Practices
Most journalists hardly possess the expertise to make conventional video games. As Jeremy Gilbert, director of strategic initiatives at The Washington Post, put it, “A gaming company as I understand it has some storytellers, but not a ton of storytellers, and there are a ton of developers and people who render things. A news organization is almost the opposite.” Still, journalists may profit from approaching their work with some of the same methods as game designers.
Think Like a Game Designer
What does it mean to think like a game designer? Lindsay Grace, director of American University’s Game Lab and Studio, highlighted that most professional game designers spend years building technical literacy and a critical eye. He highlighted his profession’s interest in “engagement, entertainment, [and] flow” and advocated a “nimble approach” to making games. Grace suggested that the current media environment rewards first-to-market releases, which has necessitated that independent game developers adopt a minimally viable product approach—one that “gets something out the door” and iterates along the way and afterward. He suggested, for better or worse, that for “industries trying to find their place, if they move slowly they will move prudently, but they may not necessarily move fast enough.”
With this in mind, the following tactics may help engender a working playful mindset:
Flexibility: Any method of newsmaking or structures of storytelling are open to a playful approach. Each story should be treated and evaluated individually for playability.
Formatting: Flexibility doesn’t necessitate starting from scratch. Some interviewees used a variety of recyclable and expendable tactics and stock formats. Editor Jack Shepherd described how BuzzFeed’s ubiquitous news quiz came to prominence: “We developed quiz technology in 2008 and [it] did okay. But we got tired of [quizzes] because they weren’t bringing in the hits,” he said, adding that “lists were really starting to take off so we kept quizzes quietly humming along on the back burner.” BuzzFeed still continued to toy with the quizzes to find their fit in terms of editorial, design, and usability. Having a variety of formats for the most appropriate instance is a major advantage.
Iterability: “Fear of failure is a terrible thing and we try to not have it,” said NPR editor Brian Boyer. “We want to do great work and great storytelling but always want to be trying.” Iterability is fundamental in game-making. No game is perfect initially but instead is reworked. Games designers count on versioning and low-cost prototypes that can be tested, upgraded, and perfected quickly and often prior to release. As with BuzzFeed, iterations occur over subsequent publications. If audience response can be measured with each release, incremental refinements result in advancements over time.
Testing: A game is only successful when people play it. Flexibility, formats, and iterations are contingent upon how users respond to particular models. Even the best story needs to be rethought if it doesn’t live up to the expectations of its audience. Ultimately, user engagement and experience take precedent.
Rethinking the Story
A compelling reason to include games within the arsenal of journalistic tools is their ability to articulate complex systems through user/player interaction. This characteristic underscores that unimagined and varied possibilities for storytelling are feasible online. Many interviewees endorsed a diversification of storytelling methods, from different writing styles to employing interactives, infographics, and audio-visual material. “The question we ask is who are [our] users. And then we ask what are their needs and then we think, ‘What can be built?’ ” said Boyer. “We’re always trying to create the most audience-serving experience.”
Tasneem Raja, interactive editor at Mother Jones, stressed how the web browser creates unique modes of presentation—as seen in The Washington Post’s “The Depth of the Problem” infographic.58 The design was built to mimic the magnitude and depth of the Indian Ocean and the near impossibility of finding the black box from disappeared Malaysian airliner MH370. “It’s a graphic that takes advantage of the medium in which it’s presented because what you’re doing is you’re scrolling,” she said. “That act of scrolling endlessly really hits home for you; the sheer challenge of finding this black box that everyone was talking about.” A playful approach means constantly searching for new ways to tell stories and being unafraid to fail along the way.
In addition, journalists might rethink what qualifies as content. What suffices as news and the role of newsmakers is evolving. Referring to the Ray Rice scandal, broken by TMZ, professor Heather Chaplin of The New School stated, “We have to accept that journalism is a bigger umbrella now and that things we might not immediately think of as being serious journalism serve the purpose of serious journalism. TMZ is this celebrity site, but it’s the one that got the video of this guy and now we’re having this big national conversation about domestic abuse.” A playful approach recognizes the wider context of storytelling within which journalism resides and encourages the experimentation and crafting of stories that aren’t bound by the strictures of the past.
Find the Right Players
A playful sensibility pairs the right audience with the right content. Testing and measuring audience reaction is key. Making use of analytics and engagement metrics provides a wealth of information about users. BuzzFeed has taken a more granular posture, with an “obsession” for data. Budget Hero reporter Dave Gustafson asserted how the data he collected about players through the game, along with questions they answered through the Public Insight Network, helped him learn about users who he then might contact and interview. Gustafson had rarely experienced a data set where he could “zoom in or out” as much as he wanted. Generating these forms of measurement and their subsequent analyses can be long-term projects, not netting immediate results.
Additionally, it’s advisable to introduce a wider group of people beyond the journalistic community into the creation of news. Chaplin discussed the inclusion of game designers and scientists in the newsroom, among other subject specialists. While these types of employees may not require a permanent place on staff, their influence may instigate more engaging content for specific audiences. If the installation of outside professionals into the newsroom seems too expensive or disruptive, making use of all current newsroom personnel is one alternative. Communication and transparency across departments may expose stories to new forms of expertise, while the larger organization can be playtesters for experimental work by offering initial feedback and aiding in the process of iteration.
Be Adaptable
Not every model is going to work forever. Certain forms, formats, and stories may be popular at different times and consequently need to be retooled or abandoned entirely. “Don’t assume that the first time is going to be the best time. So be prepared to try something and improve it,” cautioned Gilbert about project-building. Paradoxically, reviving old formats may lend a new perspective to current coverage. Reappraisal, both of the news and the means of measuring its effect, is recommended. Ultimately, this may also influence a company’s business model; Sisi Wei of ProPublica, for instance, indicated how games might yield new means of monetization. Being adaptable requires constant scrutiny, rather than complacency with particular forms or news content.