15. 1. It’s not about story
• Games are not movies or TV shows
• Games are not linear
• The tension is in the player’s head, not on the
screen
• What games do best:
– Choices
– Dilemmas
– Engagement
– Immersion
• Please, no interactive movies
17. 2. Find the fun (it’s hard)
• If you leave a pitch knowing what the
narrative arc of the game is, but not the
MECHANIC, you haven’t got a game
• It is possible to make a game that is just about
narrative; it is also very, very expensive
• Finding the fun is intuitive. Leave time for
prototyping and finding the fun during
commissioning and production
19. 3. Iterate. A lot.
• Every successful social game is still in beta
• You need to iterate during production, as well
as after
– Especially if you are inexperienced at
commissioning
• A adherence to the initial project brief can be
disastrous. Build in flexibility.
• Read The Lean Startup
21. 4. Commission earlier
• Games take a *long* time to make
• TX is fixed
• If you want a good game to go alongside your
show, start early
• At least six months. Probably more
• Unless you want it to look, feel and play like
an afterthought
23. 5. What happens when the show
ends?
• You’ve spent a lot of money on making your
game. Transmission has ended. Now what?
• Do you mothball it?
– But games build slowly, via word of mouth, over
time
• Do you continue it?
– But that incurs ongoing costs, and gamers will
demand changes
• Have a plan
25. 6. Focus on retention, not
acquisition
• TV is good at ACQUIRING customers
• Games are good at RETAINING customers and
MONETISING them
• Play to the strengths of the medium
29. 8. Design for the business model
• “If a game is built around a business model,
that’s a recipe for failure.”
- Dave Jones, designer, APB
• I see eight different revenue streams
• Dave Perry sees 38
• Each one needs a different style of gameplay
• No time today but key insight:
virtual goods are about STATUS and FEELING, not
possession and ownership
31. How much do gamers spend
on average on an In-App
purchase in an iOS / Android
game?
32.
33. 9. People spend a lot of money
• The average IAP
transaction value
on a US
smartphone is
$14
• 51% of the
revenue comes
from transactions
worth more than
$20
37. 10. Making games is not a “known
science”
• It’s endlessly changing:
– Technology
– Business models
– Consumer preferences
• Make a game for many reasons, but make it to
learn
• Launch, learn, iterate
38. 10 ways to get it right
1. It’s not about 6. Focus on
story retention
2. Find the fun 7. Make it free
3. Iterate 8. Design for the
4. Commision business model
earlier 9. Cater to the
5. Have a post-TX whales
plan 10.Learn