Gamification - Let's Talk About Data

Game Mechanics? Let’s Talk About DataDigital Shoreditch, Gamification Workshop - LondonRaf Keustermans, 4 May 2011

RAF KEUSTERMANSIndependent ConsultantGlobal Marketing Director Playfish (EA) 2009-2010Marketing Director EMEA Pogo.com (EA) 2008-2009Head of Marketing Western Europe Unibet.com 2005-2008Project Manager & Strategic Planner at BBDO, Grey andDuvalGuillaume (Publicis Groupe) 1998-2001 / 2002-2005Co-Founder start-up (Cyganet - online community tools &services) 2001-2002raf.keustermans@gmail.com@raf_keustermans

Gamification: two main schools of thought « Games only work because all the « Certain game mechanics can workdifferent elements TOGETHER make as a STANDALONE solution outside ait an engaging experience; narrative, game environment. Even without a character & level design, art style, narrative, characters, … E.g. using sound, gameplay and game ‘levels’ can be a great solution to mechanics. structure content or processes. You can’t just take one of those Using game mechanics doesn’t meanelement out of it and hope it has the something needs to look or feel like same impact on engagement. » a game.» Main goal : replicate the (perceived?) strong user engagement from (social) games by adding game elements to a non-game business.

Fact: Everyone Is Super Jealous AboutSocial Games’ Strong User Engagement. It’s Awesome.

Mythbusting!Mythbusting! What Social Games Can Teach Us About User Engagement. Or not.

• Average social game: – 60-70% never returns after first game session – Only 15-20% still active 30 days after installing the game – Only 1-2% spends money CHURN!• In 2010, Facebook killed (spammy) re-engagement channels: – Most social games lost 30-40% of their audience within 6 weeks – Even the most ‘sticky’ games need to remind players constantly about their existance

EA Playfish generated300M+ game installs since2008, only 5.5M DailyActives todayZynga spends $100M onUser Acquisition/year tokeep audience numbers atthe same level.

And there’s more…• 80,000+ games on Facebook – Only 200 games with 1M+ MAU – Of those, < 100 with 20%+ DAU/MAU (playrate) those, (playrate) and < 60 are older than 6 months• About 0.07% of social games have real scale AND lasting engagement.

Even the top studios don’t always get it right… EA Playfish, Pirates Ahoy Zynga, Treasure Isle

But then again…. again….• 50% of Facebook users play games (300M people)• 150B minutes spent EVERY MONTH on social games – That’s an average of 10 minutes for everyone on the planet! – Or 3,4M years are spend/wasted on social games every spend/ year. year. – Wow.• That’s an engaged audience, right?

So…• The AVERAGE social game is not very good at keeping users engaged.• Not better/worse than the AVERAGE website.• The TOP social games are great at engaging users. users.• Just like the TOP websites. websites.

Does That MeanGamification is a Fad?

No.• But building games or creating/applying relevant game mechanics is very, very difficult! – There’s a reason why successful game producers/designers make £100K+• Game mechanics can’t fix broken businesses – Retention, monetization problems• Most gamification programs are loyalty programs – More value in other areas (structure, feedback cycle)• Stop talking about ‘engagement’, use real metrics – What is the goal, how to measure, what to measure?

Focus on game mechanics that really work• Use Levels to structure content, processes – Make a registration process (or tax form) easier & more fun – Break down stuff in little, chewable bits• Games have rules, rules create order & clarity, a clear path to achieve goals. – ‘What do I need to do to get a promotion, to get better results at school, to improve my fitness? How do I get there?’• Feedback loops (direct/indirect) increase velocity of user feedback – Understand drop-out points, funnel leaks – Fail fast & cheap. Learn. Iterate.

Btw, If You’re Really Looking For User Engagement And Great Results…

Raf Keustermansraf.keustermans@gmail.comtwitter.com/raf_keustermans

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Gamification - Let's Talk About Data

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