game design & business models neil harris [email protected]
TRANSCRIPT
HEROENGINE 3D ONLINE GAMES
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MY LIFE IN ONLINE GAMES
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LESSON I WISHED MY FATHER HAD TAUGHT ME
NEVER FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR BUSINESS MODEL!
THEY ARE FICKLE AND WILL LEAVE YOU BROKE AND BROKEN HEARTED.
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BUSINESS MODELS I HAVE LOVED
❤Pay-by-the-minute
❤Monthly subscriptions
❤Buy the box, pay no more
❤Microtransactions
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BUSINESS MODEL IMPACTS
GAME DESIGN
AUDIENCE SIZE
DEMOGRAPHICS
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ISSUES FOR GAME DESIGNERS
TIME VS MONEY
REVENUE VS FAIRNESS
ADVANCEMENT SPEED VS CONTENT PRODUCTION
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BUY THE BOX AND PLAY FOR FREE
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ONE-TIME PURCHASE ADVANTAGES
LOWEST SERVER COST
FITS STRENGTHS OF PUBLISHERS
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ONE-TIME PURCHASE DRAWBACKS
• No Recurring Revenue: Frequent Expansions & DLC
• Heavy Focus on PvP = VERY Hard Core
• P2P = Instanced = Hacking/Cheating
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WHY I LOVED PAY-BY-THE-MINUTE
More Fun = More Time
More Time= More Money
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PAY BY THE MINUTE
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$60ARPU!
BAD GAME MECHANICS TO MAKE MONEY
Increase Travel Distances
Slow Healing
Training Separate from Combat
Punish Players
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#1 DESIGN CHEAT IN ONLINE GAMES
BY SLOWING PLAYER PROGRESS
DESIGNERS WORK LESS HARD
TIME BECOMES LESS FUN
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BUSINESS MODEL IMPACT: SUBSCRIPTIONS
• ARPU HAS A FLOOR AND A CEILING
•No chance to benefit from “whales”
•Low value for light users
• HAPPIEST USERS = LOTS OF TIME
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PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTIONS
GEMSTONE INCREASED ARPU TO $27
– PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION AT $40/MONTH (35% of audience)
– SPECIAL EVENT TICKETS (up to $100 each)
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SUBSCRIPTION GAME DESIGN ISSUES
SLOW DOWN PLAYERS = GRIND
HUGE WORLD = HUGE EXPANSIONS = HUGE COST
PvP END-GAME (LESS CONTENT REQUIRED)
WoW IS SPEEDING UP ADVANCEMENT TO BROADEN AUDIENCE
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FREE TO PLAY + MICRO TRANSACTIONS
• Huge Audience!– More Casual– Needs Low Hurdle
• Balance Paid Goods with Fairness– Annoyances + Cures– Speed or Convenience– Vanity Items– New Areas / Content
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MAXIMIZE REVENUE & FUN IN FREE-TO-PLAYA MODEST PROPOSAL
WHAT IF…?
YOU COULD DIVIDE YOUR PLAYERS INTO SEGMENTS
AND OFFER EACH GROUP ONLY THOSE ITEMS THAT THEY VALUE MOST HIGHLY?
CONJOINT ANALYSIS
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CONJOINT SURVEY EXAMPLE
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CONJOINT METHODOLOGY
• CHOOSE ATTRIBUTES–Damage, XP, Specials, Speed…
•DEFINE ITEMS AS COMBINATION OF ATTRIBUTES–Sword, 5 DPS, Fire Spell, etc–Attributes can include appearance
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SEGMENT PLAYER AUDIENCE
PER BARTLE:
– ACHIEVERS
– EXPLORERS
– SOCIALIZERS
– KILLERS
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MATCH ATTRIBUTE VALUES TO SEGMENTS
BEAUTY DAMAGE SPEED TOTALVALUE
ACHIEVERS $4 $3 $2 $9
EXPLORERS $2 $4 $5 $11
SOCIALIZERS $5 $2 $1 $8
KILLERS $1 $5 $4 $10
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