Generation Z and Design Democracy
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Developing games today is very different from what it was 20 years ago. The amount of access to your gaming audience and the speed of information is staggering in comparison. To that end, the digital age has solved many problems while creating new ones. Katherine de León, Senior Director of Product Management for YouTube Gaming, has some thoughts on this exact topic. She shares her perspective on deliberative debate during her fireside chat with GamesBeat's Dean Takahashi at GamesBeat Summit Next.
"I think democratic discourse and transparency are ingrained in this generation," de León said. " I am going to give you an example. Deliberative debate is an expectation for this generation. They want to have a deliberative debate with the game makers about the game development process. That's, frankly, nearly impossible today because the games industry hasn't prioritized transparency, and you can't have an informed debate without context. This lack of transparency, I can only imagine, must be anathema to Gen Z because it's so fundamental to how they engage online. Back when I was working on Second Life, we were like, "Okay, 10% of your community is going to create content, 90% is going to consume content." That's no longer true."
“According to YouGov, two-thirds of Gen Z create content for audiences beyond family and friends,” de León continued. “That means most teenagers are creators. Why do they expect to have a deliberative debate about content creation? Because that's how they operate in the world and in their creative processes. “
In today's world, it's common for a developer or journalist to blunder and cause conflict. What leads to this kind of interaction? De León believes some of these problems stem from a secret industry meeting an audience hungry for engagement.
"To be fair, technology doesn't offer everything...
Missed a session of GamesBeat Summit Next 2022? All sessions are now available for viewing in our on-demand library. Click here to start watching.
Developing games today is very different from what it was 20 years ago. The amount of access to your gaming audience and the speed of information is staggering in comparison. To that end, the digital age has solved many problems while creating new ones. Katherine de León, Senior Director of Product Management for YouTube Gaming, has some thoughts on this exact topic. She shares her perspective on deliberative debate during her fireside chat with GamesBeat's Dean Takahashi at GamesBeat Summit Next.
"I think democratic discourse and transparency are ingrained in this generation," de León said. " I am going to give you an example. Deliberative debate is an expectation for this generation. They want to have a deliberative debate with the game makers about the game development process. That's, frankly, nearly impossible today because the games industry hasn't prioritized transparency, and you can't have an informed debate without context. This lack of transparency, I can only imagine, must be anathema to Gen Z because it's so fundamental to how they engage online. Back when I was working on Second Life, we were like, "Okay, 10% of your community is going to create content, 90% is going to consume content." That's no longer true."
“According to YouGov, two-thirds of Gen Z create content for audiences beyond family and friends,” de León continued. “That means most teenagers are creators. Why do they expect to have a deliberative debate about content creation? Because that's how they operate in the world and in their creative processes. “
In today's world, it's common for a developer or journalist to blunder and cause conflict. What leads to this kind of interaction? De León believes some of these problems stem from a secret industry meeting an audience hungry for engagement.
"To be fair, technology doesn't offer everything...
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