Experiment: Exploring itch.io like I was looking for something to play.Findings on what made me want to buy / play a game:
- itch.io appears to have a large number of hobby-project games which are perhaps not designed for the average gamer, but more for GameDevs who are themselves interested in independent and original games.
- Thumbnails, much like any other platform, are incredibly important. Having something which stands out in the crowd, is not too busy, and has just the right amount of contrast and plays with complementary colours and colour palettes is important.
- Game descriptions should be simple, concise and easy on the eyes (such as using bullet points)
- The mind is fickle! and personal preferences at the end of the day will trump all decision making on what someone wants. I could have quite easily paid for, downloaded and installed Foundry, but there was something about the destruction of nature to build this metal behemoth that turned me off. Perhaps if I was in a more destructive mood then a whole different set of games would appeal to me.
Here was my full process: