Ricardo Leon is the co-founder and creative mind behind KnackMaster, a publisher of early education apps located in the DC region. KnackMaster's mission is to support children, families, and educators in creating engaging learning environments. The document discusses trends in children's use of digital devices and apps, segmentation of the children's audience, popular behaviors among children, and principles for effective game and story design.

1. ricardo leon
co-founder & creative mind
september 2012
Copyright © 2012 KnackMaster. All Rights Reserved.

2. Ricardo Leon
co-founder &
creative mind of KnackMaster
KnackMaster
publisher of early education
apps located in the DC region
Mission
support children, families, and
educators in creating engaging
learning environments that can
enrich and complement regular
academic programs and
expertise at home
Copyright © 2012 KnackMaster. All Rights Reserved. 2

3. toda
y’s
topic
wallpaperswide.com
Copyright © 2012 KnackMaster. All Rights Reserved. 3

4. wallpaperswide.com
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5. 1 in 4 people
in the World are
Children
1.6 Billion
83 million children in the United States
* US Census - International Data Base: World Population Under 12 Years Old
5

6. Children in the United States
Who Have Used a
Smart Device
40% * Common Sense Media
* US Census
8 Million
of 2-4 year olds
52%
10 Million
of 5-8 year olds
6

7. Tablets
are expected to grow
+6x Other
17%
* Gartner: Worldwide Media Tablets Sales,
* Apple iOS, Google Android,
Microsoft Window Mobile, QNX, Other iOS
46%
Android
37%
Android iOS
29% 67%
2011 2016
60 Million 370 Million 7

8. Free Apps Account for
FREE 89%
90% will Cost
of Paid Apps
$3
Less than $3
* Gartner: Market Trends: Mobile App Stores, Worldwide, 2012
8

9. Smartphones
average
Games 10+
Downloaded
Tablets
in 2011
20+
* PlayFirst and Frank N. Magid,
Tablet & Smartphone Gaming Trends
9

10. Mobile
Entertainment
to Reach
$65B by 2016
* Juniper Research
10

11. Digital Trends Impacting Natural User Interfaces
Children &
Technologies like touchscreens, voice-
activation are increasing accessibility
Education
Connected Learning
Learning that is socially connected,
interest-driven, and oriented towards
educational opportunity
Gamification
Applying game elements and game
design techniques elements in non-game
context to drive user engagement and
behavior adoption
* Mind/Shift: How We Will Learn, 12 Education Tech Trends to Watch in 2012
* MacArthur Foundation: Connected Learning Research Network
* From Game Design Elements to Gamefulness: Defining Gamificaiton
11

12. wallpaperswide.com

13. segmentation
newborn age
infant gender
toddler
academic level
play age
preschooler
puberty
primary school
tween
secondary school
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
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14. profiles
* BBC Study
creatively-driven children
younger builders interested in creating new stuff
confident and curious children
explorers driven by quests & challenges
interested in looking after their
nurtures avatar and pet
competitive children focused
social climbers on their social position
interested to assist others by
power users sharing their knowledge
identity-driven show-offs
self-stampers wanting to make their mark
interested in death, violence
fighters and destruction - older boys
older
interested in acquiring and
consumers accumulating goods
Copyright © 2012 KnackMaster. All Rights Reserved. 14

15. behaviors
gaming is an extremely popular past-time in
play | any virtual experience
as children develop social skills, they tend to
socialize | interact with friends and make new ones
children enjoy looking after animals or
connect | helping others, “relationship exploration”
experiment with customizing their
customize | environment or dressing up their characters
digital media consumption from watching ads
consume | to receive points to purchase tangible items
Copyright © 2012 KnackMaster. All Rights Reserved. 15

16. hard fun
provides the opportunity to
people fun challenge, mastery, and
feelings of accomplishments
h
provides the excuse to
hang around with friends
p
capture attention &
motivate play
e easy fun
s inspires exploration
serious fun and role play
purposely play changes how
players think, feel, behave, or
make a difference in the real world
* Nicole Lazzaro, XeoDesign: 4Keys 2Fun
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17. parents priorities
said mobile devices
stay connected 90% help them stay connected
during a family emergency
said mobile devices
feel closer 85% help families feel closer
when they are apart
said mobile devices keep
more informed 80% families more informed on
each other’s activities
feel safer 80% said mobile devices help
them feel safer
coordinate 70% said devices help them
coordinate family schedules
* CTIA
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18. pathway to mastery
get to the point where player has
conquer and achieve a real skill 3
scaffolding
provide training wheels 2
onboarding
get player into the game as
quickly and easily as possible 1
*Kevin Werbach, Univ. of Pennsylvania
Copyright © 2012 KnackMaster. All Rights Reserved. 18
Copyright © 2012 KnackMaster. All Rights Reserved. 18

19. storytelling
ted / andrew stanton
make me care
make me a promise
make me wonder
all characters have a spine
change is fundamental
story telling has a roadmap
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20. Copyright © 2012 KnackMaster. All Rights Reserved. 20