winning the war: how to build a great game company presentation at casual connect seattle 2012
DESCRIPTION
Presentation given at Casual Connect 2012 on how to build a great game company in the current environment. The good old days are over and building a great social game company is more difficult now than ever. Funding is not as easily available. Marketing is no longer just placing Facebook ads and counting the users. User acquisition overall is more costly. Game design is more complicated. Platform choice adds another risk factor. Exits are not easy to come by. In this presentation, I discuss how to navigate the social gaming terrain to create a successful company (and also help define success). I start by looking at what is attractive to investors and alternatives to traditional investment. I then analyze how to create an engaging and monetizing social game and how to choose a target platform(s). Then I review how you can get users for your games. Finally, I discuss the key issues in sustaining and growing your company so you reach your goals.TRANSCRIPT
WINNING THE WAR:
HOW TO BUILD A GREAT
SOCIAL GAME
COMPANYLloyd Melnick
Agenda
Background
Success in social gaming
How to succeed
The Melnick Conundrum
Summary and QA
BACKGROUND
Lloyd Melnick
fiveonenine games
More stars than the Miami Heat
★ Ex-Studio Head of EA’s North Carolina office
★ Member founding management team at Motricity and Appia
★ Team lead at RIM’s NC studio
★ 20 year veteran of IBM/Microsoft/Citrix
★ GM Europe and LATAM at Disney/Playdom
★ Gardens of Time
★ Asheron’s Call 1 & 2
★ Shutter Island
★ City of Wonder
★ Dungeons & Dragons Online
★ Madden 3DS
★ Nascar Kart Racing Wii
★ Woodland Heroes
★ Lord of the Rings Online
Publishing and Developing
Launching publishing program this week
Campaign Story launches next month
SUCCESS IN SOCIAL GAMES
The odds
9
25 % of games
succeed
Success is
Exit
Profitability
Survival
10
Investors see success as
Exit ROI
11
Investors criteria
ScalableHow
quickly you can grow
Unique Why youWhat is different
Valuation Potential return
12
If institutional investors pass
Organic
Friends and family
Strategics
IP holders
13
HOW TO SUCCEED
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LTV
Monetization
Retention
Engagement
Virality
15
Monetization
Free-to-play
Part of the design
Support high-value customers
16
Retention and engagement
17
Virality
Hooks Reasons
Collaborative or PvP
18
THE MELNICK CONUNDRUM
19
Diversification versus Focus
Focus Diversification
20
Portfolio theory
21
Multiple titles
Reducing beta
Asset Allocation
Diversification RebalancingRegular
Investing
Platform diversification
iOS
Android
Win 8
22
Focus
Competitive landscape
Free-to-play
23
SUMMARY
Odds against you
Improve odds
Make great products
Focus and diversify
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Feel free to contact anytime
http://lloydmelnick.com/
@LloydMelnick
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