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)
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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