ten dos and don'ts for tv companies making games

Five dos & don’ts of making games

Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival 2010

Nicholas LovellGAMESbrief

Nicholas Lovell, GAMESbriefAuthor, How to Publish a

GameDirector, GAMESbriefClients include Atari, Channel

4, Channelflip, Firefly, nDreams and Rebellion

@nicholaslovell / @gamesbrief

Five don’ts of game development

1. Don’t rely on licences“A licence is only as valuable as the amount it

reduces your marketing costs”- Alice Taylor, Commissioning Editor, Channel 4

Existing IP:Slows down developmentMakes taking risks harderBrings built-in audiencesCan be an effective monetisation strategy for a tv

brand

Using licences is not a no-brainer

2. Don’t spend too much moneyYou don’t need to

spend tens of millions of dollars to launch a game anymore

So why would you?Unless you are

*really*, *really* sure of yourself, keep it small, test and iterate

3. Don’t spend too much time

4. Don’t think about revenue *after* the design“If a game is built around a business

model, that’s a recipe for failure.”- Dave Jones, designer, APB

I see eight different revenue streamsDave Perry sees 38Each one needs a different style of

gameplayNo time today but key insight:

virtual goods are about STATUS and FEELING, not possession and ownership

5. Don’t forget it’s a gameGames are not movies or TV showsGames are not linearThe tension is in the player’s head, not on the

screenWhat games do best:

ChoicesDilemmasEngagementImmersion

Please, no interactive movies Average rating: 16%

Five dos of game development

1. Know your platformOpen

Largest audience Best virality Low consumer barrier

to entry Conversion is hard Competition is

growing

www

Closed

Niche audience Expensive marketing High barrier to entry Strong propensity to

spend Competition is, if

anything declining, but that’s because it’s hard

Inbetween

Niche audience Crowded Appstore Low consumer barrier

to entry Downwards pressure

on App prices

2. Iterate, iterate, iterate

Most popular game in the world62 million players in last 30 days

Has been in beta since it launchedUnlikely ever to stop

3. Outsource, outsource, outsourceIf you can outsource, do it

Do what you do *really* wellLet others do what they do really well (will

pay dividends if you are successful)

Billing

Hosting

Ad sales

Affiliate networksLocalisation

Legal

Distribution

Development

Development

Marketing

Market research

4. Pay attention to the marketThe games industry is going through

continued disruptionSony and Microsoft blindsided by Nintendo WiiCasual portals like Miniclip and Kongregate

blindsided by FacebookAdvertising-based businesses blindsided by

emergence of virtual goodsYou can never be paying too much attention

5. Focus on retention, not acquisition

TV is good at ACQUIRING customersGames are good at RETAINING customers and

MONETISING themPlay to the strengths of the medium

5 dos and 5 don’ts1. DO know your

platform2. DO iterate, iterate,

iterate3. DO pay attention to

the market4. DO outsource,

outsource, outsource5. DO focus on

retention, not acquisition

1. DON’T rely on licences

2. DON’T spend too much money

3. DON’T spend too much time

4. DON’T think about revenue *after* the design

5. DON’T forget it’s a game

Nicholas LovellGAMESbrief

nicholas@gamesbrief.com@nicholaslovell / @gamesbrief

www.gamesbrief.com