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Ten things that tv companies always get wrong when making games
The document outlines ten common pitfalls television companies encounter when developing games and offers strategies to avoid them. Key lessons include prioritizing gameplay mechanics over narratives, focusing on user retention rather than just customer acquisition, and starting the commissioning process early. It emphasizes the importance of iterating on game design and planning for post-launch scenarios to ensure long-term success.
Ten things that tv companies always get wrong when making games
- 1. Ten Things thatTV Companies Alway Get Wrong when Making Games (and how to avoid these traps) Nicholas Lovell Games for Television 18th April, 2012
- 2. Nicholas Lovell, GAMESbrief •Author, How to Publish a Game, GAMESbrief Unplugged • Director, GAMESbrief • Clients include: Atari, Channel 4, Channelflip, Firefly, IPC, nDrea ms, Rebellion and Square Enix • @nicholaslovell / @gamesbrief
- 3. I worked onthis • Misfits – The Game • Nominated for a BAFTA Television Craft award • Working with Clerkenwell, Channel 4 and Mobile Pie
- 4. Subscribe to theblog
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- 6. Ten ways toget it right
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- 8. 1. It’s notabout story
- 10. 1. It’s notabout story
- 11. 1. It’s notabout story
- 12. 1. It’s notabout story
- 13. 1. It’s notabout story
- 14. 1. It’s notabout story
- 15. 1. It’s notabout story • Games are not movies or TV shows • Games are not linear • The tension is in the player’s head, not on the screen • What games do best: – Choices – Dilemmas – Engagement – Immersion • Please, no interactive movies
- 16. 2. Find thefun
- 17. 2. Find thefun (it’s hard) • If you leave a pitch knowing what the narrative arc of the game is, but not the MECHANIC, you haven’t got a game • It is possible to make a game that is just about narrative; it is also very, very expensive • Finding the fun is intuitive. Leave time for prototyping and finding the fun during commissioning and production
- 18. 3. Make ititerative
- 19. 3. Iterate. Alot. • Every successful social game is still in beta • You need to iterate during production, as well as after – Especially if you are inexperienced at commissioning • A adherence to the initial project brief can be disastrous. Build in flexibility. • Read The Lean Startup
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- 21. 4. Commission earlier •Games take a *long* time to make • TX is fixed • If you want a good game to go alongside your show, start early • At least six months. Probably more • Unless you want it to look, feel and play like an afterthought
- 22. 5. Have apost-TX plan
- 23. 5. What happenswhen the show ends? • You’ve spent a lot of money on making your game. Transmission has ended. Now what? • Do you mothball it? – But games build slowly, via word of mouth, over time • Do you continue it? – But that incurs ongoing costs, and gamers will demand changes • Have a plan
- 24. 6. Games areabout RETENTION
- 25. 6. Focus onretention, not acquisition • TV is good at ACQUIRING customers • Games are good at RETAINING customers and MONETISING them • Play to the strengths of the medium
- 26. 7. Make itfree, make it profitable
- 27. 7. Make itfree, make it profitable • Infinity Blade has netted $30 million (after Apple share) • 7 free games were higher grossing in 2011
- 28. 8. Don’t thinkabout revenue *after* the design
- 29. 8. Design forthe business model • “If a game is built around a business model, that’s a recipe for failure.” - Dave Jones, designer, APB • I see eight different revenue streams • Dave Perry sees 38 • Each one needs a different style of gameplay • No time today but key insight: virtual goods are about STATUS and FEELING, not possession and ownership
- 30. 9. Cater tothe whales
- 31. How much dogamers spend on average on an In-App purchase in an iOS / Android game?
- 33. 9. People spenda lot of money • The average IAP transaction value on a US smartphone is $14 • 51% of the revenue comes from transactions worth more than $20
- 34. So how dowe make money from the power law
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- 36. “Nobody knows anything” William Goldman
- 37. 10. Making gamesis not a “known science” • It’s endlessly changing: – Technology – Business models – Consumer preferences • Make a game for many reasons, but make it to learn • Launch, learn, iterate
- 38. 10 ways toget it right 1. It’s not about 6. Focus on story retention 2. Find the fun 7. Make it free 3. Iterate 8. Design for the 4. Commision business model earlier 9. Cater to the 5. Have a post-TX whales plan 10.Learn
- 39. Thank you nicholas@gamesbrief.com Follow my blog www.gamesbrief.com Buy my books