Twitter, Call of Duty, and the Power of Ideas

Sometime last week, Infinity Ward - the acclaimed developers of the Call of Duty series - did what I consider two noteworthy things; they reached out to their fan base in search of constructive consumer feedback and they did it by utilizing twitter in a way which is actually complementary to its functionality.

Game developers have always sought out feedback as a fundamental part of the design process, especially with sequels or games which rely on fundamentally similar game play; be this through focus groups, beta testers, or online surveys. By asking the world (or at least the world of twitter) to "Name one thing you'd like to see in Modern Warfare 2," Infinity Ward has elegantly attempted to cull from the masses exactly the sorts of improvements fans yearn for.

If you ask a single 13 year old kid what he wants to see in the newest Call of Duty you'll be hard pressed, I'm sure, to find anything particularly insightful, but ask thousands of 13 year olds (or anybody who cares to listen) and you may just find something worth mulling over. Presumably this is the thought process behind Infinity Ward's latest twitter gambit, and would also give some context to the news from a few weeks back that Richard Henry, the 19 year old developer of cursebird (this just in: I have just visited cursebird for the first time and the service remains endlessly amusing. take a peek) would be working with Infinity Ward on an upcoming project. If I were to put on my detective hat, I might venture that with the assistance of Mr. Henry's twitter expertise, Robert Bowling, the community manager of Call of Duty, has taken a shot at converting what must be thousands of insignificant tweets into potentially valuable, pragmatic marketing data.

In my Management 301 course, a third of the class was spent examining the power of idea systems. The primary text of the section was Ideas Are Free, which was written by our fantastic professor, Alan Robinson. Idea Systems are essentially the process by which companies collect and subsequently apply Ideas for improving their business, ideas which are submitted by employees from every level of the organization. The fundamental premise of the book was how companies, by utilizing these systems, are able to outperform competitors by implementing minor cost saving or value enhancing ideas on a massive scale. The basic notion behind Idea systems is that innovation doesn't come from the top down, but rather is fundamentally driven by those who are closest to the creative process and essential operations of the business. For Infinity Ward, who's ultimate goal is to make a unavoidably compelling product, ideas of how to improve their game should likewise come from those most intimately knowledgeable of how the game functions, the players themselves.

I would like to point out that I think this concept is a profound one. I don't wish to imply that the masses of Call of Duty fans are more knowledgeable or capable than the designers themselves; developing a game like Call of Duty is a remarkable and enormous undertaking. It rings true though, that while the twittering layman may lack detailed knowledge of game play or design, they possess a highly intimate level of understanding of not just how the game should be played, but how it actually does.

The fans of the series may not be coming up with the elegant/resourceful solutions to the game play issues they run into - that is the designers job - but they have engaged the final game with a level of care and familiarity that is necessary to grasp at the smaller, more nit picky game issues which ultimately elevate a title to AAA status. Identifying the less than obvious problems comes only with experience; engaging with the game enough, such that its minute flaws and idiosyncrasies make them self obvious over time. Obviously, QA plays a large role in accessing the usability of games, but when you're going back to the drawing board on a game sequel or patch, resources like twitter that allow for direct communication between developer and consumer, provide an invaluable tool for ultimately enhancing and perfecting the game play experience your audience is paying for.