Industry Practice: Market Research
Market Research - Itch.io:
As Itch.Io is the site we will publish our game on, I went about researching similar games the site hosts to determine market trends and target audience specificity. When searching on Itch.Io, filters can be used to show specific results: using this, I looked into the top sellers, top rated and most recent games published at the time. As I searched this, specific trends showed themselves.
A lot of dating games with anime art styles sometimes using anthropomorphic animals. Some are LGBT-oriented.
Top Rated:
Similar to the Top Sellers, a lot of carry over from one list to the other. Other top rated games are free or play in the browser. Additionally, games that have bene out for longer are present here (Such as "Doki Doki Literature Club").
Most Recent:
A lot of different art styles and themes that diverge from that seen in the most popular / sold lists. Some are similar, though I noted that two games (“In 13 hours the Sun will swallow the earth" and "Arterial") bear theming completely different from that seen on the Top Rated / Sold lists.
Looking to the top ten Visual Novel games on Itch.io, some trends can be seen. Many are dating simulator-like games that bear elements of romance, with some others bearing an art style comparable to anime.
Similar Titles:
In addition to this foundational research, I looked into several other visual novel games that I felt had an artistic style or theme comparable to our own project. In this, I found a number of titles:
To Dawn and Back:
Though not necessarily a visual novel, To Dawn and Back (Jordan Black 2020) shows a surrealist landscape intertwined with elements of bizarre psychological horror. Though this aspect of horror is different from the uncomfortable horror we wish to show within our game, it is nonetheless comparable in its surrealism and strange tone.
Good Job:
Good Job (Kathinka 2022) is similar to our project in art style, using a largely cutesy and cartoonish art style in juxtaposition against its otherwise dark content and tone. This shows a potential avenue for further design explorations we could go down: leaning into the "creepy/cute" art style of our game whilst not letting that detract from the story of mental health we seek to tell, instead using the otherwise cutesy art style to enforce the disparity and anxiety shown within the game, enforcing juxtaposition.
To Dawn and Back:
Though not necessarily a visual novel, To Dawn and Back (Jordan Black 2020) shows a surrealist landscape intertwined with elements of bizarre psychological horror. Though this aspect of horror is different from the uncomfortable horror we wish to show within our game, it is nonetheless comparable in its surrealism and strange tone.
Good Job:
Good Job (Kathinka 2022) is similar to our project in art style, using a largely cutesy and cartoonish art style in juxtaposition against its otherwise dark content and tone. This shows a potential avenue for further design explorations we could go down: leaning into the "creepy/cute" art style of our game whilst not letting that detract from the story of mental health we seek to tell, instead using the otherwise cutesy art style to enforce the disparity and anxiety shown within the game, enforcing juxtaposition.
Our Target Demographic:
As a group, we discussed the target demographic that our game seeks to appeal to. As the brief dictates that we make a game appropriate for ages around 14 years, we wondered whether or not a PEGI 12 or 16 rating would be more appropriate. Ultimately we decided that a 12 would fit more in favour of the game we seek to create, as - though perhaps a 16 would allow us to lean into more of the horror aspects in our title - we felt that such exaggeration was not necessary for the narrative and gameplay e sought to produce, in which the aspects of horror are used to more show how a character is feeling and are more surreal and psychological in nature; we discussed how a 16 may allow us to show blood or other similar aspects of violence. Ultimately, we decided that this was unnecessary, as the horror we sought to produce would be more psychological and subtly unsettling than overtly gory or bloody in nature. In support of this descision, I looked at the PEGI rating of several of our benchmark games. In particular, I looked at the PEGI rating of Don't Starve (Klei Entertainment 2013), which has a PEGI rating of 12 (PEGI 2014).
As a group, we discussed the target demographic that our game seeks to appeal to. As the brief dictates that we make a game appropriate for ages around 14 years, we wondered whether or not a PEGI 12 or 16 rating would be more appropriate. Ultimately we decided that a 12 would fit more in favour of the game we seek to create, as - though perhaps a 16 would allow us to lean into more of the horror aspects in our title - we felt that such exaggeration was not necessary for the narrative and gameplay e sought to produce, in which the aspects of horror are used to more show how a character is feeling and are more surreal and psychological in nature; we discussed how a 16 may allow us to show blood or other similar aspects of violence. Ultimately, we decided that this was unnecessary, as the horror we sought to produce would be more psychological and subtly unsettling than overtly gory or bloody in nature. In support of this descision, I looked at the PEGI rating of several of our benchmark games. In particular, I looked at the PEGI rating of Don't Starve (Klei Entertainment 2013), which has a PEGI rating of 12 (PEGI 2014).
Additionally, we want our game to be somewhat wordy and with a strong, somewhat complicated script. This is because we want our game to tell its story in a somewhat metaphorical way, focusing on the impressions of how mental health conditions can make people feel instead of simple statements. As such, in terms of precise precise psychographic audience, we may be aiming for a product that is geared towards people comfortable with reading and playing a more text-based experience. However, this might make our game less accessible, particularly to people with dyslexia.
We then discussed specific psychological traits that our game may appeal to, narrowing down this broad target demographic into a specific subset that our game could cater more intricately towards. We decided that our game, what with its descriptions of mental health conditions, may be suited to those with a more "progressive" mindset who are willing to empathise and show awareness surrounding the conditions that our narrative brings up. In that sense, empathy and awareness of others could be considered broad descriptors of the target market that our game seeks to find players within. Additionally, it is possible that our game may include LGBT themes, though this is not a design consideration that our group has discussed at length. Additionally, our game could be considered a horror game, which is another potential bracket of players our game could appeal to.
We then discussed specific psychological traits that our game may appeal to, narrowing down this broad target demographic into a specific subset that our game could cater more intricately towards. We decided that our game, what with its descriptions of mental health conditions, may be suited to those with a more "progressive" mindset who are willing to empathise and show awareness surrounding the conditions that our narrative brings up. In that sense, empathy and awareness of others could be considered broad descriptors of the target market that our game seeks to find players within. Additionally, it is possible that our game may include LGBT themes, though this is not a design consideration that our group has discussed at length. Additionally, our game could be considered a horror game, which is another potential bracket of players our game could appeal to.
Labrour Market Research:
Tabletop Games Industry:
Tabletop Games Industry:
I found that the tabletop games industry, an area of the games industry that I wish to work within, bears an overall projection of growth for the future, with a projected increase of approximately 3 billion between 2024 and 2028 (Technavio 2024), spurred on by an increase in availability and accessibility. This accessibility increase can be linked to an increase in tabletop game cafes and in digital additions to traditional games. In this, tabletop role-playing games represent more than half of all revenue generated in the sector (Allied Market Research 2022). Personally, I wish to work within the tabletop games sector, and as such this growth could represent a potential avenue for work in the future.
Bibliography:
PEGI, 2024. Don't Starve Together: Console Edition [online]. PEGI. Available at: https://pegi.info/search-pegi?q=Don%27t+Starve&op=Search&age%5B%5D=&descriptor%5B%5D=&publisher=&platform%5B%5D=&release_year%5B%5D=&page=1&form_build_id=form-fqG-Gm-4qZYHt-6YRVh2eD2hvyk1sBd6cy1YNsjQKtk&form_id=pegi_search_form [Accessed 3 December 2024]
Technavio, 2024. Tabletop Games Market Analysis Europe, North America, APAC, South America, Middle East and Africa - US, China, Japan, UK, Germany - Size and Forecast 2024-2028 [online]. Technavio. Available at: https://www.technavio.com/report/tabletop-games-market-industry-analysis [Acessed 3 December 2024].
https://ukie.org.uk/resources/uk-games-industry-census-2022
Bibliography:
Allied Market Research, 2022. Table Top Games Market Size, Share, Competitive Landscape and Trend Analysis Report, by Type, By Application : Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031 [online]. Allied Market Research. Available at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/table-top-games-market-A14449 [Accessed 3 December 2024].
PEGI, 2024. Don't Starve Together: Console Edition [online]. PEGI. Available at: https://pegi.info/search-pegi?q=Don%27t+Starve&op=Search&age%5B%5D=&descriptor%5B%5D=&publisher=&platform%5B%5D=&release_year%5B%5D=&page=1&form_build_id=form-fqG-Gm-4qZYHt-6YRVh2eD2hvyk1sBd6cy1YNsjQKtk&form_id=pegi_search_form [Accessed 3 December 2024]
Technavio, 2024. Tabletop Games Market Analysis Europe, North America, APAC, South America, Middle East and Africa - US, China, Japan, UK, Germany - Size and Forecast 2024-2028 [online]. Technavio. Available at: https://www.technavio.com/report/tabletop-games-market-industry-analysis [Acessed 3 December 2024].
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