social gold: the design of farmville and other social games (web2expo 2010)
DESCRIPTION
Amitt Mahajan discusses common game design techniques used within Zynga's popular social games to create experiences that encourage user acquisition, retention, and investment.TRANSCRIPT
Connecting the World Through Games
Social Gold: The Design of FarmVille and Other Social Games
May 5, 2010
Amitt Mahajan - Zynga
Questions to answer
• How do I get people to play my game?
• How do I get people to tell their friends?
• How do I get people to stick around?
• How do I get people to invest?
Why do people play social games?
• Alleviate boredom
• Connect with friends
• Competition
Appealing to a wide audience
• Choose a broad non-offensive theme
• Keep core gameplay simple
• Consider international players
Choosing a theme
• Broader the better
• Appeal to something folks already know
• Avoid offensive subjects
Simple design wins
• Maintain a natural gameflow
• Increase decision points
• Reduce UI complexity
Inventory
Capturing a player
• Hidden but effective tutorial
• Gradually introduce complexity
• Focus on non-design challenges as well
More Complex More Complex
Treasure Fruit
Cater to different play styles
• Players find different types of fun in your game
• Provide several ways to win
• Get them to interact with each other
One Playstyle
Another Playstyle
Product clarity
• Single strong voice
• Have a long-term vision for gameplay
• Consistent art direction
Art direction
• Appeal to a fantasy
• Bright and colorful
• Avoid excessive detail
• Humor adds character
Appeal to a Fantasy
Sound
• Music adds atmosphere
• Sounds should be un-intrusive
• Capture a movie to provide direction on sound
Growing through social
• Forcing social causes negative reactions
• Integrate social elements into core gameplay
• Surface social actions by friends
Different types of social
• Light– Pokes, “Likes”
• Heavy– Comments, Wall Posts
• Have a mixture
Growing through metrics
• Metrics help you figure out what works
• 3 core metrics– Reach
– Retention
– Revenue
• Test your ideas and see what sticks
Increasing retention
• Leave your audience wanting more
• Remind the player to come back
• Let their friends help
Play sessions
• Keep them short
• Provide a goal for the player
• Link sessions together
X
Sustaining players
• Regularly scheduled updates
• Long term value
• Events
Moments of joy
• “Cool” events in your game
• Make the player feel good
• Leverage art to create these
Moments of Joy
Play, invest, express
• Engage users first
• Make it easy to convert
• Surface the value they are receiving
Play Currency Paid Currency
Enable expression
• Allow the reversal of mistakes
• Status symbols
• Social ROI
Wrap-up
How do I get people to play my game?Have a simple design and a theme that is relatable
How do I get people to tell their friends?Make social part of your core gameplay and not forced
How do I get people to stick around?Give them a reason to come back and something to aspire to
How do I get people to invest?Engage players and provide an easy way to express
themselves
Questions?
Twitter: @amittmBlog: www.amitt.com