From outer space to your farmUnderstanding digital games

Level 1The beginning

Like many new technologies, digital gaming started as something

out of this world.

1962 1971 1971

Spacewar!1st gen digital game

Computer space1st gen arcade game

Magnavox odyssey1st gen home console

The first digital games

In 1972 the spaceship has landedIn a local bar in Sunnyvale, California.

AtariFormer publisher of pinball machines pivoted to be a developer and manufacturer of commercially successful arcade games.

But what IS a game, really?

A game has many definitions and structures. In its base it is a system of rules,objectives and a tangible outcome.

Here’s one of my favorite definitions:

“ A game is a series of meaningful choices” S. Meier

● Competition● Self improvement● Feeling of progression● Pattern recognition● Sense of autonomy● Story/mystery● Reward system (random/linear)● Positive reinforcements● Flow - Immersion● Social interaction● To feel smart● What else?

Why games are fun?We love...

Sense of autonomy, AKA meaningful choicesAre the heart of every game

What are the differences between the two?

● Skill based● Gives sense of autonomy● Multiplayer● Infinite variability● Community

● Sometimes a skill game (depends on the machine)

● Less sense of autonomy● Single player● Finite variabilty

Game design principles for arcades

● Super intuitive controls and objectives

● Endless, race to highscore gameplay● Fairly hard● Skill based games

The game design IS the business model

Insert coin Play (1-5 min approx.) Die Continue?

Yes

Get your initials on the leaderboard. (if you were awesome)

Next player

No

Why “Continue?” is such an amazing selling point?

Loss aversion. People hate losing stuff they already “own” the morse so when invested time and emotion into.

The golden era of arcades1972-1985

Space invaders

1978Pac Man

1980Street fighter II

1991Donkey kong

1980Asteroids

1981

10,000,000,000+ 8,000,000,000+ 6,500,000,000+ 1,120,000,000+ 500,000,000+

Link to arcade commercial

Who plays arcade games?

Back in the day the majority were young, competitive males. But there were attempts to reach the other gender as well..

Pac-Man was designed with girls in mind

● A game about an eating disorder, Pac-Man tries to avoid the ghosts who haunt him for it.

● No shootings/killings involved.● The settings (maze) appeals to both genders.● This is actually a CASUAL game.

Pacman is the most profitable arcade of all times

* A note to game designers: Girls MATTER!

Arcade traction started to decline in 1985

As home entertainment consoles took over

Level 2Game design evolves

NES3rd gen console that revived the dying US

market

Home consoles

Link to arcade commercial

1985

In terms of game design, what are the differences between the two?

● Short gameplay● No save games● Highscore as main objective● Monetization based on small

transactions

● Long gameplay● Save game feature● Many different objectives● Monetization based on one big

transaction

Game design rule - the feedback loop

Kill monsters Get treasure Buy weapons

Repeat

Feedback loop AKA - the addiction loop

Dopamine Love!

Game design rule - the feedback loop

Dopamine strikes when anticipating to be rewarded Random sized loot

(variable reward) - causes addiction

Don’t you LOVE it when that happens?

(But more on candy crush love later on…)

As games started to get biggerThey appealed to what seems to be a niche gamer market

Until….

Enter the PC. Not a gaming platform.. yet.

Genres evolve on PC

2001 20021990

BejewledDownloaded over 150M times

The simsBest selling PC game in all

times

SolitaireThe most popular PC game

Casual games first introduced on PC

Social gameBiggest social game, more than 11M DAU at peak. FTP

MMORPGMost subscribed game with 7M paying customers.

2009 2004O, and the internet...

It’s always a “non gaming” apparatus to expand the gaming circles to “non-gamers”

Actually, tablets brought in a new audience

And now digi gamers officially span from toddlers to elders

Level 3But what are casual games anyway?

What do you see here?

We love spotting patterns.We also love to match things, sort things, put things in

order.

Casual games take those daily brain activities

And use them as the main game mechanic

Match things Sort things Put things in order

This is why candies, fruits, gems and animalsare so commonly used. They offer a natural “matching”

system

Casual games controls also need to come naturally

NaturalNot natural

And remember this?

Kill monsters Get treasure Buy weapons

Repeat

Casual games need a smaller, condensed feedback loop

Identify pattern

Decide on which to act

act

Watch reaction and get reward

Game design rules for casual games

● Use elements from real life (unlike space stuff)● Super intuitive gameplay● Design for small bursts of play● Designed for totally different play

environments● Condensed feedback loop

Level 4Mobile and the free to play market

Shifting to mobile (2009)

Fruit ninjaNew mechanics for touch screens

Draw somethingFirst true mobile social

success

Angry birdsBringing puzzles to the people!

App Stores 2014

Candy crush sagaTop grossing, monetization machine

Clash of clansTop grossing, dumbed down RTS game

Flappy birdThe app store phenomena of 2014

Free to p(l)ay marketIf things are offered for free, why would anyone pay?

Well...

Most do not pay. Others pay a little.And a small minority pays A LOT. We call them whales.

Free to play - fishing for whales● Game design emphasizes micro transactions● Game design heavily shaped by data● Strong use of “loss aversion”● strong use of impulsive buy (usually to rush processes up)● Finding the exact amount of player frustration

Some say that free to play killed the gaming industry. I think it brought gaming to everyone.

From Arcade venues to our pocket, everybody is a gamer.

Gaming is… Everywhere

“Everything in the future online is going to look like a multiplayer game”- Eric Schmidt, Google chairman

Xbox 1 commercialDonkey kong commercial

This deck was brought to you by

Dori Adar, Creative director at TabTale, gamer, talker, midnight toker.

Doriadar@gmail.com