Social Gaming & Gambling Summit_Martin Williams

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

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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

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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”

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Common design traits and their impact on player’s perceptions and attitudes towards

social games

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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…

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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

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Examples of positive design traits

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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

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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.

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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

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Examples of positive design traits

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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

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Examples of positive design traits

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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

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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…

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Examples of positive design traits

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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

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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

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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

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What design principles will define the major “hits” in the next generation of

social gaming?

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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

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What inspiration can we take from great games from our heritage which have strong social elements?

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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)

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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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