Okay, let me tell you about this one time. It relates to this whole “gamers in” idea people throw around.
So, a while back, I got put on this project at my old job. The bosses were all hyped up, saying it was gonna be huge, targeting the gaming community. You know the type. They kept saying stuff like, “We need real gamers in on this,” and “We gotta capture that gamer mindset.” Sounded pretty cool initially, I thought, maybe I could finally use all those hours sunk into RPGs and shooters for something productive.
The Kick-off
Things started weirdly though. First meeting, they bring in these external “expert gamers.” Seriously, I think the most hardcore game one of them played was maybe Farmville. But they talked a big game, using buzzwords they probably picked up from a marketing blog.
Then there was the actual team. We had a few folks who played games, yeah, but mostly just phone stuff or whatever was popular that month. Not exactly the deep-dive crowd you’d expect if you were serious about making something for dedicated gamers.
Getting into the Grind
We started designing the thing. The “experts” and the managers who loved them kept pushing these ideas that were just… bad. Like, really out of touch. Think forcing social media integration into everything, or super aggressive monetization for stuff that should have been standard.
Here’s what usually happened:
- Someone on the dev team (sometimes me) would raise a hand.
- We’d say something like, “Hey, gamers generally hate pay-to-win mechanics,” or “This kind of grind isn’t fun, look at how games X and Y handle it.”
- We’d get shot down. “You’re too close to it,” they’d say, or “Let’s trust the research.” Their research, mind you.
It felt like they didn’t actually want “gamers in” the project. They wanted people who looked like gamers according to some corporate checklist, or people who would just agree with whatever nonsense the higher-ups wanted. It was frustrating. We spent weeks building features we knew were going to get roasted online.
The Aftermath
We worked hard, I’ll give the team that. Long hours, lots of trying to make the best of a bad situation. The real “gamer” part of the project was probably the private Slack channel where we shared memes dunking on the terrible decisions being made above us.
Predictably, the thing launched and landed with a thud. The actual gaming community saw right through it. The reviews were brutal, pointing out all the exact flaws we’d tried to warn them about. It was almost funny, in a sad way.
What did management do? Blamed the community for being “too negative.” Blamed marketing. Blamed everything except their own process of ignoring the actual “gamers in” the room. So yeah, whenever I hear suits talking about getting “gamers in,” I just roll my eyes now. It’s usually just talk.