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LADIES FIRST
Tim Seaton Says imstar* Puts the Power of Massively-Multiplayer Gaming in Women's Hands
Girls just wanna have fun. We know this for two reasons. One, according to The Entertainment Software Association, 43% of all game players are women. (Would you believe: That's an even bigger figure than the number of boys aged 6 to 17 obsessed with the hobby.) And secondly, because the only sight more common at BlizzCon or any of the EverQuest Fan Faire events than sweaty, obese guys dressed up in chainmail armor is a buxom wench singing bawdy tunes.
Alas, most game makers don't cater to them. (Consider Tomb Raider's Lara Croft for a second. then ask yourself when the last time was you caught a male lead in skintight shorts.) Enter Bandalong Entertainment, a company determined to reinvent gaming - and instant messaging - with imstar*, an interactive communications program targeted at teenage and college girls that lets you chat, game and shop online. Incorporating custom-made avatars, brand-name goods, points tradable for designer clothes and other goodies you can earn by participating in unique missions and quests, it's a breath of fresh air for the software industry.
Suddenly feeling like there's a little too much estrogen in the room for you? Don't be put off by the application's girl power: As we all know, where the ladies go, the men will surely follow. And you can rest assured plans are already in motion to rope in all you macho types; albeit, perhaps, not allow broadswords or death rays as collectible items.
Tim Seaton, chief creative officer for the company, explains why members of the fairer sex - and then all the strapping young lads who love them - will soon be flocking to the product:
LQGaming Services:: Teenage girls are your target audience. Why? And how do they differ from the average online gamer in terms of interests and goals?
Tim Seaton: There are millions and millions of girls out there IM'ing away even as we speak. 87% of teen girls keep IM open for 6 hours a day, and have 200 names on their buddy list.
The gaming industry remains male-focused, and everyone knows that gamers tend to be predominately male. That said, there's a lot of evidence that girls who would never identify themselves as gamers play games regularly, which tend to be more casual (Solitaire, Tetris, etc.) offerings. They’re actively socializing on IM, MySpace and other platforms, which is the foundation of community online game play. They are multitasking, rather than being focused on one thing, and it's that type of experience we're enabling.
We wanted to give a primarily female audience the best of all worlds – a really great way to socialize and be part of a game playing community at the same time. It's also important to say that we fully intend to support boys very soon during our beta phase; the girls want them and where there are girls, there will be boys.
"There's a lot of evidence that girls who would never identify themselves as gamers play games ... [and are] actively socializing on IM, MySpace and other platforms, which is the foundation of community online game play."
LQGaming Services:: Why does this demographic deserve way more attention than it's gotten from game/software makers in the past?
TS: With millions of girls around the world growing up enjoying and using computers and the Internet for hours every day, how can you ignore them? 76% of girls play online games and they have tremendous amount of purchasing power (they spent 169 billion dollars last year). These numbers simply can’t be ignored.
We are creating imstar* to foster a community where girls can play games and communicate in ways that they have already adopted. imstar* is an instant messenger, something you can use all the time, everyday. It then has game elements and ways of being creative. It’s also designed so we can respond to the users’ tastes and grow and change with them. This flexibility also allows us to support guys very soon, so we aren't limited by our choice to begin with women.
LQGaming Services:: The reason females perhaps haven't been as drawn to this sort of computerized offering in the past is? And the sorts of things females look for in terms of gaming experiences versus males are...?
TS: We don’t think anyone has offered anything in the past quite like what we are offering – a fully-functional instant messenger that works with the major IM networks. Plus high-resolution, fully customizable animated 3D avatars and a virtual economy that allows users to shop and trade and seek new avatar items.
All of this rolls up into either a partial or full-screen application that allows the user to multitask and talk to their friends, while not asking them to change their existing behavior very much. They don't have to involve themselves in all the gameplay, for example, and can still have a lot of fun with the IM and avatar, trading with friends, etc. Also, in terms of what females look for… male or female – we’ve all got a competitive streak in us and we want to be rewarded for our actions. imstar* capitalizes on this core belief.
LQGaming Services:: What are some of the options you can call upon when customizing your avatar and attributes you can personalize?
TS: Users can change the shape and type of face, eyes, mouth, nose, skin, cheeks, chin, body type (upper body & lower body). Once they’re done with that, they then shop for the clothes, hairstyles, makeup and animations that continue to define them.
The avatar customization is pretty cool – on par with what you’ll find in The Sims or Tiger Woods Golf – so things like facial structure, head shape, the eyes and nose, and body shape are all in the hands of the user. But that is where the similarity ends, because the other attributes you can customize include the way your avatar can move or make facial expressions. Each move is a separate item floating around in the imstar* economy. So you get to choose the moves that most appeal to you or that reflect your personality, and use these moves in IM conversations with your friends.
In addition, there is a gigantic selection of clothing, hairstyles, makeup, shoes… and these are things we can add easily all the time based on user interest and feedback. Naturally we will continue to improve and refine all of the above. So all of this adds up to a unique persona that represents you to your friends online.
LQGaming Services:: How can I be sure my character expresses my own individual identity, not just in looks, but in the way they interact with other avatars?
TS: The avatar can represent you with full body animations and expressions. We have a very lifelike animation engine and are constantly creating more varied and complex animations and gestures. Your buddy that you’re IMing with can see these moves and expressions which, tied with the message, allows for better communication.
LQGaming Services:: There's a gaming element to imstar*: Do tell... How does this work?
TS: The imstar* economy IS the game. That is, the quest is to get the coolest stuff for your avatar. It’s how you get stuff that is fun, and showing off the results to your friends.
Basically, in order to personalize your avatar, you need to earn points to purchase specific items that define you. You play games (we call them experiences) to earn points, which allows you to increase your buying power. Experiences are like scavenger hunts. Users solve clues by shopping or trading for the item that solves the clue.
They then win “rewards” that they can’t get anywhere else and they earn levels and imBUX, our virtual currency. Underneath this we have pretty traditional things in place that make it more challenging and open… things like inventory, decay, scarcity, wild cards etc. Some items are “hidden” and can only be found by interacting with friends, or discovery.
LQGaming Services:: Role-playing's reportedly a big part of the experience. Mind painting a scenario or giving us an example of how such a system operates?
TS: imstar* has elements of role-playing, but we’re not ready to compare it to EverQuest just yet. The way role-playing works in imstar* is that each user can create her own unique experience. Depending on which path they chose within an experience (based on rewards they select) they may have a different experience. The rewards that one user gains down one path may be needed to complete an experience by another player who went down a different path. The players may have to trade or communicate with others to complete their respective experiences. We have the concept of leveling, so that the more tasks you complete, the more imBUX you get, the cooler, rarer stuff you have compared to your lower-level friends, more status, etc.
LQGaming Services:: Some of the various missions and quests players can undertake are?
TS: Here's a few of them - but you'll have to play to find out more. Punk Rock Bedroom, Indie Infatuation, Crazy-Ass Pool Party.
"The rewards that one user gains down one path may be needed to complete an experience by another player who went down a different path. The players may have to trade or communicate with others to complete their respective experiences."
Q: The points end-users earn: What sorts of awesome items can gamers buy with them?
TS: Well, not only do the end users earn points, but they earn rewards too! Things like a “black leather jacket” and digital cameras and illegal CDs. All for pimpin’ out your avatar! The points that you win also go to buying more cool stuff for your avatar. As users progress through the experiences and reach certain levels they will win “real-world” prizes too.
LQGaming Services:: What makes you confident online gamers will prefer such diversions to titles like World of Warcraft?
TS: It’s really apples vs. oranges. We’re not competing with these games. We’re creating imstar* for users who enjoy social networks, love to IM, but would possibly never identify themselves as a gamer per se. For these users, this may be their first exposure to a 3D avatar in a multi-user environment, and we wanted to make it as easily adoptable, easy to use and as quickly understood as possible. That said, any gamer could very well enjoy imstar* as another tool in the toolbox so to speak when not immersed in an 8-hour World of Warcraft session.
LQGaming Services:: Are there any lessons learned from titles like these that are being incorporated into how imstar looks and plays?
TS: Definitely. We've drawn a lot of ideas about what makes people become attached to both gamer and casual games, and developed an experience that can also be quite utilitarian at the same time. Those lessons are more evident in how imstar* plays than how it looks. There is a lot of subtlety in imstar*. It looks like an instant messenger for the most part, albeit with some pretty nice avatars.
LQGaming Services:: Why choose to incorporate such elements into an instant messaging program, primarily viewed in the past as strictly utilitarian?
TS: There's a huge built-in user base that instantaneously gets that imstar* is a cool Instant Messenger. Girls have told us they want more in IM than its utility, they like the idea of using IMing for entertainment. Since IM is so much a part of their lives, it’s always open on their desktop, it’s really just a natural progression of IM. But their buddies aren't necessarily always there when they are, and imstar* provides a diversion then as well. They want something to do while they wait for their friends to come online AND while they chat.
LQGaming Services:: Who are some of the companies who'll be on board in terms of providing branded gear?
TS: We’ve got Baby Phat, Aeropostale and Fuse.tv, all before we even launch the beta version.
LQGaming Services:: A few of the steps you'll be taking to foster a sense of community are?
TS: One of the really great things about IM is it comes with its own built-in (“mini”) communities. Beyond the initial beta release, we are developing things that will expose and tie those (“mini”) communities to the bigger communities of other imstar* users.
We’ve got a ton of things we're furiously working on that will continue to put the power of persona creation and community building into our users’ hands, which is where it should be. We’ll just provide a bit of thematic structure, purpose and quality control, then get out of the way as much as possible. I can't say more as it’s all under wraps at the moment, but there's lots more coming very soon, we are just scratching the surface.
LQGaming Services:: We have to ask: With surveys, branding and other commercial elements a major presence here, what do you have to say to assure consumers this isn't just one big advertisement?
TS: Advertisement is certainly part of the experience, and the way we can offer imstar* free to the user. We've enabled advertising in imstar* as a natural extension of the experience, to be fun for the user and make sense in the world. The users are king, they are in control of what they choose to see and interact with. We don't force them to do anything.
For us, it's all about user control. Brands/advertisements are incorporated in a very natural, organic way that enhances the user experience. Users have told us they want the brands, because it helps define them, it’s part of their identity… it blends the virtual and real world in a very interesting way. We are completely committed to keeping the user’s experience enjoyable and seamless, and we are working with brands and sponsors that “get it.”
LQGaming Services:: Finally... To champion a product, you have to understand it inside and out. That meets getting to know it intimately. So, uh... any chance we'll catch you online masquering as a teenage girl?
TS: I can quite comfortably state that I have more than one, and they are all pretty darn hot IMHO, even the Blue Alien Girl. But only my colleagues get to see them! I’ll have to leave you guessing a bit on that one…
- Scott Steinberg
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