Game ThinkingAmy Jo Kim, Ph.D.

amyjokim.comCo-Founder & Game Designer shufflebrain.comCreator & Head Coach getting2alpha.com

Lean Startup Conference 2015

Turbo-Charge your Product Design with

WelcomeI’m glad

you’re here

Is this you?

• need to accelerate early design process

• tough to find the right early customers

• hard to make a stripped-down MVP

What You Will Learn

Actionable techniques for creating a better product in less timewith Game Thinking

As a child I loved to play

As a child I loved to play

But I didn’t love to compete

one nighton a beach

in Greecemy creativity

was re-ignighted

I found another way to play

I developed my coop design

skills

then one day, I got THE CALL

we created a breakthrough hit

which led to more breakthrough hits

and insights into Game Thinking

Design your experience to evolve over time1

Design is not just what it looks like & feels like. Design is how it works.

Steve Jobs

is for Enthusiastswhat is my customer’s end-to-end experience?

Discovery

Onboarding

Habit-Building

Mastery

how does it evolve over time?

is for Enthusiasts

Discovery

Discovery is for VisitorsIs this right for me? What’s the value proposition?

is for EnthusiastsOnboarding is for Newbies

Discovery

Onboarding

How do I learn the ropes? When do I start getting value?

is for EnthusiastsHabit-building is for Regulars

Discovery

Onboarding

Habit-Building

What pulls me back? What am I getting better at?

is for EnthusiastsMastery is for Enthusiasts

Discovery

Onboarding

Habit-Building

Mastery

Can I leverage the skills & knowledge I’ve built?

is for Enthusiasts

Discovery

Onboarding

Habit-Building

Mastery

end-to-end customer experience

is for EnthusiastsStage 1: Discovery is for Visitors

Social Discovery via Friends & Colleagues

is for EnthusiastsStage 1: Onboarding is for Newbies

Learn the ropes with a friendly bot

is for EnthusiastsStage 1: Habit-building is for Regulars

Customized group chat with emojis, bots & integrations

is for EnthusiastsStage 1: Mastery is for Enthusiasts

Launch a channel, program a bot, integrate your app

a conversational, extensible environment — built to enable UGC & player creativity

Slack evolves to match your skill level

Find the fun within your Core Loop2

Fun is just another word for learning.

Raph Kosterauthor, A Theory of Fun

Fun means different things to different people

What is a game?

a system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that

results in a quantifiable outcome** Source: Rules of Play

Zero-Sum Game

We are opponents

I Win You Lose

Head-to-Head Battles War Simulations

Rank-Ordered Competitions Gambling

a structured experience with rules and goals that’s fun to play together*

* Source: The Player’s Journey (forthcoming)

We are partners

Non-Zero-Sum Game

Win-WinLose-Lose

Martial Arts Charity Walk

Double Dutch Pictionary

What kind of fun are your customers looking for?

Do they want to be partners? or opponents?

In a loop, you’re learning a skill and updating your mental model. That’s what leads to player delight.

Dan Cookco-founder, Spry Fox

Operant ConditioningAKA Skinner Box?

XOperant ConditioningAKA Skinner Box?

Skill-building =making customers more awesome

Skill-building =making customers more awesome

Core Loop = skill-building habit loop

Skill-Building Core Loop

Finding the fun in a co-op music game

PartyTime! urge for a fun social activity

Play a Song Together

Get your Score, Accolades, $$

get better, play harder songs & bigger venues

Core Loop

Feedback & Progress

Investment Path

Activity

Internal Trigger

Beat the Song

Engaged Trigger

Finding the fun in a team collaboration tool

Check Updates urge to connect with your team

Read & Respond to

Updates

No More Updates Need

Attention

Customize your channel &

expressions

Activity Chain

Feedback & Progress

Investment Path

Internal Trigger

Core Loop

Check Updates urge to connect with your team

Read & Respond to

Updates

No More Updates Need

Attention

Customize your experience

Trigger

Activity

Engaging activity satisfies an urge or need

Internal Trigger

Core Loop

Feedback &progresspromote learning & mastery

EscapeTime! urge to dive into an escapist world

Read & Respond to

Updates

No More Updates Need

Attention

Customize your experience

Feedback & Progress

Core Loop

EscapeTime! urge to dive into an escapist world

Read & Respond to Updates

No More Updates Need Attention

Customize your experience

Investment Path

Investment & triggers pull people back

Engaged Trigger

Check Notifications

Core Loop

Skill-building =making customers more awesome

Core Loop =making customers more skillful

Wanna build long-term engagement?

Start with a skill-building Core Loop

Connect with your super-fans3

In a multi-player game, the people playing are more valuable than all the animations, models & game logic

Gabe NewellCEO, Valve

Crossing the ChasmGeoffrey Moore, 1991

Everett Rogers, 1961

Innovation Diffusion Theory

To cross the chasm…

Find & delighta few passionateearly customers

the fans out there are entertaining us, the developers, with their creations!

Will Wrightdesigner, The Sims

Leverage your relationships with Super Fans

Slack came to life as a collaboration tool for a distributed team building a co-op game

solve a real problem for a small group

Bring ideas to life with Game Thinking

How can you benefit from Game Thinking?

Accelerate & focus your design process+

Identify & leverage the right early customers

+Build a stripped-down yet compelling MVP

Launching in 2016

Getting2Alpha Masterclassonline course for entrepreneurs & product leaders

Getting2Alpha MVP ClubVIP coaching for innovative product teams

getting2alpha.com

let’s stay in touch @amyjokim amyjokim.com getting2alpha.com