{"id":316,"date":"2026-01-09T16:36:01","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T16:36:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/?p=316"},"modified":"2026-01-09T17:08:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T17:08:11","slug":"week-11-market-research-player-positioning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/2026\/01\/09\/week-11-market-research-player-positioning\/","title":{"rendered":"Week 11 \u2014 Market Research & Player Positioning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Key Learning <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This week’s course shifted focus from ‘game development itself’ to how games can succeed in the real market.
We studied industry-standard market research methods, including player personas, comparator games, and how to clearly articulate a project’s USP (Unique Selling Point).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This prompted me to shift from a ‘designer’s perspective’ to a ‘player’s perspective’ and an ‘industry perspective’, re-evaluating my own project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Understanding My Target Player<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Through the methods provided in class, I have reaffirmed the core player demographic for my game:
\u2022 Aged 12+
\u2022 Preferring cosy \/ narrative-driven \/ slow exploration experiences
\u2022 Playing games not for competition, but for emotional grounding, immersion and companionship<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This aligns closely with the direction I had previously pursued in my design, confirming that:
This project is not a ‘niche whim’, but has a clearly defined audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Comparator Games & Community Insight<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By analyzing player reviews and community sentiment for similar games (such as Journey, Sky, A Short Hike, etc.), I noticed a recurring set of keywords:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comforting \/ Calm \/ Emotional \/ Wholesome<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This made me realise that what players truly value isn’t “mechanical complexity”,
but whether a game respects their emotional state and pace of play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This further supports the design choices in my project: non-competitive, slow-paced, and permitting pauses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Market Gap & Project Positioning<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

After comparing the market, I believe this project seeks to bridge an Experience Gap:
\u2022 It does not emphasise target pressure
\u2022 It is not driven by competition or efficiency
\u2022 Instead, it centres on the core experience of “ordinary walking, memory, and companionship”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It does not aim to deliver intense stimulation, but rather to provide an emotional space
to which one can return repeatedly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Key Learning This week’s course shifted focus from ‘game development itself’ to how games can succeed in the real market.We studied industry-standard market research methods, including player personas, comparator games, and how to clearly articulate a project’s USP (Unique Selling Point). This prompted me to shift from a ‘designer’s perspective’ to a ‘player’s perspective’ and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weekly-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=316"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":323,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316\/revisions\/323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}