Tips to structure the game's high level design. Slides from design talk at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore.

1. BASIC DESIGN
FRAMEWORK
STRUCTURES AND DECONSTRUCTS

2. THINKING IN CORE LOOPS
● Core Loops are a series of actions
that are repeated over and over
throughout a game.
● Layers of depth can be added to
the core loop.
● Core Loops help you define and
controls the player experience and
game sessions.
Designing Loops by Gamethinking.io

3. CORE LOOPS ≠ MECHANICS
Pacman Mechanics by Videogameworkshop.com

5. Unlock Upgrades
Unlock Items
Battle Level Up
Unlock
Content
Buy /
Upgrade
Trophies
Coins
XP
Coins
DESCRIBE
YOUR GAME’S CORE LOOP
WITH SYSTEMS AND DEFINE THE
ECONOMY IN DETAIL.
Cash
Cash
League Up
Coins

6. KEY FACTORS
- F2P GAME/FEATURE CORE LOOP
● MAP OUT
○ ACTION
○ REWARD
○ PROGRESS
● ADD
○ ECONOMY
○ FLOWS
○ TRIGGERS

7. BEST PRACTICES
FOR A SOLID CORE LOOP
● SET CLEAR TARGETS
● SIMPLE AND SHORT
● UTILIZE PLAYER EXPECTATIONS
● BUILD FOR DEPTH
● PROTOTYPE AND ITERATE
● BENCHMARK YOUR GENRE

8. META FRAMEWORK
GROWTH OF PLAYER EXPERIENCES OVER PERIODS OF TIME
● OFFER INVESTMENT
○ Progress
○ Motivation
● USE SOCIAL HOOKS
○ Cooperation
○ Competition
○ Communication
● EVOLVE PLAYER LIFECYCLES
○ Early/Mid/Late game content
○ Superfan gameplay
○ Converted player experiences..

9. DESIGN FOR MONETIZATION
FIND WHAT WORKS FOR YOU
● PRICING (F2P, Premium)
● GATING (Demo/Full Version, Paywalls)
● SUBSCRIPTIONS
● ADS
● SPONSORS
Rethinking your game monetisation strategy - Adi Haddad

10. FUN?
Break down the Experience in Structures.
- Onboarding
- Tutorials, FTUE
- Accessibility
- Controls, Complexity, Session Duration
- Feedback Loop
- Positive and Negative reinforcements
- Difficulty and flow
- Aesthetics
- Achievements...

11. Key Performance Indicators

12. GAME HEALTH
- DOWNLOADS
- Organic
- UA
- DAU
- Retained Players
- New Players
- Retention
- D1, D7, D14, D28, D60+..
- Engagement
- Number of sessions
- Session Duration
Measuring mobile app engagement - Ashley Kibler

13. REVENUE TRACKING
- ARPDAU
- ARPU
- ARPPU
- LTV
- Conversion
- Ad LTV

14. QNA
Thanks! Reach out to me at
SAFAL.KAPOOR@GMAIL.COM