Team17: "Indies need to demonstrate they understand what players are looking for"

At Devcom yesterday, Team17 head of game scouting Jasper Barnes talked about how indie publishers decide on which games to invest in, and how understanding what players want out of a game can aid developers in making their title stand out.

For Barnes, the most important factor in considering a game is whether players are going to care enough about the game to play it.

"I think that is something that people often over complicate. It really should be as simple as leaning on an emotion, a previous title that you're excited about, or other cultural phenomena – it doesn't have to be a single thing."

Barnes used a personal wish of a game he'd like to see as an example.

"I've been telling people for years that I want someone to make a proper old school survival horror similar to the scene in Jurassic Park where the kids are in the kitchen trying to escape the dinosaur. Tell me you're making that, and I will try and throw all the money I can at you."

Essentially, the core concept of a game doesn't have to be a set gaming trope or genre.

"It could just be: Here's the moment, here's the nostalgia, here's the reference, here's the reason people are going to get excited about this game."

A solid, original concept can lead into replayability – which is a factor Barnes was especially passionate about.

"Competition is rife at the moment, and capturing the attention of players for a long period of time is harder than ever," he explained. "A big mistake that we see in pitching is people telling us why when a player understands the full context of a 20-hour narrative and they see all the nuances and relationships between the characters, they're going to love this game – that doesn't matter if they're bored after seven minutes, they're never going to get there.

"You need to demonstrate that you understand what players are looking for and what they enjoy"

"You need to demonstrate that you understand what players are looking for and what they enjoy, because that's what they're going to stick with in the early game loop."

Barnes acknowledged that while replayability isn't the easiest thing to determine, it's one of the top considerations made by publishers when choosing to invest in a game.

"At Team17, we get up to around 4,000 pitches per year that we have to work down into the number of investments that we will make at any given time," he said, adding that being able to play a demo makes this process easier.

"It's a huge help in understanding which of these games have really got it already, which of them understand the mechanics, what they're making, and are starting to deliver on that promise."

He continued: "That subconscious desire to go back to those games is so important. It's something that happens infrequently, but when it does, you're onto a winner. And that's how you build a champion as a publisher, that's how you can find someone who's going to help you drive your game, to get that deal sorted, and the execution to do it well."

Lastly, Barnes said that knowing how well developers handle feedback is vital for a strong partnership.

"What you will find, rightly or wrongly, is that a publisher will aim to always give you some sort of feedback on your game," he said.

"Even if they love it, they will always [give constructive criticism] which comes from a position of enthusiasm and mutual excitement. But what we're looking for is developers who match that enthusiasm and say, 'That's a really cool idea, we could do that.'

"That is a huge take, both in terms of getting excited about the game and the partnership, rather than just shutting it down day one because what you'll find is that the publisher is trying to find a way to make this game something special. They're looking to use their experience as much as you're using yours to build something that you can both be proud of."