Week 8 Ethics and Research

The importance of knowing your audience while developing a game is paramount in its success once you release it to the open market. Having a clear target audience will help direct your game and keep it within certain confines that you will set out in the early design stages.

A great deal of time and effort will go into the research of your audience and how your target audience will interact with your game.

Systematically evaluating your game against the findings of your research will enable you to create an outcome that is not designed for you, but for the very audience that you are aiming for.

One of the biggest mistakes that indie game developers make is believing that their target audience is made up of people who are just like them. After all, they typically make the games they want to play. And that’s ok, a lot of great games are made that way, but it doesn’t necessarily mean your target audience is anything like you. (Carroll, 2017)

Throughout the development process, there will be multiple ways that you will be able to conduct research and they will likely fall into two categories. Qualitative Methods and Quantitative methods as stated by (Greelhoed 2020)

Qualitative methods are as follows:

Interviews

This is the most common form and can be done on an individual basis where you will be able to extract key information based on directed questions. This can also be done in a group setting.

Cognitive walkthrough

Possibly the most obvious when it comes to Game dev and a process that can be done at all stages of development. As early as testing the key mechanics of the game or even the paper prototype stage.

Observations

Similar to that of the Cognitive Walkthrough, although in this process it is not necessary to ask questions or interact with the subject but rather watch how they play the game and work through the task. You may focus on particular aspects of the game such as controls or player feedback.

Self-reflection

This could take place through regular team meetings or retrospective of sprints as the game reaches each milestone. Reviewing back to the original game concept.

Quantitative methods are as follow:

Statistical Data

For this, we can look toward the sheer number of people that play the type of game you may be creating, the sales, and the rating these games may produce. Price points so that you can estimate the sale value of your game. Audience demographic and life cycle of the game.

Questionnaires

An effective way to get a large number of directed questions to a large number of people. Depending on the format this could give visuals such as graphs that would make reading the data much easier. Along with playtesting this can be given out at the different stages of the game to help the development to stay on track.

Technology Logs

Setup in-game can give the developer an idea of how players are reacting and interacting with the game. It can also record bugs while it is being tested.

Physiological measurements

Recording the heartbeat of the player, blood pressure and even secretion can help create a picture of how the game is being received. This is especially effective for games that are meant to draw an emotional reaction or be high in intense activity.

Considering where the majority of my research would fall during my projects, I am likely to focus highly on such methods as Play Testing, observations, and questionnaires. There would likely be some statistical data needed should I want to release the game. When considering these methods, it would be important to acknowledge the ethical implications that can arise when taking part in the research. Falmouth University has a strict Ethics code that would need to be addressed based on the level of risk each aspect of research would fall under. When considering the type of research, it will be important to study the benefits of the results based on the cost to the individual. Therefore, it would be important to be absolutely transparent with the subject and clear about your intentions. On occasion, it may be important to reframe from disclosing certain information to attain the desired data. This would bring up ethical dilemmas. It would be appropriate to ensure that Consent was given in all cases of research and that those taking part would be fully informed.

Falmouth University requires me to conduct an Ethics review based on the research that I will want to do during any part of my projects. When doing this I will need to consider if the research falls under low, medium, or high risk. Once this is clear it will then be necessary to submit a Full Application for Ethics Approval should the chosen methods fall under a Medium or High-Risk Factor.

• Low Risk describes research that presents ethical risks no greater than those encountered in everyday life. (Parker, 2020)

• Medium Risk describes research in which there is a potential to harm or distress but where the likelihood is low and these risks can be mitigated with simple, standardised procedures. (Parker, 2020)

• High Risk describes activities in which the potential for harm or distress is high without appropriate mechanisms for mitigations. Mitigation might require complex or bespoke planning and approval will require ongoing scrutiny from the ethics committee. (Parker, 2020)

It is more than likely that any research that I would look to conduct during the development of a game Project would fall in the Medium Risk category and therefore it would be necessary to submit an ethics review. This I thought might seem strong from what I would have thought to be low risk. But as most research would involve individuals or groups and the would be a need to collect personal data that could be seen as confidential. It may also mean exposing the subjects to content that they may find distressing depending on the subject matter. Therefore this would fall under the Medium Risk as the guidance suggest (University, Falmouth 2019).

Carroll, J., 2017. How To Research Your Next Game's Target Audience For Free. [online] Gamasutra.com. Available at: <https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JustinCarroll/20170313/258979/How_to_Research_Your_next_Games_Target_Audience_for_Free.php> [Accessed 4 December 2020].

Geelhoed, E. (2020). User & Audience Research. An Introduction. Available at: https://flex.falmouth.ac.uk/courses/872/pages/week-8-user-and-audience-research?module_item_id=46492 [Accessed 4 December. 2020].

Parker, A., 2020. Ethics Approval. [video] Available at: <https://flex.falmouth.ac.uk/courses/872/discussion_topics/18641?module_item_id=46494> [Accessed 4 December 2020].

FALMOUTH UNIVERSITY. 2019. ‘Research Integrity and Ethics Handbook (Staff and PGR Students)’. Available at: https://www.falmouth.ac.uk/file/39643/download [accessed 4 December 2020].