1. Introduction - Audience Research
Audience research is research used to find out what an audience thinks of certain ideas. For example, I took a survey about a Killer Klowns from Outer Space video game, to find out of there is an audience interested.
There are two different types of research...
Qualitative - Detailed data such as opinions and experiences.
Audience classification is sorting out your audience into different categories. There are a few different categories that people from an audience can fall into.
2. Killer Klowns from Outer Space: How Was It Received?
Audience research is research used to find out what an audience thinks of certain ideas. For example, I took a survey about a Killer Klowns from Outer Space video game, to find out of there is an audience interested.
There are two different types of research...
Qualitative - Detailed data such as opinions and experiences.
Examples of qualitative research:
Reviews: Reviews can be found on websites such as Amazon, and in reviews people tell us what they thought of a product and let other people know if it’s worth buying.
Fan websites and blogs: These are places where people can share their personal experiences and thoughts about a certain game or product, and they are able to discuss things with other users.
News coverage: Sometimes game related stories are shown on the news, and people will talk about certain events or experiences. This can also link in with peoples attitudes towards products.
Quantitative - Numerical, simple data
Ratings: These are like reviews but simpler. People will give games a score out of 10 (could be different depending on the site)
Ratings are useful because they allow us to easily find out what different people thought of a game.
Figures: When we talk about figures, we mean things like the amount of copies sold, profit made etc. Occasionally companies will release figures to the public.
Hits on a website: The popularity of a browser based game such as Club Penguin. The amount of people that have visited the site/actively play the game.
Audience Classification
- Socio-Economic - Socio-Economics relate to things such as how much a customer would pay for a product.
- Psychographics - Psychographics is the study of the attitudes, opinions, interests and values of the consumer
- Mainstream - Things that are currently popular/trending.
- Alternative - Non-traditional things.
- Niche - A niche market is a subset market that focuses on one particular product.
2. Killer Klowns from Outer Space: How Was It Received?
Killer Klowns from Outer Space may not be the best film ever, in fact it isn't really very good at all. However, in terms of critical reception, the film didn't actually do that bad, and actually became a cult favourite.
I will be getting my information for this first part of the task from the website Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes uses it's own scoring system. If the film get's 60% or higher, it gets a fresh review, if it's 59% or lower it gets a rotten review. Some films get "certified fresh" for holding a steady "Tomatometer of 75% or higher after a set amoutn of reviews.
On the website Rotten Tomatoes, Killer Klowns has a 71% critic rating, with an average rating of 6/10, 12 fresh reviews and 5 rotten reviews. It has a 59% audience rating, with an average rating of 3.0/5, with a total of 42,853 reviews. The sites consensus reads "Killer Klowns from Outer Space's title promises darkly goofy fun - and more often than not, the movie delivers."
Budget - $2 million
Opening Weekend - $2,657,329
Gross - $15,625,095 (USA, 22nd July 1988)
$43,625,095 (Worldwide, 28th October 1988)
$28,000,001 (Non-USA, 27th October 1988)
Weekend Gross - $1,364,238 (USA, 10th June 1988, 926 screens)
$2,240,128 (USA, 3rd June 1988, 922 screens)
$2,657,329 (USA, 27th May 1988, 893 screens)
Admissions
3,682,397 (USA, 22nd July 1988)
3. My Survey Data
Use of methods
In my survey I included questions that could generate qualitative feedback and quantitative feedback. An example of a qualitative question is "Who was your favourite character from the film?." People were able to type whatever they wanted into a text box. An example of a quantitative question is "How old are you?" and people had to use tick boxes for certain numbers. Using these methods allows me to collect simple, easy to understand data and more complex opinions, and with the results I am able to find out what type of audience I am dealing with.
Results and Conclusions of my Research
Film Survey
In this survey I asked people what they thought about the film. I got 10 responses in total for this survey.
Q1. Have you seen Killer Klowns from Outer Space?
Everybody answered yes. This is because all the people that answered my survey are from my class. This is an important question to have at the beginning, because if people haven't seen the film it will be difficult for them to answer the other questions. It also helps to filter out all the people who aren't actually interested in Killer Klowns.
Q2. Are you male or female?
9 people answered male, 1 person answered female. This is because there is only one female in my class. This question helps to narrow down who the game would appeal to. It is not as important in my survey since all the people that answered it are in my class, but if I was getting random people to complete the survey it would be more important.
Q3. How old are you?
Most people (5) who answered this question were between the ages of 16-18. There were 4 people aged 18-20, and only 1 person over the age of 20. This question helps with deciding the age rating for the game.
Q4. Did you find the film funny?
2 people answered yes, 3 people answered no, and 5 people thought that the film was funny sometimes. Asking about the films comedy helps me to decide whether or not I should include similar comedy in the game or not.
Q5. Are you a fan of horror comedy films? Or do you prefer a more serious tone in horror films?
Surprisingly, 7 people prefer horror comedy and only 4 like serious tones. This is similar to question 4 and also helps me to decide the kind of tone I should have for the game. Serious/dark, or funny and goofy like the film.
Q6. If you can remember, which parts of the film did you find the funniest?
This question was qualitative, so people were able to type whatever they wanted. Everyone had different parts of the film they found the funniest. 3 people found the films flaws to be the funniest parts. 4 people liked the scenes from the film such as a biker getting his head knocked off and the shadow puppet eating all the people at the bus stop. The other 2 people didn't think the film was funny at all. By asking this question I can decide whether or not it is a good idea to include certain scenes from the film.
Q7. Did you like the setting of the film?
The answers to this question were split 50/50. This helps me to decide whether I want to use the setting from the film, or come up with a new one for the game.
Q8. What did you think of the plot? Would you change anything?
Q9. Who was your favourite character from the film?
2 people liked Dave, 2 people didn't have one, 1 person liked the clowns, 1 person liked Officer Mooney, 1 person liked the farmers dog (Pooh Bear.) 2 people gave joke answers...
With the answers to this question I can choose which characters I want to use/how I will use them. (most popular as protagonist, least popular as a side character etc.)
Game Survey
In this survey I asked people about what they would like to see in a Killer Klowns game. I got 11 responses in total for this survey.
Q1. Would you like the setting and characters to stay true to the film, or would you prefer something different?
The results I got for this question are what I expected. 90.91% answered "something different" and 9.09% answered "true to the film." For my game I will most likely try to keep it different from the film as I myself am not a fan of creating a game based strictly on the film.
Q2. In terms of gameplay, what would you prefer?
It seems that people want a game that gives the player more freedom and variety. 90.91% answered "An open world, quest based game" and 9.09% answered "A tower defence style game." The Killer Klowns plot is already a bit linear so adding more variety and freedom seems like a good idea.
Q3. For the open world game, which perspective would you prefer?
For this question, first person and third person both got 45.45%, and top-down got 9.09%.
This makes sense because third and first person are usually quite immersive. I will probably use third person for my game since the player is able to see the camera and lots of the environment at once.
Q4. For the defence game, which perspective would you prefer?
From this question I discovered that if I were to create a tower defence style game, people would want me to stick to the traditional top down view. 63.64% answered top-down, 27.27% answered third person, and only 9.09% answered first person.
Q5. What kind of weapons would you like to see?I got a range of different answers for this question since it was qualitative. Some people want to see realistic weapons, such as rifles, shotguns, baseball bats etc. Some people prefer more ridiculous and stupid weapons such as popcorn guns and "a colourful machete." In my game I will probably include a mix of different weapons. Guns and baseball bats for human characters, and silly weapons for clowns.
Q6. Which platform do you think the game should be on?
This question isn't as important, because the game will definitely be on PC. Luckily, PC was the most popular answer, witch 54.55%. Xbox One got 27.27%, and both PS4 and mobile devices got 9.09%.
Q7. How much would you pay for a Killer Klowns game?
The game I am making won't be sold, but it seems that people would be prepared to pay at least £5-10 for a Killer Klowns game.
Q8. Are you even interested in a Killer Klowns game?
An important question, because if people aren't at all interested in a Killer Klowns game, there wouldn't be any point in making it. 9.09% answered yes, 27.27% answered definitely not and 63.64% answered a little bit. Of course I would still create the game even if people weren't interested, since it is for an assignment. However if I was actually planning on creating a proper game and got these results I probably wouldn't bother, because not enough people have shown interest.
Correlation between qualitative and quantitative data?
The different types of data I collected from my surveys were both useful in different ways. Quantitative questions get straight to the point, and from them I can gather simple, easy to understand data. Qualitative data allowed me to get more opinionated and detailed answers, and the data I collected from them will help me to create a game and implement the things that people want to see.
How successful were my methods compared to others?
I think that my surveys were fairly successful and I gathered a good amount of important information. However, I think my methods could have been improved. For example, I could've asked a wider range of people about the game, family members, non gamers etc. Asking other people would have allowed me to avoid joke answers and get more varied opinions. Since all the people I asked are in my class, and we are all doing this for an assignment, the answers were what I expected and no too varied. I could've also included more questions to gather more information, but because of the people I asked I don't think it was really necessary.
3. My Survey Data
Use of methods
In my survey I included questions that could generate qualitative feedback and quantitative feedback. An example of a qualitative question is "Who was your favourite character from the film?." People were able to type whatever they wanted into a text box. An example of a quantitative question is "How old are you?" and people had to use tick boxes for certain numbers. Using these methods allows me to collect simple, easy to understand data and more complex opinions, and with the results I am able to find out what type of audience I am dealing with.
Results and Conclusions of my Research
Film Survey
In this survey I asked people what they thought about the film. I got 10 responses in total for this survey.
Q1. Have you seen Killer Klowns from Outer Space?
Everybody answered yes. This is because all the people that answered my survey are from my class. This is an important question to have at the beginning, because if people haven't seen the film it will be difficult for them to answer the other questions. It also helps to filter out all the people who aren't actually interested in Killer Klowns.
Q2. Are you male or female?
9 people answered male, 1 person answered female. This is because there is only one female in my class. This question helps to narrow down who the game would appeal to. It is not as important in my survey since all the people that answered it are in my class, but if I was getting random people to complete the survey it would be more important.
Q3. How old are you?
Most people (5) who answered this question were between the ages of 16-18. There were 4 people aged 18-20, and only 1 person over the age of 20. This question helps with deciding the age rating for the game.
Q4. Did you find the film funny?
2 people answered yes, 3 people answered no, and 5 people thought that the film was funny sometimes. Asking about the films comedy helps me to decide whether or not I should include similar comedy in the game or not.
Q5. Are you a fan of horror comedy films? Or do you prefer a more serious tone in horror films?
Surprisingly, 7 people prefer horror comedy and only 4 like serious tones. This is similar to question 4 and also helps me to decide the kind of tone I should have for the game. Serious/dark, or funny and goofy like the film.
Q6. If you can remember, which parts of the film did you find the funniest?
This question was qualitative, so people were able to type whatever they wanted. Everyone had different parts of the film they found the funniest. 3 people found the films flaws to be the funniest parts. 4 people liked the scenes from the film such as a biker getting his head knocked off and the shadow puppet eating all the people at the bus stop. The other 2 people didn't think the film was funny at all. By asking this question I can decide whether or not it is a good idea to include certain scenes from the film.
Q7. Did you like the setting of the film?
The answers to this question were split 50/50. This helps me to decide whether I want to use the setting from the film, or come up with a new one for the game.
Q8. What did you think of the plot? Would you change anything?
Q9. Who was your favourite character from the film?
2 people liked Dave, 2 people didn't have one, 1 person liked the clowns, 1 person liked Officer Mooney, 1 person liked the farmers dog (Pooh Bear.) 2 people gave joke answers...
With the answers to this question I can choose which characters I want to use/how I will use them. (most popular as protagonist, least popular as a side character etc.)
Game Survey
In this survey I asked people about what they would like to see in a Killer Klowns game. I got 11 responses in total for this survey.
Q1. Would you like the setting and characters to stay true to the film, or would you prefer something different?
The results I got for this question are what I expected. 90.91% answered "something different" and 9.09% answered "true to the film." For my game I will most likely try to keep it different from the film as I myself am not a fan of creating a game based strictly on the film.
Q2. In terms of gameplay, what would you prefer?
It seems that people want a game that gives the player more freedom and variety. 90.91% answered "An open world, quest based game" and 9.09% answered "A tower defence style game." The Killer Klowns plot is already a bit linear so adding more variety and freedom seems like a good idea.
Q3. For the open world game, which perspective would you prefer?
For this question, first person and third person both got 45.45%, and top-down got 9.09%.
This makes sense because third and first person are usually quite immersive. I will probably use third person for my game since the player is able to see the camera and lots of the environment at once.
Q4. For the defence game, which perspective would you prefer?
From this question I discovered that if I were to create a tower defence style game, people would want me to stick to the traditional top down view. 63.64% answered top-down, 27.27% answered third person, and only 9.09% answered first person.
Q5. What kind of weapons would you like to see?I got a range of different answers for this question since it was qualitative. Some people want to see realistic weapons, such as rifles, shotguns, baseball bats etc. Some people prefer more ridiculous and stupid weapons such as popcorn guns and "a colourful machete." In my game I will probably include a mix of different weapons. Guns and baseball bats for human characters, and silly weapons for clowns.
Q6. Which platform do you think the game should be on?
This question isn't as important, because the game will definitely be on PC. Luckily, PC was the most popular answer, witch 54.55%. Xbox One got 27.27%, and both PS4 and mobile devices got 9.09%.
Q7. How much would you pay for a Killer Klowns game?
The game I am making won't be sold, but it seems that people would be prepared to pay at least £5-10 for a Killer Klowns game.
Q8. Are you even interested in a Killer Klowns game?
An important question, because if people aren't at all interested in a Killer Klowns game, there wouldn't be any point in making it. 9.09% answered yes, 27.27% answered definitely not and 63.64% answered a little bit. Of course I would still create the game even if people weren't interested, since it is for an assignment. However if I was actually planning on creating a proper game and got these results I probably wouldn't bother, because not enough people have shown interest.
Correlation between qualitative and quantitative data?
The different types of data I collected from my surveys were both useful in different ways. Quantitative questions get straight to the point, and from them I can gather simple, easy to understand data. Qualitative data allowed me to get more opinionated and detailed answers, and the data I collected from them will help me to create a game and implement the things that people want to see.
How successful were my methods compared to others?
I think that my surveys were fairly successful and I gathered a good amount of important information. However, I think my methods could have been improved. For example, I could've asked a wider range of people about the game, family members, non gamers etc. Asking other people would have allowed me to avoid joke answers and get more varied opinions. Since all the people I asked are in my class, and we are all doing this for an assignment, the answers were what I expected and no too varied. I could've also included more questions to gather more information, but because of the people I asked I don't think it was really necessary.
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