Project OverviewTable of Contents

1. Market Analysis2. Monetization Plan3. Game Overview

•Gamegenreandstyle •TargetAudience •Thesingle-playergame •Themulti-playergame Project Phases1.PreliminaryDesign2.Proof of Concept3.In-DepthDesign4.Alpha5. Beta & Refinement6.Rollout7.Upgraded

Design Considerations •Performance •Fun •Monetization •Balance •Security

Market Analysis

Adrevenuehasnotproventobeaviablerevenuestreamforindividualdevelopers,butratherseemstobeprofitableonlyforcontentaggregators.Sincetheaggregationmarketseemstobesaturated,theredoesn’tseemtobemuchroomtheretomoveinto.Flashgamestypicallyhavedrawbacksthatpreventthemfrombeingviablesourcesofrevenue:

s If allof thelogicisintheflashmovie,it’sveryeasyforaggregatorsto“steal”con-tent.

s Securityfeaturessuchasdomaincheckingaretypicallyveryeasytodefeatwiththeuseof decompilers.whichleadstothequestions,“howdowepreventtheftof con-tent?”and“howdowemonetizecontent?”thebestwaytopreventtheftof contentisthroughtheuse0f serversidecode.if allormostof thegamelogicishandledwithserver-sidecode,thereturnoninvestmentforcontentthievesdropstothepointwheretheftisn’tcost-effective,asthecodewouldneedtobereverse-engineeredandrewrittenatagreatercostthantheinitialdevelopment.Itwouldbeeasierforthemtosimplycopythegamefromscratch.Monetizingcontenthasbeendonesuccessfullybyseveralsites,includingAdventureQuest(battleon.com),Travian(travian.com),andGaiaOnline(gai-aonline.com).

AdventureQuestisaFlash-basedbrowserRPG(roleplayinggame).Itisasingle-playergame,withnomultiplayercontent.Thegraphicsandanimationarefairlycleanandhavedecentquality.Itsmainstrengthisinthequantityof itscontent;newquestsandothercontentareaddedtothegameonaweeklybasis.Itsmaindrawbacksarelackof multiplayercontentandserverqueues(whentheserversbecome“full”,playersmustwaitinaqueuebeforetheycanplay).AQhasamembershipof xxxplayers,withanaver-ageof 10,000usersplayingatanyonetime.

The game is free to play, but users may pay for enhancements in two ways:

1. Becoming a ìGuardianî, a one-time subscription fee of $20 or $25 that provides the

following benefits:

s contentnotavailabletofreeaccounts,includingitems,quests,locations,andothers

s theabilitytoskiptheserverqueueandalwaysbeabletologinandplayimmediately

s the$25optionprovidesquickerleveling.

2.Bypurchasingaspecializedformof currency,whichcanthenbeusedtopurchaseingameitems.ThiscurrencycanonlybepurchasedbyuserswithaGuardianaccount.

AdventureQuestalsofeaturesbanneradsfromadnetworks.

Travian isaPHP-basedstrategygamewithnoFlashcontent.Itisamulti-playergame,withveryslimsingle-playercontent.Thegraphicsareof goodquality.Itcurrentlyhasaround130kactiveplayers,withabout5-10%of itsplayerbaseonlineatanygiventime.Thegameisfreetoplay,butusersmaypayforaspecializedcurrencywithwhichausercanpurchasethefollowingenhancements:

Increasedrateof resourcegatheringfora7-dayperiod

Instantaneouscompletionof allproductionandresearchtasks

A7-daysubscriptiontoTravianPlus,which,inadditiontoseveraldatareportingenhancements,allowstheusertoqueuebuildingsforproductionratherthanforcingtheusertologontoordernewproductionwhenabuildingisfinished.Thisisaparticularlycleverenhancement,asuserspayforwhatamountstoareductioninserverload!

ItisinterestingtonotethatTravianchangedrevenuemodels.Atrelease,theonlyop-tionavailableforpurchasewasTravianPlus,whichwasavailableinincrementsof severalmonths.Thisnewsystemallowsmoreflexibilitytotheuser,providesmorechoices,andallowstheusertomakeimpulseone-timepurchasesinadditiontothesubscription-stylepurchases.Traviandoesnotusebanneradsfromadnetworks.

s Gaia Online isanamalgamof gamingandsocialnetworking.Itboaststheworld’slargestInternetmessageboard,withover14millionusers.Itsgraphicsaretopnotch,andhasananimestyle.IthasFlashgamesandothercontent.Apartfromtheso-cialaspects,thehighly-customizableuseravatarisalargedrawtothesite.Membershipisfree,butuserscanpurchasein-gamecurrencywhichcanbeusedtobuyclothingandac-cessoriesfortheircharacter.Somein-gameitemscanonlybepurchasedwithreal-worldcurrency.Gaiaalsofeaturesbanneradsfromadnetworks.

Monetization Plan

Acommonthemeamongtheabove-mentionedsitesistheabilitytosignupandplayforfree,withtheoptiontopurchasein-gamecurrencywhichcanbeusedtoobtaincertainadvantages.FantasyConquestwillfollowasimilarmodel:

Useraccountswillbefreetosignupandplay.

Banneradswillsupplementsiteincome. Userswillbeabletopurchasesubscriptionsinmonthly,threemonth,andsixmonthincrementsthatwillincludeenhancementssuchas:

removalof bannerads

accesstodeluxecontent

theabilitytoattack/build/etcmorethanonceatatime

s Userswillbeabletopurchasespecializedcurrencywhichcanbeusedforimmediatepurchasesincluding:

thecompletionof pendingtasks

resetof acharacter’sname/appearance/skills/etc

specialofferitems/equipment

Game Overview

s Game Genre and StyleFantasyConquestisareal-timemulti-playerstrategygamewithaCelticfantasylookandfeel.Itusesacombinationof PHPandFlashfortheuserinterface,withallof thegamelogicontheserverside.Thegameworldisa500x500gridof provinces,dividedintofourquadrants.Eachprovincehasseveralterritories,andinthecenterof theprovinceisadruidgrove.Sincethegameworldisnotaninfinitesize,newserverswillbeaddedasgameworldsbecomehighlypopulated.

s Target Audience

ThetargetaudienceforFantasyConquestisearly-20stolate-30smaleswithmodestamountsof disposableincome.Becausethegamecanbeplayedforafewmin-utesatatimeandleftforlongperiods,itisidealforstudentsandpeoplewhoworkinanofficesetting.Thegamewillappealmainlytohighly-competitiveplayerswhoenjoymicro-management,butshouldholdsomeappealforcasualgamersaswell.

The Single-Player Game

Eachplayerstartsthegamewithhismaincharacter,aleveloneDruid,whorepresentstheleaderof theuser’sarmy.Theplayerisplacedinthedruidgroveof arandomunoccupiedprovinceinthequadrantof hischoice.Thedruidgroveisinitiallyempty,anditisuptotheplayertostrategicallyfillthegrovewithplants,tonurtureandgrowthemtomaturity,andthusbuildhispersonalpower.Fromhisgrove,thedruidwillbeabletorecruitcertainsylvancreaturesbasedonwhichplantshechoosestogrow.Maintainingagrovewillappealtoplayerswhoenjoymicro-management.Therewillbemanyvarietiesof plantsavailable,andthebonusestheyprovidewillbedeterminedbywhichquadrantof thegrovetheyareplantedin,whatphaseof themoonthey’replantedin,whatsoilandwaterisused,andtheskilllevelof thedruid.Certaintypesof plantswillinteractwithsurroundingplants,andplotswillneedtobeweededonaregularbasisdependingonthehardinessandag-gressivenessof thespecificplants.Thebonusesforgettingjusttherightsetupwillbegoodenoughtoappealtomicro-managers,butmodestenoughthatcasualplayerswillbeabletosafelyignorethem.

As the player progresses through the initial tutorials, he will gain the forces necessary toinvade the surrounding territories. Territories will initially be non-player (NPC) con-trolled, and populated by enemy forces that will need to be defeated before the player can take control. Once the player controls a territory, he will be able to gather resources (gold or mana) from that territory at a certain rate per hour. In addition, certain territories will have buildings which can be improved for special bonuses, and some territories will have units which may be recruited into the playerís army for mana or gold. Units require an upkeep of mana or gold on a per-hour basis to continue service, and thus players will be forced to balance income with expense.

Winning in combat will award your character with experience points, which will increaseyour druidís level. As your druidís level increases, you gain skill points which can beinvested in several skills, including gardening, magic, and martial. In addition, characterswill be able to research plants, spells, potions, soils, and waters. At any given moment intime your druid can be researching, gathering, cultivating, or exploring. Players can choosethe path they want their characters to take, to be focused on magic rather than militarymight, to be a trader, builder, or conqueror.

After a player has conquered all of the territories in his own province, he can then attackother provinces, either NPC or player-owned.

s The Multi-Player Game

Once a player has conquered his own province, he opens himself up both to attacking otherprovinces and being attacked by other players. A single player could ostensibly own severalprovinces and become very powerful. Players will be able to conquer provinces owned byother players, but a playerís home province will be unconquerable, to prevent a player frombeing ejected from the game. Players will be able to trade resources and items through atrading post system. Players will also be able to form strategic alliances, which will allow for easier trading, social networking, and organized defense.

j Project Phases

Preliminary Design

Developmentof anoutlineof allof thegame’smajorfunctionality,includingatimelineforeachsection.Willincludemeetingstodiscussstrategiesforcertainimplementations.Estimatedtimeof oneweek.

. Proof of Concept

Developmentof asimplifiedonline,real-time,multi-playerstrategygame,todemonstratethatthemajordesignprinciplesareachievable.Estimatedtimethreeweeks.

In-Depth Design

Creationof afullgamedocument,includingadescriptionof allgamemechanics,entitystatistics,sitedesign,andgraphicalassets.Estimatedtimesixweeks.

Alpha

Developmentof allmajorgamefunctionalitytaggedasreleasefeatures.Duringthisphase,testingwillbelimitedtothedevelopmentteamplusasmall(sixtotwelve)groupof playtesters.Estimatedtimeeightweeks.

Beta & Refinement

Developmentof allsecondarygamefunctionalitytaggedasreleasefeatures.Duringthisphase,severalhundredplayerswillbeinvitedtoaprivatebetatestserver.Gamemechanicswillberefined,bugfixed,andbalancedbasedonplaytesterfeedbackandinternalmeetings.Estimatedtimefourweeks.

Rollout

Duringthisphase,atleasttworegularserversandonepremiumserverwillbeopenedforpublicregistration.Betatestersfromthepreviousphasewillbegivenfreesubscrip-tionsandin-gamecurrencytoencourageaninitialplayerbase.Aggressivefreemarketingwillbepursuedwiththemajorgeneral-interestInternetaggregators(reddit,delicio.us,digg,etc)aswellaspopularInternetmessageboards.Low-costadnetworkmarketingwillbeconsidered.Estimatedtimeoneweek.

Upgrades

Developmentof allmajorandsecondarygamefunctionalitytaggedaspost-release.Newfunctionalitytoberolledoutonamonthlybasis.

Design Considerations

Thefollowingdesignconsiderationsareinorderof priority,frommosttoleastimportant.

Performance

Performanceisthesinglemostimportantdesignconsideration.Performancecanbebro-kendownintothreeparts:responsiveness,uptime,andstability.Intermsof responsiveness,whenauserperformsagivengamefunction,theservermustrespondquicklyandreporttheresults.Intermsof uptime,theremustbefew(if any)periodsof offlinemaintenance.Intermsof stability,unexpecteddowntimemusthaveaminimumimpactonactionsalreadytakenbyplayers;inotherwords,playersshouldn’t“losetime”whenserverscrashorotherwiseneedtobeofflined.

Playersof freeonlinegamesactuallyhavelesspatiencethanpurelyfor-paygames.Slowness,offlinefrequency,andinstabilitywillhaveamuchlargerimpactonthegamepopulationthananyotherfactor,includingfun!Afterall,itdoesn’tmatterhowmuchfunagameisif youcannotplayitorfeelthatanyactionsyoutakewillbewipedoutinanunexpectedservercrash.Thus,alldesigndecisionsmustbemadewithperformanceinmind.

Fun

Thisconsiderationmayseemobvious,butshouldn’tbeunderestimated.Inadditiontobeingappealingtohardcorestrategists,itshouldalsobefunforcasualgamersaswell.Thus,whenamechanicthatappealstoonegroupisintroduced,thequestion“canthisbesafelyignoredbytheothergroup?”mustbeanalyzedandansweredaccordingly.

Monetization

Monetizationistightlylinkedtotheotherdesignconsiderations.Forexample,intheinterestsof goodperformance,aplayermayonlyexecuteoneattackatatime,andmustwaitforhistroopstoreturnbeforeattackingagain.Wecanmonetizethismechanicbyallowinguserswhohavepurchasedasubscriptiontomaketwoattacksconcurrently,ensuringthatthereisabalancebetweenperformanceandincome.Whenmonetizingcontent,balanceconsiderationsshouldalsobekeptinmind.Forexample,itshouldnotbepossibletopurchaselevelsorskillpointswithreal-worldcurrency,asittipsthegamebalancetoofarinfavorof playerswithdisposableincome.Cashshouldnotallowplayerstoentertheendgameimmediately,onlyaccelerateadvancement.Forexample,itwouldbeacceptabletoaddexperiencebonusestoasubscription,whichwouldallowplayerstoadvancethroughlevelsquicker.Likewise,purchasableitemsshouldfavorcosmeticsoverfunctionality,andonlyprovidesmallbonuseswhencomparedtoitemsthatcanbeearnedthroughnormalgameplay.

BalanceBalanceisanelusivegoalinmultiplayergames,butmustbegivendueconsideration.Gamebalanceisthecauseof themostheateddiscussionsamongplayersof onlinegames.Gameimbalancecanleadtotwosignificantproblems:

Flavor Of The Month (FOTM):asthedevelopmentteamworksonbalancingthegame,thecommunitydiscoverswhichgamestrategygivesthegreatestadvantagetotheplayers.Asaresult,asignificantpercentageof playersswitchtheirgamestrategytothe“winning”strategy,andplayersloseanysenseof uniquenesstotheircharacters.Whenthedevelopmentteamrollsoutchangesthataren’tcarefullybalanced,thependulumswings,andeverybodyswitchestomatchthenewmechanics.Thisleadstoboredom,andplayersleavethegame.

Frustration:If I’vechosentofocusonmagic,andIdiscoverthatthemilitaryapproachissignificantlymorepowerful,ImayfindthatIhavenochanceof competingagainstmilitaryplayers(theFOTM).If I’vespentalotof timeinvestinginmycharacter,Imaynotwishtostartoveragainasamilitaryplayer,becomefrustrated,andleavethegame.

Security

Securitycanbeseparatedintoserversecurityandsecurityagainstexploits.Serversecurityisagiven,butexploitsareatrickierproblem.Anexploitiswhenaplayerdiscovershecanmanipulatethegameinsuchawaythathegetssomethinghenormallywouldn’tbeabletoget.Forexample,if auserbeginshisnamewithacertaincharacter(likeaperiodorsemicolon),hereceivesfreegold.Exploitsof thistypecouldbearesultof codingbugs,insecurityof theclient,ortestingfeaturesthatwerenotproperlyremoved.Topreventthesekindsof problems,itisimportantthattestingfeaturesareproperlyplannedtoberemovedatbeta/release,thatanylogicontheclientsideisalsomirroredontheserverside,andthatbugsareproperlytestedforandfixedinatimelyfashion.Inaddition,whenplanningordesigningfeatures,considerationshouldbegivenif atallpossibletokeepexploitationtoaminimumif themechanicissomehowbroken.

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