Brand Research
If the product is an established IP, I dive headlong into everything I can find about that brand. Watch movies/tv shows, read books, voraciously devour everything I can find. I immerse myself in the product until I am confident that I can weild it’s voice.
If it’s a brand new IP, I spend this time researching the target audience the product is being created for. What do they want? What do they like? What would draw their attention?
Work product might be:
Mood boards
Thought experiments
Deconstruction of competitive titles
Sample: Clash Royale Loot Chest Schedule Study
As a “min/maxer” (someone who likes to understand the minimum and maximum limits of a game mechanic to get the most out of it) I wanted to understand the timing of all the loot chests in Clash Royale. This breakdown helped me determine that - if a Player was “super on it like clock work” to maximize the loot from the game they would have to log in 12 times a day. It was my hope that this chart could help inspire our game designers to create an interwoven system that would rival Clash Royale’s compelling complexity.
