Playful Clusters in Social Games - How do people play social games?

by bkirman on Jul 09, 2010

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When watching this presentation you will need to also read the notes for context/explanations. ...

When watching this presentation you will need to also read the notes for context/explanations.

This is a presentation given at Games Convention Online in Leipzig on 8th July 2010.
It summarises findings from over 4 years of statistical analysis of the social interactions between players of social games (millions of players and tens of millions of interactions).
It describes the most interesting features - that there is definitely a hardcore/casual split, that players behave in different social ways (eg when choosing to play in clusters or reciprocal behaviour)

I describe 4 patterns or archetypes of social behaviour that emerge from the spaghetti of social interactions.

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Playful Clusters in Social Games - How do people play social games? — Presentation Transcript

playful
clusters
(motivations and social structures in social games)
Ben Kirman, Lincoln Social Computing Research Centre
University of Lincoln
lisc.lincoln.ac.uk | ben.kirman.org | bkirman@lincoln.ac.uk | twitter @benki

Lincoln Social Computing Research Centre
School of Computer Science http://lisc.lincoln.ac.uk

Who is the average social gamer?

43 year old female
plays at least once a day
30+ minute long sessions
plays with friends more than strangers
(Popcap)
Is this the average social gamer?

58% Female
Largest age group is 35-55
Internet Access “a basic human right”
(CIA World Factbook)
Estonians are our target market!

Games are an intellectual pursuit…
we must design for the demographics of the mind

What are the demographics of the mind?
How do different people play games in different ways?
There are four types of game players: Conquerors, Managers, Wanderers and Participants. They match Myers-Briggs personality types
(Chris Bateman and Richard Boon)
There are four keys to fun: Hard Fun, Easy Fun, People Fun and Serious Fun
(Nicole Lazzaro)
There are four types of (MUD) player: Achievers, Explorers, Socialisersand Killers
(Richard Bartle)

I am
INFP = Wanderer
93% Explorer
60% Achiever
53% Socialiser
0% Killer
Search “Myers-Briggs”, “ihobo DGD1 Survey” and “Bartle Test” for yours

there are good models to tell how people play games generally.
But how do people play Socially?

They make a mess!

“How much do people play?”
There are Hardcore players and there are Casual players

This terrifying graph shows that it is True!

Can you tell what it is, yet?

The Power Distribution of Social Gamers

Abnormal distribution can highlight architecture/design issues

www.insidesocialgames.com / www.insidevirtualgoods.com
Power Distribution of spending patterns…?

mean
& median users
What about the “average user”?

In social games,
a small number of people play a lot, and a lot of people play a little

Players (N)
Degrees (k)
Directions of Interactions

Sent More
Interactions Started
Received More
Interactions received (1 week)
Directions of Interactions

Do players reciprocate interactions?

% Reciprocated
Interactions received (1 month)
Do players reciprocate interactions?

All of the Hardcore players, and many of the rest, actively reach out to the casual players

Do people prefer to play within groups or clusters?

Avg Clustering: 0.042
Avg if Random: 0.0000401
Clustering Coeff (/1)
Interactions created(1 week)
The more they play, the wider their reach

Clustering Coeff (/1)
Interactions created(1 week)
We can make the players cluster more, even with random groups of strangers

The more socially active a player is, the more promiscuous they become (and vice versa).
…but they can be encouraged by design

Enough graphs, already!
What does this all mean?

We can classify player behaviours, not based on gender or Estonian-ness, but based on social activity

1. The Evangelists

Start more social interactions than they receive
Reach out to the non-social players
Nearly always reciprocate
All Hardcore Socialisers are Evangelists

2. The Socialites

Interact a lot with a small set of people
Rarely interact with anyone outside a clique
Real-world relationships not necessary
Casual approach to the game

3. The Reluctant

Rarely initiates interactions
Nearly always reciprocates
If there is an incentive to interact, they will become evangelists

4. The Antisocial

Never starts a social interaction
Nearly never reciprocates
If there is an incentive to interact, they may become a Reluctant

Reluctant
Evangelist
Antisocial
Socialite
(A) Lifecycle of a Social Gamer

In Summary:
Social game play follows a power law
Social Play can be split into about 4 archetypes
Players exhibit various styles at various points through their lifetime
Games should be designed for behaviours and not for people

playful
clusters
spaghetti
thanks!
Ben Kirman, Lincoln Social Computing Research Centre
University of Lincoln
lisc.lincoln.ac.uk | ben.kirman.org | bkirman@lincoln.ac.uk | twitter @benki
Photo credits: (CC) Flickrhoriavarlan, oeuildebarzo

Orange Insights at Orange Insights I like how you segmented the users. Very clever and very true. Nice presentation! 1 year ago

Are you sure you want to Yes No

REV MEdia Marketing LLC at REV MEdia Marketing LLC fantastic job! lots of graphs--info overload--but great!! 1 year ago

bkirman Thanks for looking at my presentation - You will need to read the notes for context and explanation of many slides. ↑↑ Click the Notes tab above ↑↑

enjoy, I'm happy to answer questions/comments on twitter @benki 1 year ago

Playful Clusters in Social Games - How do people play social games?

by bkirman on Jul 09, 2010

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Playful Clusters in Social Games - How do people play social games? — Presentation Transcript