight and Enter the Matrix.

Adventure and Role Playing

These are normally not as graphic as action games and can take the player into surrealism and fantasy. Though adventure and role-playing games often contain violence, it is not found to be as intense as the violence in action games. Examples of this category are Borderlands 2, Final Fantasy, Legend of Mana and Billy Hatcher.

First Person Shooters

As the name implies, it is a game in which the player sees the action through the eyes of the character he is representing and involves the use of pistols or rifles to kill the enemy. Due to the violence involved in this genre of games, they are not suitable for young children. Examples of these games are “Half-Life, “Half-Life 2″, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare” and so on.

Construction and Management Simulation (CMS)

As the name suggests, in the games belonging to this genre, the players are expected to build, expand and manage imaginary projects and communities with very little resources. Examples of this genre include, “SimCity” and “Harvest Moon”.

Strategy

Here the accent is on strategy rather than on violence and these games are slower which gives the player time for strategic thinking, resource management and planning to achieve victory. Most are warfare based and so violence is not completely absent. These games are not suitable for children. Some examples are Advanced Wars I & II, Civilization V and Crusader Kings II.

Simulation

These are video or computer games that simulate real world situations under game settings. In this category, the three well-known games are Racing Simulators, Flight Simulators and Sims. There are lots of games in this class to entertain children. Some examples of simulation games are: Football Manager, Farming Simulator 2013, The Sims and Evil Genius.

Platformer

The Platform Game or Platformer is consists of jumping between suspended platforms of varying heights or obstacles and sometimes both to move forward in the game. Some examples of Platformer are 40 Winks, Abuse, Action 52 and Adventure Island.

PUZZLES

Puzzle video games are a class of games that require puzzle solving. The kinds of puzzles that need to be solved can involve many problem solving skills such as using logic, word completion sequence solving, strategy and pattern recognition. Some examples of Puzzle Video Games are Mario, Bejeweled 3, Cradle of Rome 2 and Hidden Objects.

While on the subject, let’s not forget Sports games such as NHL 13, and FIFA Soccer 13 and Arcade games such Chicken Shoot 1, Toy Story Mania and Angry Birds to name a few.

Nowadays, video games are enjoyed by a wide cross-section of our society, from toddlers to grandparents and these have been accepted by everyone as a good manner of entertainment and seen to be better than watching TV as it requires the viewer’s participation and interaction.

The general feeling is that video games do not provide any benefits to the player and especially so in the case of children.

Contrary to this belief, there are many benefits in allowing children to play certain types of games. Most important of these benefits is the development of:

· Cognitive thinking skills

· Fine motor skills

· Real-time decision-making abilities

· Hand-eye coordination

· Cooperative playing skills

Keeping video games out of the reach of children can only deprive them of these benefits.

A child’s imagination can be stimulated through role-playing and adventure games. Even if some of these games can seem tasteless due to its graphic nature and violence, they can play a positive and important role in a child’s development by promoting teamwork, building confidence and improving motor skills. Playing such video games will only provide a child with a healthy means of expression.

Certain video games are believed to teach children high level thinking skills which they would benefit from in the future.

Now that we have looked at the benefits for children, let’s look at what benefits video games hold for the rest of us.

Research into the pros and cons of video games are being conducted by various bodies including universities in some parts of the world and the result is that the pros outweigh the cons in respect of benefits.

When playing video games, you would need to react quickly and take split second decisions in order to succeed in the given task. It is believed that this kind of practice would provide benefits in real life where you would be able react with speed and take quick decisions.

Brain scientists have discovered that a certain driving video game, created by a research and development team at the University of California in San Francisco could improve the short-term memory and long-term focus of older adults.

It was found that immersion in a game distracts the mind from pain and discomfort. Due to this reason, some hospitals have started to suggest that children and others undergoing painful treatments play games to reduce their distress and anxiety.

Some video games have provided improvement in “Cognitive Flexibility”, which is the ability to switch quickly from one task to another.

Researchers from North Carolina State University found a link between playing video games and mental well-being among the elderly. They found that those citizens who played video games, even occasionally, experienced a state of well- being and happiness.

Gaming can also improve family relationships, as some of these games can and should be played together.

According to some studies conducted at the University of Rochester, people playing certain titles of video games have shown improvements in tests in the following areas:

• Multitasking

• Attention

• Accuracy

• Vision

The only thing a video game player or his or her family needs to ensure is that it does not become addictive in any way. A video game player shouldn’t end up spending hours on end playing games and losing track of time and place and while neglecting duties, personal chores and responsibilities.

Another thing that the parents of minors need to ensure is that their kids get access only to educational or similar games which are suitable for their age group and the good news is that there’s a huge selection of games available that are appropriate for all ages.

A video game content rating is a system is available in many countries and they are used to classify video games into suitability-related age groups with respect to its contents which, if followed, will help to limit the negative aspects of some of the games.

Finally, if video game players are able to play in moderation, and stick only to t

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