Social Games Level Up! Beyond Farmville & World of Warcraft
"What's next for social games? What does it take to build an MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) that everyone will play? Can you teach Farmville fans how to play an MMO? Or get devoted World of Warcraft players passionate about a social network game? Susan Wu, CEO and co-founder of gaming industry pioneer, ohai!, shares 5 key lessons learned from launching the company's first next-generation social MMO, City of Eternals."
While this panel description didn't initially pique my interest, I went anyway to see what I could learn. I walked away with a few tips from the (non-social issue) social gaming experts about how to make an online game successful. The tips were:
1) Make it 30 seconds to fun. People don't want to have to download anything or have any sort of complicated setup. The game should be accessible anywhere, not just on the one computer they have downloaded the game on. You should put players in the middle of fun immediately so they can't turn away. And, along those lines, you should provide value before asking for any real commitment.
2) Keep it simple. Games should reveal complexity gradually. People want to understand what they are doing right away. This kind of smooth on-ramping helps people make an early commitment. Games should also give gamers deep game experiences in bite sized time increments. Gamers should be able to come and go from the game smoothly throughout the day. For example, on Facebook, gamers play on average 10 minute sessions 4-5 times per day.
3) Keep it real. Gamers are looking for real world context and relationships. Keeping fantasy elements to a minimum helps gamers connect with the game and feel relevant. Creating links to Facebook profiles of other gamers and other less "fantasy" websites helps as well.
While these tips were given specifically for gaming that doesn't have a social change component, I think social issue gamers would be wise to take heed.
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