To the mass consumer, Ecko says, it's not about the technology. "Demystify the code," says Ecko. It's the game, the "emotional experience," that the consumer cares about. Imagine a video game is like going to a broadway play. The game isa stage. "The consumer doesn't give a f--- that there's 20 bulbs and that there's a certain special light that needs to be on the stage at an angle. All that stuff on stage, it's supposed to be there." Ecko added, "None of that matters to the guy watching. It's all just a stage. He simply wants to be entertained and it's our job to know how to do so."
The bulk of Ecko's presentation focused on what he considers the five most influential consumer culture trends that influence gaming. Ecko believes that if developers pay attention to these concerns and rethink how to make video games, both the hardcore and consumer culture audience would be satisfied.
#1 Popstalgia. Society has a shared nostalgia. "You buy history and you're tricked to remember," says Ecko. He uses the automobile industry as an example. The industry started to bomb in the '90s, a result of manufacturers' homogenization of cars. "It was designers making cars for other car designers." Once car designs regained their romance, the industry rebounded.
#2 Instant Gratification. The consumer culture doesn't have unlimited play time. They need a quick fix. "Masses divide their consumption times based on the years of conditioning from television and film -- half hour, to one hour, to one-and-a-half hours. It's a fact." This doesn't mean shorter games, it just means enabling uses to enjoy segmented gameplay.
#3 Marketing of the Apocalypse. A political tactic that is also working with consumer sales. The world is a dangerous place, buy a Hummer. Ecko is not stretching when he declares we are "marketing towards paranoid Americans." With no control over terrorism or natural disasters, "you can control the things you consume, the things that you buy." It's that level of control that's comforting to the consumer culture.
#4 Customization. Marc Ecko re-iterated a statement made many developers over the past year. The future of gaming is in giving consumes control over the product. Ecko further offered that customization went so far as to include limited editions and anything that makes the product appear more valuable to the user.
#5 Democratization of Design. Ecko's concern is that publishers and developers know the hardcore market incredibly well and assume that everything easily translates to the consumer culture. Ecko warns that "just because something is well-designed, doesn't mean that it's an essential product." At one time you paid for "design." It was an added value. Now, with the Gap and other areas that offer quality at an affordable price, "design is no longer an added value, but a necessity." When quality meets a low price point, the results can be outstanding, as seen with ESPN NFL 2K5.
