Red
YEAR 2023
In 2022, fresh from a drone AI startup at CMU, I started my second run at Intel. With my intellectual blade sharpened from working with some of the smartest minds I know, I was eager to tackle a bigger challenge: defining the Experience Architecture of Gaming for millions of Intel end-users. The role, on a team called RED (Research & Experience Definition), was a perfect fit, as it united three of my areas of expertise: gaming, HCI, and electronics. My task was to bring anthropologists together with microprocessor architects, a position I felt comfortable with because I understood and was familiar with the lexicon of both subjects and could speak both of their languages. It was a natural fit.
ROLE :
Lead Experience Architect for Gaming
TEAM :
Worked with an Anthropological Researcher and Microprocessor Architect
KEY TECHNOLOGIES
Quantifiable KEI & KPI
Abstractions of Gaming
Experience Architecture
AI in Gaming
TOOLS & SOFTWARES USED:
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Figma
Internal Tools
“Architecting the gaming experience for millions of users.”
Methodology & Approach
The scope of the gaming product range was vast, from low-power handhelds to high-end desktops, so I had to formulate a methodical plan. I started with the basics: defining what a gaming experience truly is. I established gamer archetypes and then a framework that spanned from a Minimum Viable Gaming Experience to a Prime Experience, detailing a comprehensive spectrum to analyze.
I also studied the manufacturing roadmaps for transistors and other parallel technologies like AI algorithms for games to anticipate how the technological landscape would evolve. All these activities led to the creation of an Experience Trajectory that strategically mapped out when and where advancements should be implemented.
Definition 101
“Gaming is the act of participation in imaginary worlds that leads to the suspension of disbelief and thereby creates new memories and behavioral synapses.”
"A stick is the oldest platform known to humankind to play games, for it takes the shape of one's imagination as a plank in the bridge between real and imaginary worlds.”
WORKFLOW - The end-to-end workflow of an Insight, from initial Research through Design to the final platform Architecture 🠉
MODEL - The Experience Architecture Mode 🠉
I conducted research on various gaming subtopics. All data were compiled into a list and categorized by the experience model's three pillars: Play, Connect, and Manage.
Insights were further subcategorized, and core use cases with definitions addressed each issue. This process was made possible by a clear understanding of the experience model that was initially defined.
- Experience Model
“The model underwent several iterations, with each new insight prompting a change. This led to a workflow that translated insights through cycles of construction and deconstruction.”
DISTILLATION - Stage of Insight Distillation 🠉
Research & Insight Decomp
I had become accustomed to quantifying ideas that were previously never intended to be quantified. At Intel, this passion drove me to push the boundaries of "gaming experience" at its fundamental level. The structured process I developed rooted my approach in the pragmatics, despite the sheer breadth and depth of the architecture.
When it came to research, I broke down the gaming experience into its driving vectors to as small a scale as possible, studying various types of game worlds. I also interviewed various gaming users to understand their pain points, expectations, and asks.
ARCHETYPES OF GAMING - A profile deeper than a persona, made up of the Escapist, Competitive, and Creative Play gamers 🠉
FIELD - How the Player Perceives the Game Experience 🠉
EXPERIENCE FIELD - Use case definition translation into Experience Fields 🠉
The Experience Field comprises vectors that capture the impetuses that drive, define, and dictate the experience of a particular gaming experience.
These vectors can be a byproduct of the hardware, a specific game algorithm, or the rendering pipeline itself.
XP FIELD VECTORS - Vectors of Stimuli 🠊
QUANTIFICATION - Experience field vectors gauged using three indicator types 🠉
Final Outcome
This methodology helped me define a comprehensive gaming experience architecture for Intel's products slated for release from 2023 to 2027. My time at Intel was an opportunity to pour my heart into the craftsmanship of "toy-making," and I felt I had given my all to the art of crafting tools for gaming.
As my tenure drew to a close, I began reaching out to Intel's Quantum Computing Team. They were the only ones who could entertain my curiosity. I found myself particularly intrigued by the mythical and magical nature of the quantum realm, a subject I continue to study, where rationality becomes irrational. As I delved into interpretations like the Copenhagen and Many-Worlds, I was pulled back into my first love: fantastical stories. I then realized it was time to build imaginary worlds and construct narratives that could exist within the "gaming platforms" I had helped create.
EXPERIENCE TRAJECTORY - Charting a Multi-Year course of one specific Gaming Experience 🠉
PRODUCT TRAJECTORY - A Multi-Year Roadmap for Gaming Platforms for Millions of Users 🠉
