Digital Strategy Lessons from Magic: The Gathering (SXSW 2015)

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VP, Director of Digital Strategy & UX hyc.com

Adam McCrimmon@McAtoms

Co-Host of WhatTheGrok Podcast whatthegrok.com

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Only for über nerds?

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Source: http://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/24gnkq/what_celebrities_play_magic/

Best Selling Game in the World Created in 1993 Over 20 Billion Cards Printed

Over 12 Million Players Printed in 11 Languages Sold in 120 Countries

More than 700k Sanctioned Events a year

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More than 1,200 new unique cards created a year 16,000+ Total Individual Cards

5 Colors 20 Color Combinations

8 Card Types 24 Creature Types 136 Keywords

1.6 Million Decks

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Lesson 1: Get a Hobby

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Hobby:

An activity done regularly in one's leisure time for experience, challenge & pleasure.

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I suck.

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Failure

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CommonRationalized

This bad thing happened but it’s not totally my fault.

This bad thing happened it’s my fault & it’s not a big deal.

Budget wasn't big enoughThere wasn’t enough timeRequirements kept changing

Got to work lateForgot my lunchDidn’t recycle that bottle

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We’ve grown accustomed to rationalized & common failure.

We’re comfortable with it.

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Invested

This bad thing happened. It’s my fault and it’s a big deal to me.

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Emotionally Invested.Full Responsibility.

Invested

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Invested

Emotionally Invested.Full Responsibility.

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Invested failure is transformative.

Approach Point of view Assumptions

Helps you learn.

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Momentum

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Matthew Effect (1963)Success can breed success, and inequality breeds more inequality.

“For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.”

Robert K MertonSociologisthttp://www.garfield.library.upenn.edu/merton/matthew1.pdf

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Arnout van de RijtAssociate Professor - SUNYhttp://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2014/04/28/on-privilege-and-luck-or-why-success-breeds-success/

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Success leads to success.

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Hobbies provide a safe outlet for invested failure and a pathway to personal success.

Lesson 1: Get a Hobby

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Lesson 2: Embrace Limitations

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Limitations. Constraints. Requirements.

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Richard Garfield #MTGLessons

Richard Garfield Peter Adkison #MTGLessons

Peter Adkison #MTGLessons

Richard Garfield Peter Adkison

Wanted a game: Fast Playing Little Setup Inexpensive

Had a contact to: Print Pictures on Cards

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Richard Garfield Peter Adkison #MTGLessons

Richard Garfield Peter Adkison #MTGLessons

Richard Garfield Peter Adkison #MTGLessons

“Limitations are something that I latch onto - like working in genre, or if you're writing TV, there are act breaks, there's a length of time it's supposed to be. The restrictions of budget and sets can be really useful. When you can have everything, it's very hard to make things feel real and lived in.”

- Joss Whedon

“It was really SMS that inspired the further direction -- the particular constraint of 140 characters was kind of borrowed.”

- Jack Dorsey (Twitter)

“The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.”

-Orson Welles

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Cognitive OverheadHow many logical connections or jumps your brain has to make in order to understand or contextualize the thing you’re looking at.

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Limitations spark creativity by forcing us to consider alternatives.

Lesson 2: Embrace Limitations

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Lesson 3: Stop Thinking. Start Doing.

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Theory Design vs Practical Design

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Practical DesignTheory Design

Talking & thinking about how something might work.

Trying it out as quickly as possible to see if it works.

BrainstormingMeetingsDocumentation

Role PlayingSketchingPrototyping

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Prototyping

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High Fidelity Low Fidelity

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Trying it out as quickly as possible to see if it works.

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Finding Problems, Not Solutions

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IterationIterationIterationIteration

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Good enough is fine.

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Judo SolutionsOne that delivers maximum efficiency with minimum effort. Judo solutions are all about getting the most out of doing the least.

When good enough gets the job done, go for it. And remember, you can usually turn good enough into great later.

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Fuck it. Test it.

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1993 2012

1993 2014

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Mana Symbols

Rules

Card Type

Iteration

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Micro Iteration

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Everything is a prototype. Anything can be changed.

Lesson 3: Stop Thinking. Start Doing.

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Lesson 4: Use Human Nature

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http://shapingcloudsproject.tumblr.com/ #MTGLessons

http://webwithoutwords.com #MTGLessons

Shared Knowledge

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As-FanThe % that a subset of cards appear when each booster pack is fanned out.

Commons: 9 or 10 Uncommons: 3 Rares: 1 Land: 1 Token/Ad Card: 1

Heroic: 1 Scry: 2 Enchantment: 2 Bestow: 1 Greek Inspired: 3

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Has Wings Flying

Looks Huge Trample

Looks Fast Haste, First Strike or Double Strike

Depicts an event Instant / Sorcery

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White: Blue: Black: Red: Green:

Human, Animal Wizard, Sea Creature Zombie, Undead, Minotaur Satyr, Minotaur, Monsters Centaur, Satyr, Human, Animal

It’s your job to think differently. Leverage what your audience already knows and establish clear patterns for them to embrace.

Lesson 4: Use Human Nature

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Lenticular Design

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Lenticular DesignA player’s experience will dictate how complex a design is to them. And some complexity is hidden, because it requires certain knowledge to even be aware of it.

http://archive.wizards.com/Magic/magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/mm/293

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Get a Hobby Embrace Limitations Stop Thinking. Start Doing. Use Human Nature

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Thanks!

Adam Mc amccrim.com | @McAtoms #MTGLessons

amccrim.com/mtglessons