Daglow: American gamers don’t handle failure well

Industry vet Don Daglow believes Americans have trouble dealing with failure, specifically in regards to gaming.

"The idea of failure has been dramatically reduced," he said during a panel at GDC Europe, noting that American students don’t ‘fail,’ but are instead ‘challenged.’

Daglow explains this concept comes from an education system that has evolved to a point where failure has largely been eradicated from the curriculum. It’s something he advises European developers to keep in mind when trying to design games that will see success in the US market.

The concept of failure as an encouragement to try again and succeed is difficult for many Americans to come to grips with, Daglow continued. Many will blame these failures on the game itself, instead of recognizing any mistakes on their part and trying again.

Don’t wait to entertain people,” Daglow added as the key to breaking through to an American audience.

He concluded that if a game does grab a player’s interest, the habits of Americans and Europeans are almost identical. Once someone enjoys a game they will stick with it despite any differences in culture.