Why "Unique" Is Better Than "Best"
Are you competing to be the best? Or to be unique?
According to business strategist Michael Porter, unless you are competing to be unique, you don't have a strategy.
After all, if you simply offer what others offer, you're stuck in a race trying to win clients on the promise that, out of all the options, you're either the best or the cheapest.
And as soon as someone else is better, or cheaper, you loose them again.
But if you have a unique offer, your clients choose you for who you are, rather than a marginally better or cheaper offer.
Of course, to get to that point, you have to know what makes you unique.
There are plenty of ingredients that go into your unique DNA - some obvious ones are your vision, your mission, and your core values.
But for your customers, what matters most is the unique value that you can offer THEM.
One way to approach this is by identifying your Three Uniques.
Three Uniques
Your Three Uniques are an answer to the question "and why should I choose you?"
For games specifically, I work on the Three Uniques with my clients to find the three unique things that define their games, and makes them consistently recognizable in an oversaturated market.
Now, hat you are looking for is a unique combination.
Each item on its own might be something you share with a competitor, but taken together it should be something that customers or players can only get with you.
For example, if we look at FromSoftware's soulslike games, their three uniques would be something like:
- Unforgiving, precise combat
- Interconnected, semi-open worlds
- Cryptic storytelling through lore and environment
For another example, here's what we might say about what Naughty Dog stands for on the studio level:
- Seamless blend of gameplay and narrative
- Unparalleled attention to detail and animation
- Cinematic storytelling with deep character development
These things are unique to these studios, and keep players coming back for more.
So that's what it looks like, now let's find yours.
Your Three Uniques
I advise my clients to start on the studio level, and only split out into different franchises if it proves too hard to synthesize traits on that level.
- Together with your team, individually write down all the things that you think make your product, game or service unique. If you need more input on this, it can help to look at something like your steam reviews, or interview some clients or players in advance.
- Next, combine everyone's lists, and see if you can spot any immediate trends
- Then, apply my favorite filter: Keep, Kill, Combine. For each item, discuss if it is really one of the more unique differentiators and you want to Keep it, or if you want to Kill it, or Combine it with another item or items on the list.
- Keep going until you have found a combination of traits that feels authentic, and captures what differentiates you from the competition.
Then, next time someone asks you what sets your studio or your games apart, you know exactly what to answer.
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Right Now
Playing - Psychonauts 2
Finally scored a good deal on this one, and it's wonderful. Great writing, fantastically silly worldbuilding and level design.
Reading - The Fifth Discipline
Another business classic, eschewing the value of building a learning organization. I was surprised to see mention of a beer distribution game that I played during my MBA, used to show how hard operations get when no-one has information beyond their own bubble (and happy to see that 80% fail, so it wasn't just us).
Watching - Common Side Effects
Very cool animated show Mike Judge and the studio behind one of my favorites from last year, Scavenger's Reign. A magic all-curing mushroom is found, and the discoverer is predictably targeted by both big pharma and various governmental agencies. Great premise for a very wacky show.
See you in two weeks!
Martijn
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