KSP is intended for which ages of player?

[Sirine]

For currently game-play vanilla (Not including MechJeb). + NASA Pack.

Which is the age group of player do you think 'SQUAD' is targeting for?

IMO:

Junior player, are highly dynamic group of people, they come and go as easily as bird. They don't have high spending power (money), and do not dedicate times for a single game. Many of them tend to play 3~5 games in a time. And may switch to "any games" that their friend play.

Mature player, are people who love to explore the very deep of KSP, and squeeze the very juice of fun out of it. And if no more, they create it (They do Modding).

Of course, this is just my personal opinion. What say you?

Please restrain yourself for quoting others opinions. Just tell us what you think. This is not a debate, and there are no right or wrong answer.

Edited March 4, 2014 by Sirine

[ArmchairGravy]

I would say the mature player. KSP has a fairly high barrier to entry in its learning cliff.

[1D-1()T]

Well, depends on how they're playing. I mean, it doesn't take a genius to go MOAR BOOSTERS! Anyone can do that, and some people get something out of that. But for the more serious play, I think it's a matter of interest. So, as long as they're interested in the underlying mechanics and have means to understand them (say, understanding the three laws of motion) then anyone can play the more serious way, including the 'Junior Gamers'. But then again, when they start wanting to play games involving rocket science and maths they can hardly be called a 'Junior Gamer'.

[MiniMatt]

Quoting NASA's Doug Ellison from this piece on Polygon:

"I knew KSP was something special when I watched a young kid  probably less than 8 years old  playing KSP and using words like apogee, perigee, prograde, retrograde, delta-v; the lexicon of orbital mechanics. To the layperson orbital mechanics is a counter-intuitive world of energy, thrust, velocity, altitude that this kid  just by playing Kerbal  had managed to get his head around."

In other words - 8 year olds are a hell of a lot cleverer than we give them credit for KSP is suitable for all, and dividing players into "junior" and "mature" is probably both unrealistic and a way of protecting the fragile egos of those of us who - by dint of years on the clock - fall into the "mature" camp

[regex]

Which is the age group of player do you think 'SQUAD' is targeting for?

Everyone.

Junior player, are highly dynamic group of people, they come and go as easily as bird. They don't have high spending power (money), and do not dedicate times for a single game. Many of them tend to play 3~5 games in a time. And may switch to "any games" that their friend play.

Mature player, are people who love to explore the very deep of KSP, and squeeze the very juice of fun out of it. And if no more, they create it (They do Modding).

Wait, what? Those aren't really defined "age groups", do you have specific ages in mind? I also gather you don't think too highly of younger players.

Please restrain yourself for quoting others opinions. Just tell us yours opinions will do. This is not a debate, and there are no right and wrong answer.

Ooops...

[relin]

I'm of the mind that it's harder for older people to learn a game like KSP than it is for a younger kid to get it. Orbital mechanics aren't exactly intuitive, so the less intuition you employ, then better

[MSHalo3Rocks]

Hi 14 year old here and i'd say there targetting everyone

[Deathsoul097]

Mature player, are people who love to explore the very deep of KSP, and squeeze the very juice of fun out of it. And if no more, they create it (They do Modding).

I completely disagree with that right there. For one, your Age Groups are biased and have no real meaning, as a seven year old could easily fit into your mature players and a 20-30 year old could be classified as a junior player. Just Sayin'. Two: I would say everyone and anyone. It's an open game with no stated demographic, (Although the steep learning curve makes thing a lot harder for some) and many of the features could be applied to pretty much anything.

Also, 15 year old modder and decently capable pilot/designer reporting in.

[FenrirWolf]

It's for all ages really.

[Rassa Farlander]

KSP for everybody!! :D

[WaveFunctionP]

The age of imagination.

[KvickFlygarn87]

All of them! There are some that are over their 50s and Video Wednesdays had a video some time ago where a three-year-old played KSP! Sure, at that age they won't get the same epic experience because, well, it's a three-year-old - he doesn't have quite the intelligence needed to be good at KSP, but he can still play it!

[Kasuha]

Which is the age group of player do you think 'SQUAD' is targeting for?

I think KSP is not targeted at any particular age group. It's just a game for anyone who can have fun with it. If you are mature enough to understand that keyboard and mouse are not intended to be chewed on, and that monitor is here to provide you views into other, imaginary worlds, you can play KSP.

[NotEmoHawk]

I think Squad is making a game for anyone that might have an interest in space flight, age is irrelevant. That being said they have done a great job of catering for a wide range of ages, abilities and interests.

[MiniMatt]

Seeing as you edited in your big orange orders:

Please restrain yourself for quoting others opinions. Just tell us what you think. This is not a debate, and there are no right or wrong answer.

... nine minutes after I posted:

Quoting NASA's Doug Ellison from this piece on Polygon:

"I knew KSP was something special when I watched a young kid  probably less than 8 years old  playing KSP and using words like apogee, perigee, prograde, retrograde, delta-v; the lexicon of orbital mechanics. To the layperson orbital mechanics is a counter-intuitive world of energy, thrust, velocity, altitude that this kid  just by playing Kerbal  had managed to get his head around."

In other words - 8 year olds are a hell of a lot cleverer than we give them credit for KSP is suitable for all, and dividing players into "junior" and "mature" is probably both unrealistic and a way of protecting the fragile egos of those of us who - by dint of years on the clock - fall into the "mature" camp

... I'm going to guess that's aimed at me.

So I'll oblige and clarify that my opinions are largely aligned with those of Doug Ellison His concise and eloquent quote merely saves me from having to say the same thing but with less eloquence.

[Dizzle]

Anyone who wants to play.

[qromodynmc]

As an 20y.o economy student,I can say it is for everyone who has interest to space and learning.

[Pds314]

I would say KSP has a somewhat high barrier to entry in that you can't really do anything interesting without figuring out how to pilot your craft and getting enough Delta-V to reach orbit. My opinion is:

Low barrier to entry:

Spore, Minecraft (yes, yes I know, it has few or no tuts and complicated machinery, but I've seen 5-year-olds kill creepers with their bare hands, make underground bases, mine significant amounts of iron and the occasional diamond, etc), any game designed for small children (obviously), 95% of all First-Person Shooters in where the objective is death match. Really simple RTSes.

Medium Barrier to entry: Most RTSes, RPGs, etc.

High barrier to entry: KSP, more complex RPGs.

Extreme Barrier to entry: Doing certain things in Minecraft or KSP require advanced understanding of computers or physics.

Domain wall to entry: Dwarf Fortress, especially with the default tile set. I tried it with a better tile set, and it took minutes to figure out how to do so much as give orders.

Keep in mind, however, that maturity is more about attention span and intelligence than age. Indeed. All evidence points to high fluid intelligence in young children. Just as a tech-savvy 6-year-old can change virtually any option on a PC (passwords and user accounts, wallpaper and screensaver, internet settings, mouse settings, security level, I've seen all these and much more). Anything that doesn't require algebra to sort-of do is available to pretty much any age.

Edited March 4, 2014 by Pds314

[Kasuha]

High barrier to entry: KSP, more complex RPGs.

That depends on what you consider entry. The highest entry barrier I found in KSP was figuring out that you got to press Shift to get your rocket flying.

[OrtwinS]

The target audience is everyone.

I've seen 40 year olds enjoying blowing stuff up for the fun of it, and an 8 year old building a MASSIVE Laythe base. I've seen someone with no affection with computers learning to program because he wanted his own transfer calculator in the game (he had to teach himself the math as well).

KSP is part of the 'new' generation of games that stimulates (or simply allows) us to go over and beyond the basic game mechanics, extend our interests and capabilities.

Therefor, the audience is 'everyone'.

That depends on what you consider entry. The highest entry barrier I found in KSP was figuring out that you got to press Shift to get your rocket flying.

^^Indeed, lack of or outdated tutorials are the highest barrier

Edited March 4, 2014 by OrtwinS

[morph113]

I think it's meant to be for every age group. It didn't really took me that long to understand some basic concepts of space flight and how to maneuver the space craft. To be honest, the game is really simplified science wise, it's meant to be a game and not a NASA simulator afterall.

[kelmv]

I'd say KSP targets the same type of playerbase DF, (some) roguelikes, and traditional 'thinking' games such as Chess and Go target; those that aren't afraid to fail, screw up, explode, die due to critical sock shortage, or are scared off by their game needing a working understanding of things like 'timing', 'minecart machineguns', and 'integral calculus'.

[Red Iron Crown]

I think it's not so much a matter of age as intelligence. KSP is targeted at smart people, I think.

[morph113]

I think it's not so much a matter of age as intelligence. KSP is targeted at smart people, I think.

Well at least you won't hear anyone saying "Hey wait that isn't true, I am totally dumb and I can play this."

[sanoj688]

I wonder if anyone actually reads everyone's opinions but whatever, I feel like putting my opinion here although no one might ever read it ^^

The question 'Which age group does Squad target' does not really interest me. It's a question from a commercial/marketing/business perspective.

What I would rather ask is: How can people from different age groups enjoy this game?

I think: Age..

0-7: Probably more interested in watching KSP than actually playing theirselves. They can barely write let alone contemplate the concepts, dynamics and forces involved in playing this game.

Would probably not really have a clue what to do.. so I imagine they would randomly put a fail rocket together and it would fail.. there would be exceptions of course.

7-10: These players should be able to tinker around with it and actually have some fun, but I think most of them will still struggle to get any success (working rocket, safe landing, orbit, etc). That might cause some frustration which can be demotivating (or motivating for a minority), causing them to quit early.

These players would still have quite some fun making basic rockets and watching things go boom.

10-12: I see this as the border between a bit too young and 'old enough'. I think children this age will be better at learning, meaning they can climb that learning curve quicker. This group is probably also able to find information theirselves a little, vital to playing this game.

These players would see the challenges and possibilities, motivating them to take the time to experiment and they would have a lot of fun.

13+: If you are 13 or older you would (at the very least) be learning basic maths and physics in school meaning their brain is capable and trained better to learn these concepts. This group of players is old enough to be able to google(95% leads to a youtube video explaining things) and learn everything they need to know.

These players (ranging from 13 to .. as long as you are sane) would be getting the most out of this, they see the challenges and possibilities and they have all the means to tackle them. This group can really put in hooooooooooours in this game and they'll love it!

That's just my rough estimate.. in the end, all players need to learn a bunch of stuff before they can play this game successfully. It wouldn't have mattered if I was 13, 25 (which I am) or 45. I had to look up a video about how on Earth I could get into an orbit, and how to rendez vouz, how to dock, how to do everything.

Edited March 4, 2014 by sanoj688