Using your friends 2.0

Using your friends: Identifying the top interaction mechanics in current social games (2.0) Mia Consalvo/Concordia U [email_address] @miaC

Talk outline How the study of social games was done Major findings Recent innovations Social media advancements Wrap up/questions

The project: what’s social about social games?

The Challenge Test as many social games as possible to identify major mechanics, as well as unusual/interesting additions

Sample Sampling from a variety of genres: Simulators (villes; shops; islands) RPGs Sports Strategy/Tower Defense Puzzle & Word Music Twitter & mobile (ipod touch) GameZebo reviews Word of Mouth for the quirky, unique

Looked at: Summarized game components Identified key social interactions the game allowed and/or encouraged

What do I mean by “social”? Opportunities for interaction(s) by players Types of interactions Quality (meaningfulness) of interactions Opportunities to communicate NPC interactions offered Importance of interactions to overall gameplay Cooperative/Competitive styles Facilitated for pre-existing “friends” and/or “strangers”

Types of Interactions Found Friend bar lends silent presence of friends/family Gifting’s different roles Visiting Challenge & competition Communication

The friend bar Bar Auto-Populates?

Surrounded by your friends Majority of games displayed your friends as a part of your interface, usually at the bottom of your screen Pictures of your friends/neighbors greet you as you start the game There’s always a slot to invite another friend to join you Many games now auto-populate the interface with friends already playing the game Less tedious than having to invite friends, wait for them to accept, install game, make progress

Surrounded by your friends Friends are ranked, and you are ranked amongst your friends You can see how your friends are advancing (or not) You can check your progress relative to your friends Encourages more casual as well as intense/overt competitiveness, particularly as friends get started, or as levels become tougher to achieve (the TL Effect) Streamlines how to visit friends/gift friends

Surrounded by your friends Many games include a ‘starter friend’ that is initially more advanced than the player A goal for the player to aspire to One possible way to develop in the game In games with fewer real friends, can be a valuable resource

Gifts can come from a player’s own inventory

Gifts Gifts function in two central ways Potlatch Reciprocation

Gifts as Potlatch Impressing Your Friends Games let players show off their status, (large) bank accounts, advanced levels through gifting

Gifts as Potlatch Zoo Kingdom lets player gift some of her actual inventory (this can be dangerous if she doesn’t know she’s actually giving away her own stuff)

Gifts as Potlatch Mafia Wars allows higher leveled players to send more advanced/powerful gifts

Gifts as Potlatch Mafia Wars also lets player give gifts from their own inventory

Gifts as Potlatch Cupcake Corner

Gifts as Potlatch Frontierville lets player send items she has crafted to other players who have wished for them

Gifts as Potlatch Frequent gifters, or those who respond immediately to requests, can become more valued friends

Gifts as reciprocation/barter If I send you a Ribbon, won’t you send me one back?? Zynga has automated with their toolbar, making process more streamlined

Gifts as reciprocation/barter Gifts can be 1-1 (sending a coffee gets a coffee in return) or gifts-for-coins (although returns are normally not that large)

Gifts as reciprocation/barter Cityville: Chris offered to serve as Librarian in my Library, so I’ll be sure to return the favor the next time he builds a community structure

Gifts as attacks? Gifts as attacks? None found! Problem: you must always ‘accept’ gifts, so who would accept an attack? Perhaps send a very valuable gift offer that comes with a potential downside. Would that still be a gift?

Peripheral Gifting Many/most games offer the ability to send decorative items that players can use, with no real bonus or advantage, or very little, built in

Critical Gifting Gifts can be essential to completing quests in games

Critical Gifting Gifts might be the only way to acquire particular items (useful or simply decorative) Recipe elements in Café World

Critical gifting: Ravenwood Fair

Quests that require help or VC?

Is friendship only about trading stuff? The less importance the game places on acquiring gifts from friends, the more the game functions as a solo experience (apart from competitive games)

Is friendship only about trading stuff? Gifts function as both peripheral to gameplay as well as critical to advancement, depending on the individual game

Gifting challenges Facebook gift notices ridiculously slow Zynga toolbar streamlines yet cuts out option to add a short note to your request Playdom, EA also using toolbar now Some gift requests go to Wall Postings; others as messages direct to players. Not always consistent or obvious which way in some games

Gifting challenges How many gifts actually are accepted, or even helpful? Is there gifting anxiety? BeachTown rewards players with 100 coins for every gift a friend accepts; if gift given to new player is accepted, sender receives same gift in return Could players be recognized in some way for useful gifting? (Faunasphere tree raffles) How useful/interesting are mystery gifts? Issues of spam on walls, in message systems The overactive gifter

Is friendship only about trading stuff? Is forced gifting the only way to encourage sociality?

Visiting Nearly as ubiquitous as gifting More variations emerging Balancing act of letting friends interact in other spaces with controlling access Most visits assume asynchronicity

Actions raise visitor reputation?

Actions yield benefits to visited?

Option to reject visitor actions?

Won’t you be my neighbor? Most common trope: Show up, get stuff

Taking actions is variable Actions leave no trace Actions can add new existing elements Actions can improve existing elements Possibility to ‘interact’ with friend while visiting

Act on existing world Fantasy Kingdoms asks the player to tend magical crops, clean up ruins, remove ogre footprints, etc

Act on existing world Pet Society lets you interact with friends’ pets

Actions ADD NEW existing elements

Change the existing world My Vineyard: taste friends’ wine, rate it to increase its value

Change the existing world Stores to sell creations

Actions IMPROVE existing world

Improve on the existing world Cityville watering crops makes them ripen faster, or can revive withered crops

Improve on the existing world City of Wonder requires friends to contribute to building of ‘world wonders’

Interact w/friends’ avatars?

Interactions: Clean a pet Go to friend/stranger’s FB Profile Take pictures of avatars together Kiss, dance with, hug (other) pet avatars Brush their horse Sims Social biggest exception/based on fiction of original game Interactions more likely when avatars are pets

Won’t you be my neighbor? Evidence of visits past The ghosts of your friends’ visits Ability to accept/reject their help/alterations How can visiting be made even more meaningful?

Leaderboards Global, Friends-only, Weekly, Over Time

Leaderboards apart from Friend Bar

Challenges & Competitions Tournaments & Matches Predominant in sports games, strategy games FIFA Superstars; PGA Golf, ESPNU

Real Time 2 player challenges Miscrits lets the player challenge strangers in real time

Asynchronous challenges Crazy Caravans, City of Wonder let players challenge strangers as they travel (stat based challenges)

Challenge strangers w/o consent

Ability to gather friends into teams/groups/gang

Competition & Glory A few games give glory/fame but no actual achievements/advancements for rising to the top Isle of Tune allows viewers to rate up/down various island submissions (anonymously on both sides) ?

Communication The majority of games presume an asynchronous experience Leaving messages in the game world for friends to find Posting on wall with standardized messages and possibly personalizing them Dragon Age Legends lets players personalize ‘kill phrase’ which friends will see when they recruit you Friends’ interactions are mainly through gameplay itself, rather than communication about gameplay

Synchronous Communication A few games offer real time chat: With friends & strangers (Yoville)

Synchronous Communication My Vineyard

Synchronous Communication Kingdoms of Camelot

How social are social games? Friends are a presence in games, but mostly silent Replicating the ‘bowling alone’ experience of many MMOG players Friends’ help is mostly transaction based. Very few games utilized friends’ skills in helping players with gameplay Skill is mostly evidenced in competitions and the building of stats

The illusion of sociality? The more friends you have, the more status you have in a game More friends let you advance, unlock areas, gain access to particular shiny objects Friends can inspire competition, whether reciprocated or not Lapsed friends can be a resource, can signify which of your friends are ‘socially absent’ Friends add content to games through the designed system

Sociality More friends = better Communication = limited Interactions = largely scripted, innovating somewhat Use of sound for interaction? More creative use of communication?

Recent Developments in the Social Network Game Space

Data Dump Game DAU/MAU Visiting benefits the space Dungeon Overlord 36.2 No Bejeweled Blitz 36 n/a Farmville 29.5 Yes Frontierville 28.6 Yes Treasure Isle 21.5 Yes Café World 20.9 Yes Texas HoldEm Poker 19.4 n/a CSI: Crime City 17.2 No Mafia Wars 17 n/a Warstorm 16.4 n/a

Data Dump2 Game by DAU Interact w/Avatars visited CityVille No Farmville No Texas HoldEm Poker No FrontierVille No Bejeweled Blitz n/a

Data Dump3 Game by DAU Quests Req Friend help/VC Grouping Mechanic CityVille Yes No Farmville Yes Yes Texas HoldEm Poker Yes Yes Frontierville Yes No Bejeweled Blitz No No Café World Yes No (?) Treasure Isle No No Mafia Wars Yes Yes Pet Society Yes No It Girl Yes Yes

Nike + Start a run, notification sent to Facebook Friends ‘like’ or comment on notification, runner hears cheering during the run

Word Lens Real time OCR used with camera on iPhone to translate English/Spanish and vice versa, facilitating communication How could a game incorporate real time source of information or communication, or cross a language barrier (in a basic way)?

House MD Appisodes bring additional content How could a game add interest with peripheral items that aren’t leaderboards or forums?

Social Books Turns books into e-documents which can be annotated and shared How could a game allow for annotation beyond visiting/gifting mechanics? Could players comment on the game itself? Make a significant change to the game world if a friend trusts them to do so?

Hey Tell Push to talk from Voxilate for iphone, android Most games employing synchronicity rely on text chat. Could a game use voice more effectively, particularly in small bursts?

Picnik Facebook app that lets you copy friends’ pictures, edit and alter them, and publish to your own profile. Could a game allow friends to customize/arrange the experience or design for one another? In some small or interesting way?

Quora Allows users to ask questions, follow questions, provide answers. Could players take a more substantive role in helping one another out in games, in a specific way? Could questioning be a part of a game?

Summing Up Major social mechanics: visiting, gifting, friending, challenging, messaging Few opportunities to utilize voice, meaningful communication, skill-based help Newer games offering friendly competition and new genres for gameplay

Using your friends 2.0

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