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Playmob & Mentez Social Games Next Generation: Creating affinity with players by weaving compelling value into social Game Design
15th November, 2012
Proprietary and Confidential
Contents
Item Page
1. Introductions and contact information 3
2. Objectives 4
3. Definition of “Social Games” 5
4. Common design traits and their impact 6
5. What can be done about the negative design traits 20
6. Design principles that might define the next generation of social games 23
7. Taking inspiration from our video game heritage 25
8. Compelling Value: Blueprint for the next generation of social games 29
9. Recommended next steps 30
10. Disclaimer 31
2
Introductions & Contact Details
Jude @ Playmob Playmob is a revolutionary platform connecting games to charities. We specialise in increasing engagement and conversions in-game, with charity lead promotions.
My Role: • Founder and CEO • Business Vision and Strategy • Partnerships
Contact me at: • Twitter: @playinthecloud @playmob • eMail: [email protected] • Mobile: +44 7817 807097
Martin @ Mentez Mentez is the leading social application publisher in Latin America. We specialize in helping developers promote and monetize games and other social applications on social networks, most notably Orkut, Facebook and Mobile in Brazil.
My Role: • Director of Content & Business Development • Game production, projects & programmes • Game Testing and QA
Contact me at: • Twitter: @martingwilliams • eMail: [email protected] • Mobile: +47 48 22 85 36
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Objectives for this session
During this session we will:
o Look at the design traits that have prevented social games from achieving their full potential (yet, paradoxically, have so far defined their success)
o Identify design principles which can bring real value to players and generate compelling profits – cornerstones for the next generation of social games
By the end of this session you should:
o Come away with some valuable insights into the limitations and strengths of the current generation of social games
o Have gained some fresh ideas & practical suggestions on future social game design
4
Our definition of social games
“A social game is a game that needs to be played with friends in order to get the most out of the game and is either played on a social network or utilises a social graph or other social community system. Enjoyed by
all types of players”
5
Common design traits and their impact on player’s perceptions and attitudes towards
social games
6
There appears to be five negative design traits which are common to many social free-to-play games. These design traits can “feed” each other, creating a Vicious Circle that can undermine the game experience for players…
Psychological Manipulation
Disciplining and taxing
players
Inadequate reward & payback
Synthetic game
elements
Passive game play
This approach has worked well in the past, but appears to be becoming increasingly ineffective…
7
Anxiety loops
Because there is an expectation that only a small percentage of players will pay, there is a risk that game mechanics are focused primarily on that group, in order to maximise the chance that they will spend and maximise the amounts they will spend…
Players may feel psychologically compelled to spend time & money in the game, leading to feelings of guilt & remorse
Cooperative play & friend “baby sitting”
Compete with skill
Positive re-inforcement
…but there are positive traits too:
Negative or partial re-
inforcement
Compete with time and/or money
Excessive dependency on friends
Time limited missions &
other content
These negative design traits appear to be common…
Psychological Manipulation
8
Examples of positive design traits
9
Restricted supply of key
items
This can lead to a need to discipline spenders so that they continue to invest time and money in the game, with sometimes excessive taxation measures being taken to increase the ARPPU of those players. The need for this taxation can then undermine the sense of reward for players…
Players may feel that they are being punished for wanting to play the game, and/or for not being available to play
Fair pricing for extra “energy”
Key items can be
acquired by spending
time
Option for players to
repeat missions for a modest fee
…but there are positive traits too:
Failure to close loops can coerce spending
Need for an excessive number of
friends
Excessive charges to continue playing
Missions that require
money to complete in
time
These negative design traits appear to be common…
Disciplining and taxing
players
10
Examples - Excessive charges to continue playing
Note that all games were played from a point someway into the game, to avoid including the first acquisition focused game sessions which may not accurately reflect a a typical game session.
Chargeable play sessions are based on buying enough energy to fill the energy bar, sometimes this was more than the cost of the energy needed.
11
Many social games inadequately reward the player, and those rewards which initially excite, are often short term and can wear thin after repeated play. This can drive the need for synthetic game elements in order to drive the player forward…
Boredom, disillusionment, disengagement
Unlocking of new features
& functionality
Flam-boyance
Strategies can be learnt
leading to bigger gains
…but there are positive traits too:
Grind for grind’s sake
(passive grinding)
Saccharine rewards
Giving with one hand, taking with the other
Frugal rewarding of
hard currency
These negative design traits appear to be common…
Creative depth
Attention to detail
Inadequate reward & payback
12
Examples of positive design traits
13
Synthetic game elements are often used as a means to artificially manage a player’s engagement in the game, ultimately to encourage them to spend more time and (hopefully) money - but this can lead to a passive gameplay experience…
Player unlikely to bond with the game and may feel they have wasted time/money
Culturally relevant content
Immersive game
dynamics
Active grinding
Superficial story,
missions & quests
Illogical game rules
inhibit immersion
Work dressed as play rather than play
dressed as work
Non-localized content
…but there are positive traits too: These negative design traits appear to be common…
Synthetic game
elements
14
Examples of positive design traits
15
Passive gameplay limits the ways in which a player can interactive with and play with the game (to simplify and make accessible). Players likely to treat the game as purely amusements, fuelling the need for psychological tricks to convince a minority to spend significant sums of time or money in the game…
Reduced player engagement in the game, feelings of “going through the motions”, games treated as amusements
Skill based interaction
(timing, positioning, drag & drop)
Tactical thinking
Friend character interaction
Limited types of
interaction, often highly repetitive
Enforced waiting
Forced interaction
with friends, selfishly driven
Too few layers of
complexity
Cooperative play
…but there are positive traits too: These negative design traits appear to be common…
Passive game play
16
In summary, what are the positive design traits?
Player Immersion
Emotional connections
Balanced competition
system
Fairness
17
Enforced waiting seems to work against the desire of the player to spend time and enjoy the game…
18
Examples of positive design traits
19
How might these design traits undermine the future success of social games and what can be done about it? Players may feel psychologically compelled, feelings
of guilt, remorse Players may feel punished for wanting to play the
game, and/or for not being available to play
Real World Rewards
Give players gifts and incentives from partner brands:
Real World Incentives
Connect players to good causes to show how they can make an impact:
Time spent playing is a valuable commodity
Supporting causes and helping, or learning:
Less time driven and more action focused
Focus on tasks and actions within games and not punishment for failure to ‘mow the lawn’
- Incentives and offers from brands - Personalisation gained from data/actions - Share rewards with friends (not gifting)
- Give back to causes via virtual goods and time - Allow players to set goals to fundraise - Include friends in fundraising
- For giving back and helping causes - For learning - ‘Time Well Spent’ - ‘Babysitting’
- Tasks and time must be set in context - Emotional connections i.e. Village Life - Rich/wholesome experience - deeper engagement
20
How might these design traits undermine the future success of social games and what can be done about it?
Boredom, disillusionment, disengagement Player unlikely to bond with the game, feelings that time/money has been wasted
Task Accelerators
Provide task accelerators which:
Compelling rewards
Offer rewards which have real value, e.g.
Constant Novelty
Frequently surprise with novel features:
Emotional connections
Lead players to fall in love with your game:
“Culturalize” the game
Make the game culturally relevant:
• Properly fit the context of the game • Are rewarding to see • Surprise the player • Charity-based accelerator gifts
• Have utility • Are interactive • Are rare/valuable • Support charities • Strong attention to detail
• New ways to interact • New mini-games • Interaction with external organisations • New characters • New skills to learn
• Create personalities & relationships • Compelling collections • Personal content • High production values • Allow “bad” actions
• Language tailored to the target market • Localized assets, characters, objects • Reflect local charities
21
How might these design traits undermine the future success of social games and what can be done about it?
Reduced player engagement in the game, feelings of “going through the motions”, games treated as
amusements Deliver real value content
Make purchases count, focusing on true value rather than superficial “sugar” rewards, e.g.:
Provide Offsetting facilities
Enable players to “offset” the time and money spent through charity donations. For example:
• Offers competitive advantage • Enables new ways to play • Creates opportunity for new strategies • Emotionally stimulating • Charity based content
• Sponsored Friends • Charity bundles, including charity based content & donation • Charity based gifting
22
What design principles will define the major “hits” in the next generation of
social gaming?
23
So, what does “Compelling value” look like? - Social Gaming Next Generation Blueprint
Positive design traits from current generation
Counter-measures to
negative design traits
Inspiration from games
from our heritage
Social gaming
next generation
1 2 3 4
24
What inspiration can we take from great games from our heritage which have strong social elements?
25
What inspiration can we take from great games from our heritage which have strong social elements?
• Joint exploration • Task cooperation
• Item competitiveness • Interactive breadth
• Task cooperation • Item competitiveness
• Emotional connections • Continual novelty
• Character evolution • Active Grinding
• Attention to detail • Simple creativity
• Work dressed as play • Emotional connections
• Personalities • Collectability
• Interactive Breadth
• Continual novelty • Relationships
• Scalability • Mini games
• Education / self-improvement
• Harnessing of social bonds • “Schadenfruede”
• Simple creativity • Player generated content
• Joint exploration • Task cooperation
• Item competitiveness
• Deep creativity • Player generated content
• Emotional connections • Collectability
• Continual novelty • Active Grinding
• Mini games
26
What inspiration can we take from great games from our heritage which have strong social elements?
Novelty Compelling Progression
Emotional connections
Harnessing social bonds Creativity
High Production
Values
27
What inspiration can we take from great games from our heritage which have strong social elements?
Harnessing social bonds
Harnessing social bonds
Creativity
Emotional connections
Novelty High
production values
Creativity Compelling progression
Emotional connections
28
So, what does “Compelling value” look like? - Social Gaming Next Generation Blueprint
Positive design traits from current generation
Counter-measures to
negative design traits
Inspiration from games
from our heritage
Social gaming
next generation
1 2 3 4
Novelty Emotional connections
Harnessing Social Bonds
Compelling progression
High production values
Creativity
Context (Time & Actions) Fairness
Real world links
Share rewards
Wholesome design
Personalised experience
Emotional experience
Emotional Connections
Balanced competition
Player immersion
Lower ARPPU
Higher Conversion
Deeper engagement
29
What practical next steps should be considered?
Now 1-3 Months 9 Months + Identify player profiles, lifetime value (surveys, data mining)
Design and build new content to reflect cultural, emotional needs of players and A/B test
Create 12 month update plan of real world links, keeping these fresh and exciting
Assess cultural fit of the game, including real world links (if any)
Test brands (after profiles are identified and tested)
Review and refine content strategy for coming months (based on lessons learnt)
Determine emotional needs of players (positive & negative) and identify rewards, systems & effects
Test a Charity-Led promotion
Create or revise content plan for next 3 months to reflect cultural & emotion needs (prioritised based on player life time value)
Build and maintain detailed player profiles creating deep, long-term, player relationships)
30
Disclaimer
This publication has been prepared for general guidance on matters of interest only, and does not constitute professional advice. You should not act upon the information contained in this publication without obtaining specific professional advice. No representation or warranty (express or implied) is given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this publication, and, to the extent permitted by law, neither Mentez or Playmob, or their employees and agents accept or assume any liability, responsibility or duty of care for any consequences of you or anyone else acting, or refraining to act, in reliance on the information contained in this publication or for any decision based on it.
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