An absolute day in paradise….
9 hours of the most action packed LIVE online games & social games orgy I have ever experienced.
It was like I died, went to heaven – din’t really like that place and the checked into the Flash Gaming Summit ( see twitter #FGS) that happened in San Fran today.
Some of the mind altering quotes from all the presenters (all mixed up) with a bit of explanation from me..
Q – What kind of social games do you make?
A – The kind that we would play even if the game was from a major competitor. The kind that my employees would play on the sly while on the job risking getting fired…
Q – How do you measure returns on Installs (Facebook)
A – Not all installs were created Equal!!
( I thought this was the golden quote of the day) – The explanation was that downloads from the Philippines will get you massive daily users but no revenue – so you may rank up the charts but will be burning thru your servers – USA audiences cost the most and monetize the best also! So dont just run after downloads – go for quality users
Q – How do I get more Viral
A – Make sure you have ‘Smack Talk’ triggers ( means that you can beat someone on a game and then directly go to his wall and kinda politely tell him that you beat him)
Smack Talk drives HUGE VIRALITY!
Q – What are the key metrics that you use to measure success of a social game?
A – I dont care about anything but whether people LOVE my game. Thats all. Do people play the game for the LOVE of it. Get that sorted and the rest will follow…
Q – What was the inspiration for ‘Crime City’?
A – We felt that Mafia wars was DUMB. It was a text based game and had killing etc without any action! If a crime game became so enjoyable in such limp format, we decided to add a SIMS and GTA element to it and blow it out of the water!!
Q – Do users like to pay for virtual goods?
A – NO. They hate the game developer and the game for making them pay. They think its their BIRTHRIGHT to have free games!! Their thinking is ‘We are TIME RICH – NOT MONEY RICH’ – so make me use time to earn my goodies!!!
When games have lots of micro transactions, kids begin to feel vindictive and even send hate mail to developers!
Q – How do I test my games
A – Do the ’10 year’ test – meaning that catch any 10 year old gir or boy and make her or him play the game. If she does play, its easy. If she stays playing, its addictive!!!
Q – What themes are worth making
A – New different themes. Baking, Monsters etc . How many Farms can you sow (meaning that Farmville clones are doomed)
SOME AWESOME GAME ART WAS ON SALE AS PAINTINGS AND POSTERS!!
The conference had over 500 attendees from every possible gaming company that is worth being considered a gaming company! It was just walking in and out of sessions, grabbing coffees and sodas and just ‘hanging out’ true California style!
A great day of socializing, saying hi to old friends and making new ones and just sitting back, watching the games that won special awards and saying to yourself ‘ OMG – how can anyone think like this’!!
The event dinner ended with a massive drinks and snacks party with an Open Bar and everyone leaving with a slightly fuzzy but enlightened head!!!
Hic..
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Mahesh Khambadkone
Awesome, pointed summary Alok.
I think you would agree on some of the other boggling points :
Q – How much do you make through micro transactions?
We make more money per day through micro-transactions than 2X the total revenue made on our free-to-play portal.
It’s quite likely audience on their portal was marginal, but from of the other presentations made on the day, a $250-$500-per-day revenue stream from a modestly successful game is possible.
Q – How important are the viral hooks ?
A They’re helpful in the growth trajectory of your game, but if it’s a good game, it will drive it’s own traffic.
Viral options that existed in the older Facebook games (aka spam) is no longer possible due to Facebook restrictions. However, focusing on a greater user experience and ‘virality’ disguised as updates that your friends will find fun or informative about yourself, is a greater source of traffic.