7. 1 Feed the funnel
o To build a successful games
business, you must feed the
funnel
o Potential customers arrive
at the top. In the middle,
you convert them to
payers.
o At the bottom, they
become long-term, high-
spending customers.
8. 2 ARM yourself
o A successful online game
must Acquire users, Retain
them (usually overlooked!),
and Monetise them.
o All three aspects must be in
harmony.
o You need all three to build
a successful long-term
business.
9. 3 Make it free AND expensive
PRICE
Revenue opportunity
Marketing opportunity
Demand
o Giving your content away for free is a marketing
opportunity.
o You have to find your revenue opportunity.
o Draw customers along the curve by offering them
things they truly value.
10. 4 You’re making TV
o A film director can open his
movie slowly. Punters have
paid $10 and are unlikely to
leave in the first 10 minutes.
o A TV director has, maybe,
10 seconds to grab me or –
zap! – I’m gone.
o Make TV, not film!
11. 5 Tutorials don’t have to suck
o From the moment I start
playing your game, my
departure is only a click
away.
o Someone who has spent
$40 will put up with a dull
tutorial. Free games don’t
have that luxury!
o If your tutorial sucks, I’m out
of here. Make it fun, lively
and rewarding!
12. 6 Acquisition lasts longer than you think
o The Acquisition process doesn’t end when I click
“install”!
o 20 million people every month take a look at Cityville –
and never return!
o You haven’t got a customer until they spend 20
minutes playing. Make sure those first 20 minutes are
your best stuff!
13. 7 How hard can it be?
o You want people to
share updates with their
friends, so give them a
good reason.
o Players won’t share a
level-up, but they’ll share
something that made
them laugh.
o Frontierville made its
status updates smutty.
They got a 20% uplift in
sharing.
14. 8 Avoid the leaky bucket
o Acquiring customers is both
hard and expensive.
o Once you get them, focus
on retention to keep them.
o Don’t worry about getting
new customers until you
can satisfy the ones you’ve
got!
15. 9 Acquisition is fractal
o Think of ARM across your ecosystem, not just for a
single game.
o One game might be great at viral acquisition, but
rubbish at retention.
o Scotland’s T-Enterprise acquires customers by
launching satirical games based on current affairs.
16. 10 Time is of the essence
o Time is the main asset in
most connected games,
not currency
o Timed events mean players
make an appointment to
return to the game.
o Make this into the core of
your retention strategy.
17. 11 Open those loops
o Humans hate leaving
started tasks unfinished.
o Ensure players always have
multiple tasks underway.
o Harvesting, missions, quests,
collections, training – the
possibilities are endless.
18. 12 Keep the loops open
o At all times, give your
players lots to do. 00d:00h:03m
o Short term tasks keep 00d:00h:30m
players engaged moment
by moment. 00d:03h:00m
o Longer term tasks drive 03d:00h:00m
retention, bringing players
back to the game several
times a day or over weeks.
19. 13 You’ve started so you’ll finish
o At all times, give your players lots to do.
o Short term tasks keep players engaged moment by
moment.
o Longer term tasks drive retention, bringing players
back to the game several times a day or over weeks.
20. 14 The player will see you now
o Let me decide when I want to come back to your
game.
o Offer a range of timed actions. Can I come back in 2
hours, or am I away for a weekend, and need a 3-
day action?
o Farmville’s crops allow me to promise to come back
at a time of my own choosing.
21. 15 Spare the rod
o If the game TOLD me to come back and I didn’t, a
punishment feels unfair.
o If I promised to return and didn’t, a punishment feels
harsh but fair.
o Punish for broken promises, not for failing to follow
orders. (Your game shouldn’t be giving me orders
anyway!)
22. 16 The rule of 0-1-100
o Everyone can play for free
– that’s $0.
o Make it really, really easy to
spend $1.
o Make it possible for
someone who really loves
your game to spend $100
per month.
23. 17 Free means free
o It’s okay for people to play
the game for free. It should
be fun to play, for free,
forever.
o A demo or trial is a totally
different emotional
experience to a game
that’s free forever.
o You aren’t giving
freeloaders your game
demo. You’re giving them
your game!
24. 18 Free means free
o If you want me to buy
prestige items, I need to
know that others will see
them!
o If you’re sitting at home on
your own, do you wear
your finest clothes – or slob
out in jeans and T-shirt?
o Few people would buy a
Ferrari if nobody was there
to look at it!
25. 19 Make it a no-brainer
o The first dollar I spend is the
most valuable to you – it
creates a buying
behaviour.
o Tiny Tower lifts are a cheap
“no-brainer” first purchase.
o Stronghold Kingdoms gives
me ongoing bonuses in
return for spending ANY
money in the game.
26. 20 Get to $100 the slow way
o It’s easier for most people
to spend $1 a hundred
times than to spend $100
once.
o Create cheap items that
players get into the habit of
buying regularly.
o Regular spenders of small
amounts can be whales
too!
27. 21 Consumables for fun and profit
o The ideal consumable item
doesn’t affect gameplay
massively, can be sold over
and over, and costs
nothing to make
o Tower Bux. Pocket Frogs
potions. Stronghold
Kingdoms trading cards.
Farmville unwithers.
o Find something the
consumer wants –
repeatedly!
28. 22 High rollers want to spend. Let ‘em
o How to get to $100 a month? One way is to sell
something very expensive.
o Glu Mobile’s Gun Bros offers a gun for $500.
o Bigpoint Dark Orbit has a hugely expensive
spaceship; EVE Online charges $70 for a monocle.
29. 23 Be generous
o Be happy to give things to
your players for free.
o Their goodwill and
affection is your strongest
asset.
o Give away your best game
content and embrace the
freeloaders.
31. 25 Add friction
o Game design is about
taking friction out.
o Freemium design is about
adding friction.
o GOOD freemium design is
about finding a balance –
just enough friction to
encourage some players to
pay, without ruining it for
the rest of us.
32. 26 Pre-register for the book
o http://www.gamesbrief.com/52-game-idea-bombs/
o THANK YOU FOR LISTENING
