How do you select the perfect game genre for your audience?

1 Know your audience

The first step is to understand who your target audience is and what they want from a game. You can use various methods to research your audience, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, analytics, reviews, forums, social media, and more. You want to find out their demographics, psychographics, behaviors, and preferences. For example, you might want to know their age, gender, location, income, education, hobbies, values, attitudes, personality, play style, favorite games, genres, platforms, devices, and so on. The more you know about your audience, the better you can tailor your game genre to suit them.

2 Analyze the market

The second step is to analyze the market and see what genres are popular, trending, or underserved. You can use various sources to gather market data, such as industry reports, charts, sales, downloads, ratings, awards, media coverage, and more. You want to find out what genres are in demand, what genres are saturated, what genres are emerging, what genres are niche, and what genres are profitable. For example, you might want to know what genres are dominating the mobile, PC, console, or VR markets, what genres are growing or declining, what genres are attracting new or loyal players, and so on. The more you know about the market, the better you can position your game genre to stand out.

3 Define your goals

The third step is to define your goals and what you want to achieve with your game design. You can use various frameworks to set your goals, such as SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound), OKR (Objectives and Key Results), or KPI (Key Performance Indicators). You want to find out what outcomes you want to create, what metrics you want to measure, what challenges you want to overcome, what opportunities you want to seize, and what values you want to deliver. For example, you might want to know what impact you want to have on your audience, what feedback you want to receive, what revenue you want to generate, what costs you want to reduce, and what quality you want to maintain. The more you know about your goals, the better you can align your game genre to support them.

4 Experiment with prototypes

The fourth step is to experiment with prototypes and test your game genre with your audience. You can use various tools to create prototypes, such as paper sketches, wireframes, mockups, or digital prototypes. You want to find out how your game genre works in practice, how it engages your audience, how it differentiates from other games, how it fits your platform, and how it meets your goals. For example, you might want to know how your game genre affects the gameplay, mechanics, themes, and aesthetics of your game, how it influences the player's emotions, actions, and decisions, how it compares to other games in the same or different genres, and how it performs in terms of usability, accessibility, and functionality. The more you experiment with prototypes, the better you can refine your game genre to improve it.

5 Learn from feedback

The fifth step is to learn from feedback and iterate on your game genre based on your audience's responses. You can use various methods to collect feedback, such as playtesting, user testing, beta testing, surveys, interviews, reviews, ratings, comments, and more. You want to find out what your audience likes, dislikes, wants, needs, suggests, or complains about your game genre. For example, you might want to know what aspects of your game genre are fun, challenging, rewarding, or frustrating, what features of your game genre are missing, broken, or unnecessary, what improvements of your game genre are requested, expected, or appreciated, and so on. The more you learn from feedback, the better you can adapt your game genre to satisfy your audience.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?