Connecting the World Through Games

Social Gold: The Design of FarmVille and Other Social Games

May 5, 2010

Amitt Mahajan - Zynga

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?

Why do people play social games?

• Alleviate boredom

• Connect with friends

• Competition

Appealing to a wide audience

• Choose a broad non-offensive theme

• Keep core gameplay simple

• Consider international players

Choosing a theme

• Broader the better

• Appeal to something folks already know

• Avoid offensive subjects

Simple design wins

• Maintain a natural gameflow

• Increase decision points

• Reduce UI complexity

Inventory

Capturing a player

• Hidden but effective tutorial

• Gradually introduce complexity

• Focus on non-design challenges as well

More Complex More Complex

Treasure Fruit

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

One Playstyle

Another Playstyle

Product clarity

• Single strong voice

• Have a long-term vision for gameplay

• Consistent art direction

Art direction

• Appeal to a fantasy

• Bright and colorful

• Avoid excessive detail

• Humor adds character

Appeal to a Fantasy

Sound

• Music adds atmosphere

• Sounds should be un-intrusive

• Capture a movie to provide direction on sound

Growing through social

• Forcing social causes negative reactions

• Integrate social elements into core gameplay

• Surface social actions by friends

Different types of social

• Light– Pokes, “Likes”

• Heavy– Comments, Wall Posts

• Have a mixture

Growing through metrics

• Metrics help you figure out what works

• 3 core metrics– Reach

– Retention

– Revenue

• Test your ideas and see what sticks

Increasing retention

• Leave your audience wanting more

• Remind the player to come back

• Let their friends help

Play sessions

• Keep them short

• Provide a goal for the player

• Link sessions together

X

Sustaining players

• Regularly scheduled updates

• Long term value

• Events

Moments of joy

• “Cool” events in your game

• Make the player feel good

• Leverage art to create these

Moments of Joy

Play, invest, express

• Engage users first

• Make it easy to convert

• Surface the value they are receiving

Play Currency Paid Currency

Enable expression

• Allow the reversal of mistakes

• Status symbols

• Social ROI

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

Questions?

Twitter: @amittmBlog: www.amitt.com