10 mobile game design trends from East & West, as presented at the Mobile Game Forum event in 2015. Topics covered include:
Touch-first interface
RPG mechanics cross genres
Evolved mechanics
Sacha keeps growing
Auto-play
IP useincreasing
Better word of mouth
Deeper cross promo
Production quality rising
Added depth to social
5. 2/ RPG mechanics in all genres
● Party, leveling, evolve, fuse etc
● Increased sense of ownership & investment
● Expect more customization and meta games
12. with more sophistication...
How this mechanic works:
- gem gacha ->3+ characters
- All characters can be sold for a rings (rings can only be gained from selling 3 star
+ characters or 3 star + weapons)
- Special characters (super useful) can only gained using the ring currency through
another gacha
15. ● New play behaviour emerging
● Prediction - ios8 notifications, background play
16. ● Brands are waking up to games as a media
6/ IP use increasing
17. 7/ Better Word of Mouth
eg- Summoners War
Additional ways to invite friends
- SMS
- Email
- Line
- Facebook … So on
Rewards other than currencies as a strong
incentive, rewards you just for the
invitation sent
More social channels, meaningful incentives
18. 8/ Deeper Cross Promo
3D Simulation GameMovie Game
“Let’s take a break
from shooting - I
know a hot resort!”
Make the most of UA spend and userbase
21. Side note - art still needs to
fit the audience
Zynga Wizard of Oz Slots
Zynga Poker
22. 10/ Added depth to social
● More ways to communicate, plan, help,
manage roles, compete, share rewards etc
23. ● Social also being added to other genres
outside of battle/rpgs
● Great foundation for a strong elder game
24. Bonus Trend
● Game dev tools are rapidly improving
● Easier to gather data and iterate faster
25. Final notes
● Lots more exciting things happening
○ Hardcore gets viable (FPS, MOBA, ARPG)
○ Emergence of story games
○ Events as core mechanics
○ etc...
● It’s a great time for mobile games!
simon@frenzoo.com
iteratingfun.com