Starr Long History & Methods

Executive Producer Origin, EA, NCsoft, Disney,

Portalarium

1970s

Growing Up to Learn

• Father: • Art & Antiques

Dealer

• Microbiologist

• English Teacher

• Mother: • Research Librarian

• Volunteer

1980s

Getting Educated

• Acting

• Lighting/Set/Sound Design

• Stage Management

1990s

Origin Of A Career

• Job Ad: Video Game Testers Wanted

• Richard Garriott aka Lord British

• Can we do this better?

Ultima Online

• Inspiration: Doom & Senet

• Could I play Ultima with my friends?

Ultima Online

• One of the very first MMORPG’s

• Coined the terms “MMORPG”, “rares”, “shards”

• 1st MMO to have player housing

• 1st Subscription based model

• Longest running commercial MMO in history

2000s

Going East: NCSoft

• Destination Games

• Tabula Rasa

The Big Leagues: Disney

• Big Career Shift

• Learning Games

• Kids & Parents

• Disney Connected Learning

Disney Connected LearningCurriculum

Relational Database

Reporting

Fun Learning Games

AssessmentEngine & Tools

2010s

Portalarium & Shroud of the avatar

• Kickstarter April 2013: $1.9M• #2 Crowdfunded Game at $10.5M

• Open Development & Crowd Sourcing

• Players Accessed Early Game Prototype in Nov 2013

• Unity + Photon

Co-Development: Core Concepts

• Transparency

• Cadence

• Feedback Loop

Transparency = Sausages

Law and sausage are two things you do not want to see being made. No one should see how laws or sausages are made. To retain

respect for sausages and laws, one must not watch them in the making. The making of laws like the making of sausages, is not a

pretty sight.

- Otto Von Bismarck

Transparency

• Daily, Weekly, Monthly, & Quarterly Updates

• Forums & IRC

• Scheduling, Funding, Staffing Details

• Unfiltered Responses

• No NDAs

Cadence

• Daily, Weekly, Monthly, & Quarterly Updates

• Monthly updates to the game

• Same day and time, no matter what

• New Content, bug fixes, polish, etc.

• When > What

Feedback Loop

• Iteration

• Subjective + Objective Data = Iteration

• ~30% of schedule for response

• Recognize contributors

Real World Events

• Studio Tours

• Round Tables

• LARPing / Cosplay

• Fencing! (sort of)

Challenges: Schedule

• Iteration w/Feedback takes longer

• Vision vs. Feedback: Staying on Target

• Educating Users on Early Development

• Backwards Scheduling

Challenges: Perception

• Getting Discouraged by Negativity

• Expectation vs. Reality

• Negative Feedback Blackhole

Slaps & Fan Boys

• Fan boys: “Drinking the Kool-Aid”

• Slap in the face

• “Don't lawyer me bro”

Distribution / Developer Democratization

• Play Games

• Make Something “you” want

• Gameplay First: Define your game / compulsion loop and worry about rest after

• Understand and build for your audience(s)

• Intrinsic Rewards ≥ Extrinsic Rewards

• Creation of fun should be fun

• Iterate and Fail Fast

• Evolution ≥ Revolution (Old is New)

Starr’s Design Principles

Recommended Reading

• Theory of Fun by Raph Koster

• Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud

Contact Info

Starr Long

Executive Producer

Portalarium / Stellar Effect

slong@portalarium.com

stellareffect.com

shroudoftheavatar.com

Q & A