Limited Audience Games

With any game, movie, book, or really any product, you ought to know your target audience. Do you want to target teenage boys, or little old ladies? Once you've identified where you want to steer your game towards, then you can start tailoring the experience to be more appealing to your target. In this case you would want to make sure that Grand Theft Little Old Lady includes as much zombie killing as possible, while Tea(n) Boy Party includes as many different tea flavors as possible with an accurate timer to make certain the tea comes out just right. Now you... wait a second....

A lot of work and research goes into this area. Most of the time, game developers make an effort to reach out to as many people as possible. This usually ends in one of two cases: 1. It's too general, so lots try it, but none like it. 2. The wider appeal thing has no effect and only the normal audience plays.

But, what if you were to turn things the other way? Rather than try to have mass appeal, have massive appeal within a narrow focus. This might not seem the best marketing tactic, but this can result in a rather strong following that will keep you going. Plus, who says you can't make multiple games with this idea and get several focused groups behind you? Still sound crazy? Well, one could argue it's already been done by Wisdom Tree with their game Bible Adventures, but I won't go there. Though I must mention I find it interesting that Nintendo wouldn't approve the game, so like good Christians they licensed a voltage zapper to bypass the security on the NES. Good one guys.

Regardless, what if you took the small audience idea one step further? What if you made a game... for a single person?

Again, crazy, but think about it for a second. Obviously, you would only go through this much work for someone you know rather well (or who is paying you rather well). In that case, you know your target audience very well and could tailor the game to be exactly the sort of thing they'd love to play. Put yourself on the receiving end for a minute and think how great it would be to have someone make your perfect game just for you.

I mention this because I just began such a project yesterday. A custom made game for someone I've known my whole life, so I think I will be able to make it just the way he wants it (for a video game, I think he'd prefer a book, but that's not what I do now is it?). Now, I'm clearly not out to make money on this game, and any developer that is probably shouldn't invest much in a game for a single person. But what about making a game, or anything, for someone you love? An old friend? Yourself? What about making a game without thinking about profits? What about making a game... for fun?

I think the small audience idea (and when I say small, I'm talking tens of thousands still, instead of millions) has potential. But I also think that regardless of audience size, designers need to sit back a bit and think about what they're making and why they're making it. Nothing kills the fun of a job like doing it because you have to, instead of because you love to. And believe me, the difference shows in the end result.

And here we have an example of the other end of the limited audience spectrum: Making a game just for yourself and publishing it worldwide. It seems the designer on this had this idea up his craw and didn't listen to any ones input. That's the only reason I can think of for this game being the way it is.