5 Rules for Niche Fan Games

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March 14th, 1:05pm 6 comments

The future of games is games for fans. Fans of anything and everything. It's not just Star Wars any more.

Here are 5 rules to keep at the front of your mind when you design your casual, social fan game:

Celebrate the object of fans' adoration. The game should feel like a party in its / their honor. Real fans go to conventions. Make your game feel like a convention.
Respect it. Most fan groups have some in jokes, but it's essential that you remain respectful. Rolling Stones fans might joke about Keef's drug use, but building a game that focuses on that as a key point will seem disrespectful.
Express fans' love. Let fans express their love to friends and other fans through the game. Fans need to feel like playing the game is as much part of "being a fan" as reading the books, watching the movies, listening to the music.
Engage with what the fans love about the object. Somehow find its essence. Fans who love the Beatles love their music and style. The Beatles Rock Band rightly focuses on that. Fans of TV shows and movies love the characters and stories. Lego fans love that you can mix and match pieces... so Lego games let players mix heads from one character with bodies of another.
Immerse fans in the world of what they love. Beatles Rock Band is packed with Beatles references that fans will spot and enjoy. One of the incentives to keep playing is to discover more and more of these references. The more touch points to fandom that you can include, the better.

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Posted by David Barnes