Just learned about an interesting industry networking group called Project Horseshoe. Initially for just video games, industry professionals have attended retreats since 2006, and have released reports on topics relevant to current and potential future developments in game design.
One of their more recent reports addresses the ageing gamer population, and how their tastes change over time. I found it very intriguing and worthwhile, since there happens to be a lot of crossover between the video gaming and tabletop gaming crowds. A lot of these folks grew up gaming on one platform or another - sometimes several, and within both video games and tabletop games, like myself - and now have kids they want to play along with (@Jay103, I think you tapped into this market with your game Heroes & Treasure).
https://www.projecthorseshoe.com/reports/featured/ph15r6.htm
To sum up, they summarize topics worth exploring as follows:
- Altruistic tendencies increase over time.
- The need for social interaction becomes a health imperative as age increases.
- Predictable rewards for persistent games matter more as age increases. [but...]
- Preferred reward systems for time investment are not necessarily linked to age
- Games will always be a good way to fill some time
- What is the Mentor’s Journey? [as opposed to the "Hero's Journey"]
- Games can provide key social interactions not always available in real-life
- Online social games may be more important for men
- Multi-generational gaming is on the horizon
- There is a deep-seated need to be acknowledged
- Games can serve as a substitute for needs unmet in the real world… and these needs change over time
Again, I encourage you to review the report, as the above topics are explored in more detail. The entire host of reports posted at the Project Horseshoe website provides industry-specific, intelligent observations and knowledge from which I think all game designers (analog and otherwise) can learn a lot.
