What I’ve learned from building and running one

Relatively low production costs (compared to conventional games)

Proven revenue generatorsA living wage can be made with a

few thousand daily usersNo sign of user-appetite drying up

04/12/23 Confidential. Copyright (c) 2009 by SocialCash. 2

Tens of thousands ofFacebook applications

Thousands of games

Games need to:Gain usersRetain usersMake money

04/12/23 Confidential. Copyright (c) 2009 by SocialCash. 3

Write developer monetisation tools Headliners (banner ads) for Social CashDevelop applications: Soccer Stars (20k MAU, 3k daily) Six Degrees of Separation (75k MAU) Which Vegetable Are You?

Plus “Which Car…?”, “Which Biscuit…?” etc Combined 750k installs, and then sold on

04/12/23 Confidential. Copyright (c) 2009 by SocialCash. 4

I wrote a handful of ZX Spectrum adventure games

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Focusing on the area between casual and hardcore social games

Create long-term engagementA lifespan per user of months, not daysVirtual world/virtual economy game types

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Football management : Challenge teams Buy and sell players Progress through a

league structure 20k MAU, 3k DAU >15 pages/visit 27% visit >200 times Makes around

$1k/week04/12/23 Confidential. Copyright (c) 2009 by SocialCash. 7

Aka Things I’ve learnt from building Soccer Stars and how I should have built it

04/12/23 Confidential. Copyright (c) 2009 by SocialCash. 8

5 things I’ve learnt, and how these have turned out in Soccer Stars

Assuming:A small team or solo effortVirtually non-existent marketing budgetNo tie-in license

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1.Be easily defined Use an established game type or

theme Something users can easily understand

even before they play And will have emotional appeal

Choose a descriptive title Strongly appeal to a minority rather

than trying to suit all 1% of 250 million users is enough

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1.Be easily defined – Soccer Stars

“Football Management” is an easily understandable subject

Could appeal to anybody who likes football (or soccer, given the US bias of the web)

Recognised game type But not over-crowded on Facebook, and

no “big name” competition04/12/23 Confidential. Copyright (c) 2009 by SocialCash. 11

2.Recognise reasons for playing games

Types of players (from R.Bartle): Explorers, Socialisers, Achievers,

Controllers Pay attention to the learning curve

and player progress Create a feature roadmap

and be prepared to throw it away as soon as you launch

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2.Recognise reasons for playing – Soccer Stars

Explorers: stadium and facility upgrades Socialisers: discussion boards, player

rivalry Achievers: move up the league system Controllers: an active transfer market

Soccer Stars is biased towards the “achievers”, but has elements of the other types:

04/12/23 Confidential. Copyright (c) 2009 by SocialCash. 13

3.Enable playing with strangers Add a social element Users may only have 1 or 2 Facebook

friends in the game Playing with strangers is the primary mode

Aim to become a niche social network Stickiness – users return Defensibility – harder to copy the game

04/12/23 Confidential. Copyright (c) 2009 by SocialCash. 14

3.Enable playing with strangers – Soccer Stars

League structures and a challenge system

Try to place beginner teams in the same league as friends

League discussion boards add a social element

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4.Give reasons to share Viral mechanisms rarely work on

their own Users need some help, don’t assume

they’ll share just because they want to Incorporate virality through

interaction into the gameplay Build level-up accomplishments

that users want to publish04/12/23 Confidential. Copyright (c) 2009 by SocialCash. 16

4.Give reasons to share – Soccer Stars

Invite friends to get them to join your team as players

Recruiting fans for a team increases match income

Feed stories to promoteachievements:

moving up the league winning promotion

04/12/23 Confidential. Copyright (c) 2009 by SocialCash. 17

5.Build for monetisation Create a need and provide a

monetisable way to satisfy it Design a system where wealth is

(generally) proportional to time invested

Spending money shortcuts the time investment

Use the possibility of loss as a motivator

04/12/23 Confidential. Copyright (c) 2009 by SocialCash. 18

5.Build for monetisation – Soccer Stars

Virtual currency Player transfer market Stadium upgrades and

coaching staff Reject hostile bids for

your players some of which may be your friends or partner

Enable buying of virtual currency

04/12/23 Confidential. Copyright (c) 2009 by SocialCash. 19

Summary

1. Be easily defined2. Recognise reasons for

playing3. Enable playing with

strangers4. Give reasons to share5. Build for monetisation

04/12/23 Confidential. Copyright (c) 2009 by SocialCash. 20

karl@socialcash.comtwitter.com/karlbunyan

apps.facebook.com/soccerstars

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