Schell Games
Company
3 documents in the library are about Schell Games, from writers such as ETC Press, How To Market A Game and Naavik. Each has a summary and key insights with the page they come from.
Connections
Each row is a game or company named alongside Schell Games, each column a document, oldest first. A mark means that document names it. Select a row to see those documents.
Documents about Schell Games
Finding the Fun in VR with AstroBeam and Schell Games
Successful virtual and mixed reality development relies on first-principles thinking that prioritizes intuitive, user-driven interactions over traditional controller-based logic.
- Successful VR design relies on first-principles thinking, such as the approach used in Job Simulator, which constrained players to stationary positions to solve the problem of movement-based motion sickness and controller complexity.
- Generative AI in gaming is currently overhyped as a 'magic' solution for instant development, but it is underhyped regarding its potential to evolve NPC behavior and voice-based interaction when paired with significant manual design effort.
- Designing for VR requires strict adherence to accessibility; for example, developers at Alchemy Labs found that avoiding complex button combinations like simultaneous trigger and grip usage significantly improved the mainstream user experience.
GDC 2021 Monday Wrap-up
The GDC 2021 Monday wrap-up provides a synthesis of key marketing and development insights shared during the virtual conference, focusing on community management, post-launch support, and strategic planning for independent game studios.
- Successful post-launch momentum for 'Monster Train' was maintained through a series of free updates over the first 10 months, followed by paid DLC that increased the effective price floor via bundles.
- Community engagement campaigns, such as those used by Schell Games for 'Until You Fall', should prioritize low-friction, self-reported player challenges over complex API-integrated systems to save engineering resources.
- Marketing activities should be tailored to the team's capacity; developers are advised to select a few high-impact strategies rather than attempting to execute every available marketing channel.
The Transformational Framework: A Process Tool for the Development of Transformational Games
"The Transformational Framework" is a process tool developed from Schell Games' work with Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center, designed to help development teams plan games intended to change players in ways that extend beyond play itself.
- Transformational games are defined by three hallmarks: deliberate intent to change players, transfer of that change to the real world, and persistence of the change after play ends, distinguishing them from entertainment games where player change is incidental.
- The Transformational Framework is an eight-part, iterative process completed during pre-production, beginning with a high-level purpose framed around the impact a team wants to make rather than the game itself.
- Player transformations should be defined as specific, measurable, player-centered changes, drawing on a typology that extends beyond Bloom's Taxonomy to include behavior, belief, relationships, identity, and society.
