Balancing Virtual Economies in free2play Games

KPI driven Game Design and monetization of Virtual Goods

The journey so far

Education:

Game Design & 3D Art, Games Academy

Work:

Game Design & 3D Art, northworks Software

Head of Publisher Relations, Balao/GratisPay

Producer, Bigpoint

Sr. Product Manager, MondiaMedia

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What can be item sales?

• Customization/Vanity-Items– (Rooms, pets, cloth, …)

• Advantages– (Bigger cannons, better

ships,…)

• Features– (Instant action, comfort …)

• Probabilities– (Drop rates, safety …)

Everything that has a need!

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Social Needs & Bragging Rights

(unique, individual, rich$ …)

Drive to Collect(I want it all!)

Advantages(bigger, better, faster,

stronger …)

Instinct to Play(Let‘s have fun!)

Improved Experience(Winning is fun!)

Also see: Maslow‘s hierarchy of needs and the concept of flow

Rewards(Success, acceptance,

recognition …)

Balance!Balance!

How to create a need (Bragging Approach)

Tracking “the need”

• Analysis is a key factor for success

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User specific tracking• What pages he visits most?• Which items does he use?• …

Item specific tracking• How many are in the game?• Which sell best and when?• …

Key Performance Indicators

• What KPIs to track?

– Registration to Active User– Registration to Paying User– Average Revenue per Paying User– …

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KPI Driver Example: Events

• Main activity drivers (CCUO)

• Lead to engagement and recurrence (Activity- /Login Rate)

• Can be revenue driver (Consumption Track Items)

• Example:– Seasonal Event: Hunt & Loot– Aim: consumption and activity– Mechanics:

– Result: users buy X1 and immediately reuse it, event engages to come back

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X3

Balancing Methods

• Time vs. Money (all Items can be achieved via playtime)• Skill vs. Money (XP booster, a core gamer still kicks ass)• Occurrence vs. Money (drop rates/probability of release)• Expiring Date vs. Money (condition can vanish / if an item is

big – it has to be short lasting)

• Keep it fair:– P2P Market Place (with fees you still make money/fraud!)– Pay Item Auction House (Time vs. Money)– Serve bragging rights no advantages (Trophies, statistics)

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Balancing Examples: Soft Monetization

• Sports-game with fair-play community:– Talent cards regulated by appearance depending on

their value • Occurrence -> common, uncommon, rare, ultra-rare

– Your players get talent slots with rising experience • Advantages regulated by time

– Probability of release for a card• Way to value a card

– Every tactic has a counter tactic• Skill vs. Money

– Special point budget for card use per session

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• Player owns biggest tank (20 €)• Tank has 10 cannon slots (each cannon 2 €)• Every cannon fires 5 rounds per minutes (0,0001€/round)

10 x 5 x 0,0001 = 0,005 €/every minute fighting

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Balancing Example: hard monetization

Risks in free2play & Solutions

• User ruins himself– Free2Play Games with virtual goods allow the user to spend

unlimited amounts of money • Set up limits (daily/weekly/monthly )• Age verification

• P2P Fraud– Multi Accounting, Phishing, aso.

• Take a commission fee when P2P trade is allowed• Players trade to the bank -> prices calculated by the

system• Bad Experience

– Losing against money lowers your gaming experience• What kind of game do you have? Do you care?• What kind of community do you have? Do they care?• Develop Items that can only be bought by Virtual-Currency

– Make them short lasting & expensive, but ass-kicking takes money out of the game

• Don‘t become greedy!

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Test, Track, Try Again …

"Learning doesn't happen from failure itself but rather from analyzing the failure, making a

change, and then trying again.“- Michael Hunter

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Creatives vs. Analysts

Building a profitable gaming company is NOT A LOTTERY!

• VCs just focus on numbers and success stories Reputation + PPT + Excelsheet = funding

• Game Developers are to self centered Our baby we know it best = fail

Developers!: Learn your math, analyze your strategy, built a monetization design focused on market needs and challenge everyone against KPIs!

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Questions?

Julian HuehnermannRevenue Strategist

Email: julian@gizmogames.de

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