HEAD BLOG

The worst piece of advice, professionally at least, was to throw out the rule book. As a student studying creative writing it seemed a strange sort of direction, especially coming off a module where we’d discussed how Auden was estimated to have tried almost every form of poetic structure going.

To me, rules aren’t there to be broken, not really. I like the way structure (whilst we are on the subject) channels ideas and even informs their exposition. Yep, when it comes to the rule book I’m there chapter and verse.

So it’s always strange when the way you crack a design job wide open is by ignoring rules altogether. Recently we had to think differently for an online job and the best way, we found, was to throw out the rule book.

Sort of.

What we did was to ignore convention by asking ourselves what if this wasn’t an online job. What if it were in a different medium altogether.

It got us thinking.

Differently.

So we still followed rules. Just not the ones we were meant to.

I swore to myself when I was initiated into the Cub Scouts that I would never, ‘pon my honour, ever make a pun as bad as that one. As with most things in life, however, promises are made to be broken. Circumstances change and what seemed like a good idea at the time now looks dated and out of step.

Enter 2K Games, a company we’ve had dealings with in the past and for whom we have nothing but love and affection. OK, you can sidestep the client loving if you like and skip to the part where we say they came to us to request a new perspective on their International website. The world of HD video was passing them by and the amazing visuals they had in their games wasn’t being shown to full effect.

Head First came up with a new look which evolved the great work done previously and which would enable 2K to showcase their games in line with modern technology. Times continue to change, of course, and we’re aware that we’ll soon be beaming the demo packs straight to the cerebral cortex.

But we’ve got an App for that.

In addition to the design work, something within Head First just doesn’t stop thinking and we have also put in place several neat sub-branding opportunities for use in subsequent development.

We’ve been following the series of articles about cover art over at Kotaku very closely indeed. Here at Head First we understand that cover art is a vital part of the marketing mix. For some games it is the only form of advertising a game will get and so conveying the right degree of quality and content is essential.

It’s not, of course, the last word. The under-discussed back of box is an area that serves a vitaly important role in helping consumers decide whether or not the game is for them (and this goes for pretty much any related product subject to the whims of casual browsing – books, films especially).

If you’ve not read our ‘hilarious’ take on the process of buying games then you can catch up here.

Right. The laughs are dying down and it’s time to outline a few of the reasons why the back of box is so important.

It’s estimated that 40% of purchases are impulse. That’s a pretty big chunk of people deciding right there and then to buy a game. They could be gamers who have a vague idea of the sort of game they are looking for or they could be Ma and Pa, looking to buy a game because little Johnny has eaten his peas.

Now that’s a pretty diverse audience right there but let’s assume they have all missed your advertising campaign, or at least that it’s not the influencing factor. Price and packaging are key factors in this (showing how a proper sales strategy – something games don’t do that well – and cover art is important).

It’s the back of pack that is interesting because that can make a real difference here. Ma and Pa may well be looking for cover art that resembles what they’ve seen before so they will be drawn to “that sort of thing”. That means they will be picking up the box and taking a closer look. They need to be impressed and convinced that the game will be right.

The back of box can do this by being impressive and by being clear as to its message. Great visuals will give an idea of what the game will look like but how do you go about doing that? Is one big screenshot better than five smaller ones? One might be impressive but five smaller ones might give a better impression of the varied gameplay. Then again, five smaller screens might get lost in translation as the detail becomes too small to make out so maybe you opt for a montage of screens to make, in essence, a new piece of cover art derived completely from the game itself.

Or maybe you get brave and decide that your screenshots look pretty much the same as those of the competitor. That’s not an unreasonable stance to take. Nor is it anything to be ashamed of. The quality of games these days is remarkable. Having something “just” as good as the competitor isn’t bad, it’s “just as good”. And even if it is only marginally better – is that really noticeable in the screenshots or do the elements that make it better come across during your involvement?

In which instance you can see a strong case for doing something different on the back of box. Making an argument, or a claim – “Makes Modern Warfare 2 Look Like Jet Set Willy” you might opt for over a simpler image just to show that your visuals are amazing too.

There’s no correct route.

The decisions made when designing the back of box art depend on all the questions, all the intended audience data and the ultimate goal of the publisher.

Ok, so your customer has seen the ad you placed in obscure.weekly, made the effort to view your clever viral email featuring the talking monkey, wandered over to view the game trailer and then waited for two hours in order to get a bus into the city centre where they rushed into the nearest video game store and began hunting for the dazzling box art they have now committed to memory thanks to it featuring heavily on all your communications. You couldn’t afford to wallpaper the store with it but that’s ok, your customer knows what to look for thanks to a bit of clever wordplay on the ads. Copywriting, as we all know, is the ONLY thing that matters when it comes to marketing.

After ten minutes rearranging the stock on the shelf so that the first letter of each game now spells out a pretty rude word followed by “lol”, your customer has the box in his hands.

Life is good. Close this one sale through the power of marketing and you’re on your way to LA and the big time. Screw the PR, this was all your doing.

But wait. Is that a wobble? Is that doubt creeping into the customer’s mind? It’s been a few hours since he last connected to the Internet and, well, attention spans aren’t what they used to be. Times gone by would see us retaining information from before conception but these days we’re lucky if we remember what we lol’d about on our last Facebook update let alone what game we were about to buy.

Hang on. Where was I?

Oh yes, thank god for Outlook tasks.

He has the box but there’s a wobble. The pack next to yours, by chance of titling and the newly arranged order of things alone, has a pretty similar looking design. The competition’s robot looks even shinier though. And it has a woman standing next to it. Damn, why didn’t you think of that? You have women in your game and the lack of a shiny robot was SUPPOSED to convey the intensity of the battle. You really dropped the ball on that decision didn’t you? Two robots, one battle scarred and one shiny might have done the trick.

So what have you got up your sleeve to nudge the customer in the right direction? In your direction? There has to be something? Online advertising won’t work here. The POS is only being displayed in Bulgaria and the store manager, well, you’ll sort him out once the sequel to last year’s mostly successful game comes out. Then he’ll learn what purchasing power means.

At least the customer is still holding your pack. That’s something isn’t it? If he’s not distracted anytime in the next five seconds then chances are his eyes will get back to it. They have to at some point in order to successfully put it down. You factored for that right? Replacing packaging on the shelf can be a pivotal purchasing moment.

It’s not looking good. Although… that, there. Is that a twist of the hand? Yes. It is. The customer is flipping your game over and looking at the BACK OF PACK. Oh beautiful. This is where you’re home and dry. This is where 80% of your budget went because you knew that this is the meat of the matter. If cover art is the brawn then back art is the brains. And nobody marries the brawn. Right?

Let’s move on.

On the back you’ve thought about the information. Properly. This is where the customer begins to consume information. This is where they learn that there are TWO robots and ONE woman in the game. That’s good. He likes robots but couldn’t deal with more than one woman in a game. It’s not a game for girls.

You’ve thought of the three best features in the game and explained them v e r y  c l e a r l y in 4 words or less. You’ve added every variation of screenshot to make sure he knows that there are different terrains, different enemies, multiplayer, single player, puzzle solving, action sequences, storytelling, customisation, personalisation, social networking features, voice activated missile silos, dressing up sections (in armour because this isn’t, y’know, a girl’s game), rollercoaster high adrenaline, face shaking, ball shrinking, horror comedy tragedy grandparent friendly motiondetectingdancecrazysingtillyourvoicebreaksthen come-out-fighting-with-the-girl-on-your-arm-and-the-robots-beneath-your-personally-selected-boots gameplay.

Yep. When it comes to weaving a compelling argument around that back of pack we can safely say you’ve covered every base.

Hold on a minute. He’s put it down. He was only pretending to look at the game whilst he checked out the cute girl choosing her PS3 game in the aisle opposite.

Didn’t think of THAT now did you?

Could a marketing department have created the Internet?

Could a marketing department have created the wind up radio?

Could a marketing department have created space war and with it the entire video game industry?

There was a little bit of fuss last night when Alex Bogusky highlighted a poor review of his book ‘Baked In’. The review was far from glowing and called the book “half baked”.

Witty stuff.

Beneath the easy point, however, the writer (Dan Neil) went on to suggest that whilst marketing has a place in product design, it is ludicrous to believe that marketing departments could originate product.

Twitter user @adsoftheworld disagreed saying:

New products should indeed originate from marketing dept.

Consider this post an analysis not of the book (more of which at the end) but of this one claim.

For me, the idea that marketing departments should be responsible for creating product seems to stem from a couple of places:

Firstly the place we’ve all been as creative people, namely around the table after the client has left. Here, before we begin to hammer out a reasoned campaign we might, perhaps, point out the if-onlys. If only the product did this, if only the product did that. If only the client had come to us first.

I have lost count of the number of times I’ve solved deep political issues after a two minute news broadcast.

The other place in which marketing’s place in product design is assured is

Yet the reason so much marketing is ineffective isn’t all down to poor product design or a lack of integrated narrative between marketing and design, it’s also down to poor marketing. Bad strategy, lazy creative, poor communication – marketing doesn’t always get it right. Even when the best and the brightest are involved.

Much of the so-called creativity we see from marketing is box ticking, consumer tested strategy. It rarely sidesteps perceived wisdom to deliver something astounding. It works with known understanding of consumer behaviour. It plays to our shopping weaknesses.

Does product design do the same?

Sometimes.

Sometimes it comes out of the blue. Sometimes an inventor is just trying to find a way to make her life better.

Then it occurs to them that it could improve the lives of others.

That’s when they approach marketing.

Because, well, that’s what marketing is there for.

To bring a product to market.

The idea that marketable ideas come, or ought to come from the marketing department omits one thing: history.

A marketing department couldn’t have created the Internet because it wasn’t a product to sell. Commercial potential came afterwards.

A marketing department couldn’t have created the wind up radio. Who is going to invest money in thinking how to help poor people?

And a basic game that ran on a machine which would never be available in shops?

I wouldn’t have thought of that.

But I am interested in buying the book. That’s the role Bogusky exploited when he shared the poor review of his book.

It seems appropriate, somehow, to be talking up this game in our tenth year. The Ben10 license is one rich in imagery and a great example of how Head First works within style guides to create something that adds energy and va va voom to video game marketing. Read more…

In 10 years time will we be surprised by change?

Watching a programme such as Micro Men, I can’t help but surrender to old fart’s disease and lose myself in wave after wave of nostalgia.

I get the same feeling whenever I watch War Games or look at a first issue iMac too. There is something about clunky technology that rubber stamps all the emotions of a time into my head. Like looking back at a library book I’ve been the sole reader of I can recall where I was at the time. Read more…

10 years ago I was 28. I’d say I was in my twenties without thinking about it. Even though I’d been writing ad copy and game manuals for six years I still probably thought of my degree as being gained “yesterday”. Read more…

10 years in my life? Personally I always thought of myself as slow to change, a thinker, even a plodder. It took 14 years for to propose marriage, 8 years to get back in touch with a old friend, 2 years to decide to try to become a father. Whilst in business I can have a website up and running within 2 weeks, at home I’m altogether different. Read more…

10 is such a famously fixed number. It’s connotations reach into our lives from Bo Derek to politics. It’s a decade, a milestone, a turning point. Read more…