Understanding Why Gamers Share with Medal.TV

Discovery is, hands down, one of the hardest problems to solve in our current gaming ecosystem, and it’s only going to get harder over the coming years as the quantity of content vying for players precious time explodes thanks to AI driven productivity increases.

That’s why it was so much fun to sit down with Ken Colton (CEO) and Alexandra Takei (VP of Revenue and Gaming) at Medal.TV. Medal is a hidden giant in the game industry, with over 16 million players using their platform to share their everyday gaming moments with their friends each month.

In our conversation, one of the most interesting pieces of wisdom for game developers came when I asked about what games need to do to make sure that their game is perfect for clipping and sharing. For most genres, these are non-negotiable keys to success in today’s market. Here’s what I learned:

First, Alex shared her three keys to being clip-worthy:

1) Have an interesting and novel game mechanic to lean into. Not only does it need to be interesting, it needs to be immediately legible and visual. Is this something players will get immediately excited about in a 15 second gif? If not, it’s probably not attuned for today’s social media platforms and the discovery they can drive.

2) Lean into humor. Your game doesn’t need to be a humorous game, but the nature of interactivity will likely mean there are humorous elements in it. The clips that spread virally are likely to be those that make a player laugh, and want to share that laugh with their friends.

3) Art style is the front door to your game. Have something that is recognizable, unique and interesting to look at. Something that is authentic to your game and the experience you are building. On first contact, players will react to your art style subconsciously and form a judgement about your game at the speed of light, so it better look interesting to grab their attention.

Ken then doubled down on the importance of humor and weirdness overall. Keep it weird, keep it unique, let the culture of gaming seep through. These authentic moments are what will shine through, connect with players and turn into sharable moments.

This was a fun and insightful conversation about discovery with a product that has a front row seat to understanding what gamers like to watch and share with their friends. Do yourself a favor and check out the full interview above.