Keynote at GDC Europe in Cologne by wooga founder Jens Begemann on August 15th 2011.
* Playing is a core human desire - How social games change the entertainment industry *
'Social' is not just a buzz term in the game world - it is a movement that not only reaches out to new target groups, but will also lead to a transformation of the entire entertainment industry. As computer technology becomes increasingly integrated in our everyday lives, new tech-savvy target markets have emerged, paving the way for an evolution in game design encompassing new genres and wider tastes. In his keynote, Jens Begemann will talk about the success of Social Gaming beyond the game development landscape, and how it is shaping our perceptions about social games, interaction, and human communication.
Jens Begemann shared his ideas and thoughts about the future of social games, and discussed how social interactions in games will deepen and evolve to synchronize with real-time social interaction, therefore becoming communication. He covered how to best bridge the gap between games and social reality by creating games that are fully integrated into the everyday life of everyday people in a fun and meaningful way. On the business side, he also focussed on Monetization, addressing how the free-to-play business model will change as social games become one of the biggest entertainment services by time spend. Begemann will also give personal insights about building wooga, a top three social gaming company, in less than two years.
Ten Organizational Design Models to align structure and operations to busines...
Playing is a core human desire - How social games change the entertainment industry
1. +
Playing
is
a
core
human
desire
-‐How
social
games
change
the
entertainment
industry-‐
Jens
Begeman
(Founder
&
CEO)
2. wooga
–
world
of
gaming
About
wooga
Founded
January
2009
Jens
Begemann
Funding
of
$32m
(Balderton
Capital,
-‐Founder
&
CEO-‐
Holtzbrinck
Ventures,
Highland
Capital
Partners
&
Tenaya
Capital)
InternaAonal
team
of
100
from
over
20
countries
in
Berlin
Key
stats
5
games
on
Facebook,
34
million
acAve
users
2nd
biggest
social
game
developer
worldwide
Only
5%
of
users
from
adverAsing
70%
of
users
are
female
(age
20-‐60)
2
15. Some
of
the
best
selling
games
of
past
years
PC
§ Starcrab:
11
m
shipped
§ Half-‐Life:
9.3
m
shipped
§ World
of
Warcrab:
12
m
subscribers
Console
§ Grand
Theb
Auto
IV:
36.2
m
§ Call
of
Duty
Black
Ops:
23.2
m
§ Halo
3
(Xbox):
11.3
m
Source: http://www.vgchartz.com 15
16. Flow
Concept
Too
hard
Difficulty
Too
easy
Source: Murphy, C.
Time/
Skill
16
28. Why
isn‘t
she
playing?
1
Wants
to
play
with
friends
§ Playing
rather
alone
§ Playing
with
strangers
2
Entry
barriers
§ Investment
of
ca.
300
€
§ IniAal
set-‐up
and
installaAon
3
Does
not
have
the
Kme
§ Learn
modern
games:
50
h
§ +10
h
per
week
4
Playing
everywhere?
§ Usually
bound
to
home
28
29. Agenda
I. Playing
is
a
core
human
desire
II. EvoluAon
of
computer
games
III. Social
Games
29
30. 1.
Social
–
Playing
with
friends
Social
games
connect
real
friends
on
social
networks
30
31. 2.
No
entry
barriers
No
installaKon
necessary
&
Free
to
play
31
32. 3.
Quick
–
„I
only
have
a
10
min
break“
3
min
to
understand
the
game
Appointment
Gaming
3
min
4
hours
Short
core
game
loop
23
hours
70
hours
32
33. 4.
Place
–
ConAnue
playing
anywhere,
anyAme
33
40. Hours
spend
on
leisure/day
in
US
Social
Gaming
enables
widespread
3,00
use
of
games
TV
2,50
2,00
1,00
1
2
3
4
5
6
0,75
Socializing
0,50
Other
leisure
Reading
Computer
0,25
Sports
Relaxing
0,00
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
40
41. Time
spent
on
games
in
hours/day
in
the
US
PC/Mac
download
Casual
PC/Mac
9%
websites
boxed
23%
9%
215,000,000
Games
for
Console
hours per day everyone
games
19%
Social
51%
networks
16%
MMO
Mobile
games
devices
12%
12%
Source: Newzoo 2011 41
42. Money
spent
on
games
in
bn
$
in
the
US
25
1.8
20
2.8
Social
networks
2.1
Casual
websites
15
2.6
Mobile
devices
MMO
games
10
Console
games
8.0
PC/Mac
boxed
5
PC/Mac
download
1.8
2.5
0
2009
2010
2011
2012
2011
esKmate:
$
21.6bn
Source: Newzoo 2011 42
43. Agenda
I. Playing
is
a
core
human
desire
II. EvoluAon
of
computer
games
III. Social
Games
IV. MoneAzaAon
43
64. Agenda
I. Playing
is
a
core
human
desire
II. EvoluAon
of
computer
games
III. Social
Games
IV. MoneAzaAon
V. Development
of
social
interacAons
64
65. Agenda
I. Playing
is
a
core
human
desire
II. EvoluAon
of
computer
games
III. Social
Games
IV. MoneAzaAon
V. Development
of
social
interacAons
VI. One
more
thing
65
66. Flow
Concept
Too
hard
Next
level
Difficulty
Social
Games
Too
easy
Source: Murphy, C. Time/
Skill
66
77. Agenda
I. Playing
is
a
core
human
desire
II. EvoluAon
of
computer
games
III. Social
Games
IV. MoneAzaAon
V. Development
of
social
interacAons
VI. Magic
Land
77
78. I.
Core
human
desire
II.
EvoluKon
of
games
III.
Social
games
Broad
Easy
Social
audience
Not
Flow
Why
isn‘t
Quick
bound
she
playing?
IV.
MoneKzaKon
V.
Social
interacKons
VI.
Magic
Land
Consumables
for
progress
Massive
Parallel
Play
Games