Amitt Mahajan discusses common game design techniques used within Zynga's popular social games to create experiences that encourage user acquisition, retention, and investment.

1. Social Gold: The Design of FarmVille and Other Social Games May 5, 2010 Amitt Mahajan - Zynga

2. 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?

3. Why do people play social games? Alleviate boredom Connect with friends Competition

4. Appealing to a wide audience Choose a broad non-offensive theme Keep core gameplay simple Consider international players

5. Choosing a theme Broader the better Appeal to something folks already know Avoid offensive subjects

6. Simple design wins Maintain a natural gameflow Increase decision points Reduce UI complexity

7. Inventory Capturing a player Hidden but effective tutorial Gradually introduce complexity Focus on non-design challenges as well More Complex More Complex Treasure Fruit

8. 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

9. One Playstyle

10. Another Playstyle

11. Product clarity Single strong voice Have a long-term vision for gameplay Consistent art direction

12. Art direction Appeal to a fantasy Bright and colorful Avoid excessive detail Humor adds character

13. Appeal to a Fantasy

14. Sound Music adds atmosphere Sounds should be un-intrusive Capture a movie to provide direction on sound

15. Growing through social Forcing social causes negative reactions Integrate social elements into core gameplay Surface social actions by friends

16. Different types of social Light Pokes, “Likes” Heavy Comments, Wall Posts Have a mixture

17. Growing through metrics Metrics help you figure out what works 3 core metrics Reach Retention Revenue Test your ideas and see what sticks

18. Increasing retention Leave your audience wanting more Remind the player to come back Let their friends help

19. Play sessions Keep them short Provide a goal for the player Link sessions together X

20. Sustaining players Regularly scheduled updates Long term value Events

21. Moments of joy “Cool” events in your game Make the player feel good Leverage art to create these

22. Moments of Joy

23. Play, invest, express Engage users first Make it easy to convert Surface the value they are receiving Play Currency Paid Currency

24. Allow the reversal of mistakes Status symbols Social ROI Enable expression

25. 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

26. Questions?Twitter: @amittmBlog: www.amitt.com