My talk from Northern Game Summit at Kajaani, Finland, focusing on tricks of the trade regarding design games that are free to play but monetize with micro-transactions such as in-app-purchases. The design problem is broken down to two approaches, with emphasis on the more complex model of monetizing with a variety of virtual goods. The presentation ends with 5 tips on how to design for F2P success.

1. Free
to
Play,
Tricky
to
Design
Aki
Järvinen,
Crea9ve
Director,
Ph.D.
1
Northern
Game
Summit,
Kajaani,
September
28,
2012

2. Social
games?
• Games
on
mobile
or
online
which
leverage
social
network
@es
for
gameplay
– Browser:
e.g.
Facebook
– Mobile:
iOS,
Android
2

3. 5
Things
you
should
know
about
Social
Game
Development
• It’s:
– Metrics-­‐driven
– SoQware
as
Service
– Cross-­‐plaSorm
– Free-­‐to-­‐play
business
model
– Extremely
compe@@ve
market
3

4. Agenda
• Free
to
Play
–
what
is
it?
• Two
kinds
of
F2P
• Tips:
How
to
design
for
F2P
success
4

5. Defining
Free
to
Play
5

6. What
is
it?
• ‘Free-­‐to-­‐play
(F2P)
refers
to
any
video
game
or
social
or
mobile
applica@on
that
has
the
op@on
of
allowing
its
players/users
to
play/download
without
paying.’
h_p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_to_play
• The
term
‘freemium’
implies
a
‘premium’
version
• F2P
≠
Freemium
6

7.
“F2P
sucks”
–
well,
not.
http://blog.sergeydgr8.com/2011/08/19/need-for-speed-world-sucks-other-free-to-play-games-suck-too/
7

8. F2P
games
and
game
design
• Two
kinds,
in
terms
of
game
design:
– ‘Core’
F2P
model
– ‘Surface’
F2P
model
Surface
Core
8

9. ’Surface'
F2P
game
design
model
• Selling
more
content,
such
as
levels
or
addi@onal
tries
• And/or
selling
specific
func@onality:
par@cular
game
mechanic
for
e.g.
convenience
• Design
is
embedded
into
the
content
structure,
or
single
/
simple
core
mechanic
9

10. Surface
model
–
Tricky?
• Pre_y
straighSorward
• Surface
model
is
simple
• It’s
value
proposi@on
is
immediately
clear
to
even
the
most
casual
of
players
Pay
to
play
more!
10

11. Surface
model:
Quali@es
• Lives
and
dies
with
the
simple/single
mechanic
• Tied
to
content
produc@on
• No
need
to
include
a
virtual
currency
in
the
design
• No
free
way
to
play
for
the
player
aQer
the
ini@al
wall
hit,
in
terms
of
content
or
difficulty
• Yet,
if
you
reach
significant
download
numbers,
can
be
very
profitable
11

12. Two
F2P
game
design
models
Surface
Core
12

13. ’Core'
F2P
game
design
model
• Selling
variety
of
virtual
goods
rather
than
gameplay
content:
– Game
resources
– Func@onal
items
– Early
Access
– Time
– You
name
it!
• Sinks
&
sources
virtual
economy
model
13

14. Core
model
–
Tricky?
• Definitely!
• Core
brings
with
it
complex
systems;
mul@ple
con@ngencies
across
sinks
and
sources
14

15. Core
model:
Quali@es
• Free
play
needs
to
be
accommodated
as
well
• Thus,
conversion
a
lot
tougher
• Yet
built
for
repeat
purchases
• Flexibility:
More
items
means
more
price
points
• Result:
Supports
higher
customer
life9me
value
(LTV)goals
15

16. The
Latest
Hotness
in
Core
Model
http://deconstructoroffun.blogspot.fi/2012/09/clash-of-clans-winning-formula.html 16

17. Tradi@onal
VS
F2P
Game
Design
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_Wars http://apps.facebook.com/armyattack
17

18. Core:
Tricky
to
Design
• Bo_om
line:
– Core
F2P
mechanics
are
a
breed
of
their
own
– Core
F2P
is
a
‘design
lens’
of
its
own
18

19. 5
Tips
for
F2P
game
design
19

20. 1.
Design
for
Reten@on
• retention ¦ri ten ch ən¦
• noun
• the continued possession, use, or control of
something
20

21. DnRU
Moving
the
Needle
Profitable
Game
Design
21

22. Reten@on
is
everything
The
short
and
long
term
‘winters’
need
to
be
crystal
clear
in
your
players’
minds
22

23. Content-­‐driven
reten@on,
or
Skill-­‐driven
reten@on,
or
both
23

24. 24

25. 2.
Design
for
Virtual
Goods
and
how
to
surface
them
via
merchandizing
25

26. Case:
Profitable
Game
Design
FB Credits Revenue Distribution
26

27. 3.
Design
for
Rivalries
• =
Design
for
a
virtual
arms
race
between
individual
or
alliance
rivals
27

28. 4.
Design
Away
from
Content
• Design
gameplay
systems
• In
live
produc@on
context,
aim
for
profitable
game
design
=
feature
ROI
28

29. 29

30. 5.
Design
for
Pay
to
Win…
• …but
balance
for
grind
to
compete/commit
• Furthermore,
design
for
– Pay
to
progress
– Pay
for
convenience
30

31. 31

32. 6.
Design
away
from
audience
fa@gue
• Design
for
conven@ons
yet
12
months
into
the
future
32

33. Execute
all
this…
33

34. …
and
you
are
designing
for
high
LTV!
=
Your
players
Stay
and
Pay
within
the
Core
F2P
Model
34

35. Fun
mone9zes
well,
and
F2P
takes
nothing
away
from
the
fun!
35

36. h_ps://www.facebook.com/CrazyPenguinWars
36

37. ajarvinen@digitalchocolate.com
h_p://www.digitalchocolate.com
Thank
You!
@aquito
on
Twi_er
37