On May 11th, MALLORCA GAME took place, the first video game event in Palma de Mallorca organized by the EDIB school of the Fleming Group, which I had the pleasure of attending and participating as a speaker with a talk about the 10 keys to free-to-play game design.
The event was a resounding success with much more participation than expected, from all kinds of talks, to Cosplay contests, television reports, retro zones, etc.
I am taking advantage of this post to briefly explain the 10 keys to F2P game design based on our experience at PlaySpace. You can find a link to the video of the presentation here.
Characteristics of Free-to-Play Game Design
Before starting, I would like to give a brief introduction about the situation we find ourselves in as game designers regarding the F2P game market:
- The power of the word “free” as a commercial tool.
- The F2P market is the present, not the future. Major video game companies are already developing their games with the F2P model.
- We have an audience larger than ever thanks to the use of new technologies and platforms.
- A new model of games as a service is born, where the direct relationship between the developer and the end customer (the player) never ends.
Given these game design conditions, we need to open our minds and change our game design rules to adapt to the new era of F2P and not get stuck in the past.
Therefore, I have prepared a brief guide with ten keys to keep in mind when designing F2P games.
#1 F2P Game Design: Make It Fun
Both the developers of Candy Crush Saga and Clash of Clans have taught us that the more fun the game, the greater the chances of success. All of this must be designed with conversion metrics in mind for each part of the business. Yes, a game is a business the moment you invest in it. I mention this because traditional game design is often reluctant to embrace the concept of “business.”
#2 F2P Game Design: Short Cycles
Game design must ensure that the main game mechanic can be performed simply in a few minutes and can be executed in repetitive time cycles. For example, collecting dragon eggs in Dragon City, harvesting corn in FarmVille, trying to beat the record in Jetpack JoyRide, or playing a level in Candy Crush. This way, we will get players to enter our game frequently, which will improve retention. Retention is the foundation of monetization.
#3 F2P Game Design: Satisfy All Players
As Richard Bartle explains in his theory of different player types, there are different classes of players who play to satisfy different needs. Some play to compete, others to socialize, others to stand out above the rest, others for fun, etc. A good game is one that can satisfy the needs of each and every player type. Therefore, you must design social game dynamics, competitive game dynamics, and cooperative game dynamics, among others.
#4 F2P Game Design: Games That Never End
Your game’s revenue depends directly on the amount of time your players invest in your game. Therefore, the longer the games last, the better. What would happen if Candy Crush had 10 levels instead of more than 300? Does anyone know if Clash of Clans has an ending? Or even Ogame? They are infinite games. This is where we fail the most in game design, as we design games for the player to fulfill an objective in a story setting.
#5 F2P Game Design: Play Free Forever
Why allow non-paying players to play for free? Because we can extract many other advantages from non-payers that are not immediately obvious. Some of them will become payers sooner or later, others will invite their friends to play, others will keep the player community active so that payers have people to play with, and many other benefits. In the end, the most important thing is to have an active community of players on which to build a sustainable business.
#6 F2P Game Design: First Payment Without Thinking
The most complicated part of a free-to-play game is converting a free player into a paying player. Therefore, it is highly recommended to make that first payment as easy as possible in different ways with some incentive like a special item with great value and a limited offer.
#7 F2P Game Design: Allow Spending €100
The true fans of your game with purchasing power will want to spend money on your game. Let them!
#8 F2P Game Design: The First 60 Seconds
We have realized that the first 60 seconds of gameplay are fundamental for the player’s retention. Everything the player sees and does in those first 60 seconds will determine whether they stay or leave your game. Therefore, dedicate much of your effort to the game’s tutorial and first-time user experience.
#9 F2P Game Design: Sell Feelings, Not Content
Content on the internet today tends to be free or nearly zero cost, so selling content is not the best strategy. The ideal approach is to sell feelings: the feeling of being the best, of progressing faster, of being unique, of having something exclusive, etc. These are very powerful feelings in which people are willing to invest their money.
#10 F2P Game Design: Measure Everything
It is very important to measure all the actions in your game. After all, your revenue depends on all the decisions you make during the game’s development. Thanks to game analytics tools, all decisions can be measured to help us make better decisions that ultimately improve our users’ experience and, consequently, increase revenue.
If you want to learn more, I recommend this book from Gamesbrief “Design Rules for Free-to-Play Games” and this link from Game Developers Conference with lots of F2P content.
Thanks!