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Greg [email protected] Connect 2013
Evil Game Design Challenge
Target Demographic
Middle-aged women
IP appeals to 20-something males
Obviously need to change to...
Super Marioa Bros SISTERS!
Image credit: Elzor_sl
Super Mario Bros....
Is notable for crisp controls.
Requires precise timing.
Fans decry modern games as 'too easy'
In other words:
Way too hard for our demographic!
It's All Gotta be Clicks
Click to move.
Click to defeat enemies.
You know, like Indiana JonesAdventure World.
...swipes to jump in mobile suck.
Annoying confirm dialog for keyboard use when entering Flash
full-screen.
Charge energy for every click Ka-Ching!
Content Creation Costs $
Need to spin out content for months of play.
So we want players to grind levels repeatedly. We need:
Mastery stars!
Gate content: "You need 2 stars in stage 2-1 to unlock stage
2-2."
One of the core appeals of Super Mario Bros.
But incompatible with grind replay.
We need: Algorithmically generated traps/enemies.
Sayonara, careful level design... but necessary to support our
business model.
Careful Level Design
$ for Energy, Lives, Powerups
Energy and lives regen on timers, but...
"You're out of energy! Buy more for 4 gems?"
"You died! Continue for 5 gems?"
"A Super Mushroom would help you here. Buy one for 10 gems?"
Ka-ching!
Speaking of Powerups...
Mario can carry/use only one at a time...
But we want to sell you lots...
We need an inventory.
Plus, we can sell you:
More inventory slots!Ka-ching!
...And Other Permanent Stat Increases
"One more max Life for 20 gems."
"Triple-jumps for 40 gems."
"Faster energy regen for 50 gems."
Ka-ching!
'Course, We Need Virals
Invite Friends (like, 20 seconds into NUF)
Daily free gifts
Energy & Powerups, inventory caps (buy but not receive above
them)
Brag shares (must uncheck tiny box or shared automatically)
Staffing...
Staffing?
"Ask three friends to staff your castle to unlock World 2."
"...or unlock now for 10 gems."
Oh, and "Maria is searching the castle for the Princess. Come
back in 24 hours to see if she found him!"
24 Hours?
Only damn metrics your mgmt is going to care about in geoalpha
are 1-day retention and time on site.
So the FUE gives you 20-30 minutes of gameplay + a hard stop and
call to return tomorrow.
'Cause we don't even get to launch if we don't massage our
metrics.
Gaming the system is Job One!
New Worlds Gated by...
Mastery stars.
Staffing (or pay to bypass).
Later on, an expansion resource
Rare drop, or pay to buy.
Timer (or pay to bypass).
Ka-ching!
Consumables & Bypasses Good, But...
We need more Ka-Ching!
Bonus Worlds for hard currency only.
Week 2: a stage you NEED powerups to beat.
We don't give you enough.
MUST spam or monetize to progress.
Plus: Timed Quest Sequences
12+ quests, most requiring grind.
New world, available for 2 weeks only.
Big reward at the end: "Play as Princess Peach! She can Triple
Jump!"
Each play requires a new special resource.
Players seeded with some, + rare drop, + ask friends for
more.
Daily cap on # you can receive.
Timed Quest Sequence (pt. 2)
Tuned so you will NOT have enough of the special resource to
complete in the available time.
Unless you pay! Ka-ching!
Suck the marks in with enough seeded resources... Have them
invest time and emotional energy... Hold out a big reward...
Double Ka-ching!
Plus the Usual Crap
Hard currency/$ ratio at some weird prime, like 7, so it's
harder for the marks to figure out how much they're actually
spending.
Daily reward slot machine with HC cost for more spins.
"Get gems at 30% off but only if you act now."
"You've got 2 extra inventory slots for the next week" (but have
to pay to keep them afterwards).
Nice Little Game You Got There...
Ah, nostalgia...
Get over it!
There's money to be made, boys.KA-CHING!
