The project would take data from as many reputable sources of gamers' personal progress as it possibly can. These sources include such preexisting entities as Microsoft's XBox Gamerscore, Steam's Steamworks achievements, and the PlayStation Network's Trophy System, as well as other lesser known repositories and any future databases of such information. Once this data has been compiled, OmniEXP would use a homebrew algorithm to generate an aggregated score, presented in the format of an experience bar, and present this detailed data to the end user via their profile on the website.
The second aspect of OmniEXP specifically pertains to the lecture given the week before on social media. The website would serve as a niche platform for interaction and networking between avid gamers that share similar interests. The website would take its compiled data and utilize some sort of mechanism for matching people with those that have similar taste in games, as well as allowing for the option of becoming friends or perhaps teammates with friends that you already know, allowing you to compare your similarity rating.
Although I haven't worked out the specifics as of yet, my hopes would be that a sort of gaming component could be integrated into the experience tracking system, to provide the end user with more of a reason for browsing the site than just when they want to track their progress as gamers. In some format or another, it would ultimately be feasible to compete, against friends or strangers with similar tastes, or even perhaps alongside them in groups against other friends or strangers. I still haven't quite worked out specifically what this competition might entail, or how it could be implemented, or even what level of persistent engagement it would demand from the end user.
Regardless, the website would allow for end users to communicate with one another, either via micro blog format or a comment system, keeping others up to date on the specifics of their progress with whatever game they're playing, as well as to provide ratings of certain games, and even perhaps the level of enjoy-ability pursuing achievements or trophies in specific games and to provide recommendations to their friends.
The revenue stream would likely be advertisement based, likely in the format of small, out of the way advertisements that don't diminish the experience, a la Facebook. At launch it would likely be an entirely free system, but pay options such as a token system or even subscription based would be an option to be considered for the future, depending upon the popularity of the site and whether or not premium content would be feasible and arguably worth the price.
I would like for the design format to be very evocative of a video game itself, perhaps in the form of a heads up display, or some other hallmark visual system of video games. Perhaps collecting played games into a sort of "inventory", or other nuanced touches that make the end user feel as if they are still gaming even on the website.
Thats all I've got for now. More in a week!
That's a different approach to scoring individuals. You are putting the focus on how good a gamer is overall versus just looking at one specific game. I could see this getting really competitive and it would be great for the game industry because the only way to get a higher score is to play and buy more games. Nice work taking into consideration everything from the potential revenue stream all the way to the design of the site. good job.
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome. I think gamers would really appreciate this, I know I would. Getting achievements for playing games is extremely satisfying, but it has been a problem that every platform has its own achievement system. If I have a choice between playing a game on Xbox or PC, I would usually choose Xbox because I don't want to miss out on having more achievements to show off. Having an aggregate system would really solve this problem.
ReplyDeleteI also like having a digital inventory. I imagine it sort of like Goodreads or Shelfari, which keeps a digital bookshelf of books you have read, except this would be for games. Maybe you could integrate a similar system to what they have, such as the option to keep separate lists of games you are going to play, games you own, and games you have played. It would be cool to see this taken even further by being able to review the games directly on the website as well.
I never became a huge gamer, but I can certainly see the appeal based on the games I have played. There are several different game genres out there (MMORPG, FPS, TPS, RPG, Action, etc). People often gloat about their gaming ability because they can rack up dozens of kills in a game of Modern Warfare while some level 70 Warlock claims he is the ultimate gamer in the world. How do you compare apples and oranges like this? I guess the answer is OmniEXP. Hopefully you can settle the draw.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of making this into more than a simple "let's compare scores and see who's better" aggregation site. Social interaction using aggregated achievements would allow gamers to interact beyond the limitations of friends and acquaintances competing on multiple platforms. Gamers could find new people to play with based on similar skill levels and achievements unlocked. It might even be cool to allow users to create their own achievements to share, adding yet another layer to interaction!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really cool idea, I am a big PC and Xbox gamer and I have always wished there was a place that I could view all of my achievements in one place. Many of the games which I have for my PC, store my gaming stats in all sorts of different websites, it would be nice to have one place you could go to view all of the stats. I could see myself being hooked on this website consistently trying to keep my score up!
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