"This is a story of progressive success: launched in 2012, The Sandbox is a world crafting game in 2D with touch controls and access to over 200+ physics elements. It was nominated by Apple for Best Game of 2012 and 2013 and now enjoys over 13M players; 600,000 Facebook fans; and over 1.5M creations shared online. The Sandbox is considered a reference among ""Minecraft-like"" titles on mobile. In this session, Sebastien will talk about the continuous game development over these 3 years of existence. With the experience of over 35 updates, Sebastien will explore best practices of game updates to keep players hooked, as well as effective community management, helping it become a viral hit! "

1. Engage
and
Keep
your
Community
Alive
Best
Prac9ses
and
Keys
to
Success
Sebas9en
BORGET
COO
&
Co-­‐Founder
at

2. About Us
Founded in 2011 13M players
25 employees 5 Games Released
+2 scheduled for 2014
5 people
in San Francisco
20 people
in Buenos Aires
www.pixowl.com

3. The Sandbox is a world building game with touch controls.
Play and manipulate over 200+ physics elements presented in
2D pixel blocks that can interact with each others
Craft amazing worlds, create pixel art, chain reactions, mini-games,
chiptune music, contraptions, electric circuits or just play with physics.
13M Players
Building and sharing
pixel worlds
600,000 Fans
on Facebook
1,000,000 creations
shared on our gallery
34 Updates
One per month
22 campaigns
325 Quests Levels

4. Launch
on
Google
Play
1
Year
Anniversary
50,000
Fans
on
Facebook
> 4M
> 6M
> 8M
> 10M
32th
update
> 12M
Launch
on
iOS
(May
2012)
Our Growth
2
Year
Anniversary
500,000
Fans
on
Facebook
300,000
Fans
on
Facebook
Steam
PC
Launch

5. What’s our secret formula?

6. AnalyJcs
Social
Media
User
AcquisiJon
Tracking
Cross-­‐PromoJon
Virality
Going
Further
(opJonal)
SDK Toolbox

7. To infinity and beyond!

8. Timing is key
Updating regularly increase chances to reengage your players
Prefer shorter release cycles
Look at your Retention Numbers! Day 1, Day 7, Day 30, Day 60

9. Update Regularly
UpdaJng
keep
your
players
engaged.
OpJmal
update
cycle
=
every
month!

10. Players
Like
New
Contents
New
Features
Bug
Fixes
FREE
STUFF!
Weight your Priorities!
Players
Dislike
(or
don’t
care
about)
Marke9ng
Features
Various
SDKs
PAYING
STUFF!
Think
about
Players
first
Adapt
to
OpportuniJes:
new
OS
or
devices
releases
Define
a
Template
for
your
Updates

11. Forced updates?
Reduce
FragmentaJon
of
User
Base
Good
updates
=>
More
Trust
from
Players
=>
More
Players
on
Recent
Updates
Force
minimum
version
only
if
absolutely
necessary
Automated
Update
feature
from
Apple
/
Android
Top
Game
Versions
by
DAUs:
80%
on
most
recent,
13%
on
previous
one

12. Prepare your Roadmap
1.800 - Gaming
1.900 - Ninja
Amplify Version
Ouya Version
1.950 - Ecology
Steam Version
1.995 - Farm Life
Console Version
The Sandbox 3D
The Sandbox RPG
The Sandbox
2.0 Version
The Sandbox EDU
1.997 - Brainiac

13. Cross-Platform Strategy
Go
get
your
players
where
they
are
J
Try
to
be
available
on
as
many
pla]orms
as
possible!
Leverage
Cross-­‐Pla]orms
OpportuniJes
(Unity,
Cocos2DX
etc)

14. Still listening?
I
think
I
understand
this
guy...

15. Community Management
1) Acquire New Users
- Social: Friends of friends
- Virality
- More Targeted
2) Engage & Retain
- Engagement
- Listening & User-Support
- Improvement

16. Community Management
Simple
Facts
-­‐ MarkeJng
Team
=
• 1
Community
Manager
(intern)
• Myself
(not
even
full-­‐Jme)
-­‐ Average
Organic
to
Paid
Users
raJo
=
95%
-­‐ Monthly
MarkeJng
Budget
=
$10K
USD
max
-­‐ Indies
don’t
have
money,
but
crea9vity
and
mo9va9on!

17. Be fun and original
It
helps
a
lot
when
you
are
very
creaJve
J

18. Looking for inspiration?
Best
Prac9ses
of
Community
Management
Follow
this
cheat
sheet

19. The Basics
Just
for
starters..
Let’s
get
warmed
up!
TEASING NEW RELEASES

20. Intermediary Level
Enough
talking
about
your
product!
Now
engaging
players
beyond
it
MINI-GAMES HOW-TO & TUTORIALS

21. Advanced Level
I
told
you
too
much
already
Keep
this
a
secret
for
this
room
REWARDING EVENT RELATED
SUPPORT A CAUSE

22. Make your Own Video Promotion
Do
it
first,
do
not
expect
others
to
make
it
for
you
Be
creaJve
–
you
will
never
lack
of
contents!
A
whole
new
User
AcquisiJon
playground

23. Turn Players into Evangelists
Let
your
players
take
screenshots,
brag
about
their
scores
or
achievements
on
all
social
networks!
IT
WORKS
EVEN
BETTER
WITH
VIDEO
REPLAYS!
2
solu9ons
to
consider:
or

24. Use Videos Curators
Players
talking
directly
to
players
Can
drive
significant
volume
of
installs...
Or
kill
your
game
ReputaJon
SJll
very
limited
for
mobile
games,
mostly
PC
games
oriented

25. Launch Contests / Tournaments
Increase
Engagement
by
providing
a
reason
to
reopen
your
game
regularly
Enable
Top
players
to
express
the
full
potenJal
of
their
skills
Shows
off
all
features
of
your
game
Should
remain
open
to
everyone,
not
elite
only

26. What’s next? Real World Events!
IdenJfy
where
most
of
players
are
located
Kick-­‐off
your
own
Meetups
/
ConvenJon!
Collect
feedback
straight
from
players

27. for
today
J
Questions & Answers!

28. Ready to craft your own success?

29. Thank you!
Mail:
seb@pixowl.com
Twijer:
@borgetsebas9en
www.pixowl.com