Long Face, Long Tail - Struan Robertson, F2P Summit 2012

(C) NaturalMotion Games 2012

Long Face, Long Tail

What we learned about mobile games from My Horse


State of Play

Design and Monetization

Analysis


NaturalMotion Games

Polish and retentionAddictive PlayConsole quality

Premium Games


Oct 2009Backbreaker

Dec 2010Backbreaker 2

Dec 2010Jenga

April 2011Icebreaker

Sep 2011NFL Rivals

Top 10 Hit Top 10 HitTop 10 HitTop 10 HitTop 10 Hit

Over 20 million downloads

Biggest new sports IP on iOS

US App Store US App Store US App Store US App Store US App Store

2011 saw opportunities with freemium...


My Horse - iOS

• F2P - launched September 2011

• Realistic visuals - important!

• Nurture + games

• 8m downloads

• 500k DAU


Think differentlyPoint 1


brave new world


Mobile Market

new players

GAMES ARE SUPER FUN.

current market


time to be unique!

Overall presentation Stand out visuals

Novel gameplay (!)Clarity of purpose


Believable Horse


= Magic Moment


Being unique helped us...


but beware!


Being featured = LOTS of users

There are a lot of other apps out there...

That was kind of neat. I might go back and play aga...OOOH LOOK

ANGRY BIRDS IN SPACE!!


make sure yours is sticky


Product DesignPoint 2


Product Design

simplicity quality balance

designing for your audience


different usage

different design

obvious but often forgotten...

Don’t build a console game on a mobile!

console Mobile

You know this but you keep doing it!


different play styles and times

undirected play tending

focussed play call backs and timers


Core Loop

Do A Thing

Get A Thing

Expand Your Things


Expand Your Things

Get A Thing

Do A Thing

Cadence

Measure out progress with

difficulty + entry requirements

Collecting feels great!

Oh I need more money!


Play Sessions and Cadence

play session

put down with call back

possible monetization point

Do A Thing

Get A Thing

Expand Your

Things

Do A Thing

Get A Thing

Expand Your

Things

maybe several of these, depends on your game

Do A Thing

Get A Thing

Expand Your

Things


core loop determines engagement


engaged users matter a lot


Man, I am so well engaged in this game.

Yes. I am also well engaged.

grinders socialites payers

some engaged users

DAU viral $


look after your core loop, look after engagement


Expand Your Things

Get A Thing

Do A Thing

My Horse Example

Enter a competition

Win some CoinsBuy a new saddle


Start Simple and Expand

Nurture

Feed

Groom

Enter Competitions

Play

Share

Dress


Layered Gameplay/Discoverability

layered depth discoverability

different competition types hidden animations and play mode


Roaring the Gospel

team immersion key words

cohesive narrative


Design product solutions within the narrative

How do we get people to visit other people’s horses?

Must be rewarding

Must be real

Lending help - matches the main narrative


MonetizationPoint 3


What are you going to monetize?Energy/Consumables


What are you going to monetize?Customisation/Visual


What are you going to monetize?

Power Ups/Boosts


What are you going to monetize?

Shortcuts

Lots more...


You must understand your game

What are your carrots?

•What do users want?

•One step removed?

•Energy...

core loop critical


Understand your customers, understand sales

Present your shop well

The most important button in the gameI REALLY WANT TO

PRESS THAT BUTTON


Lovely Wrapping

RewardsMessaging Images


First Purchase

Crucial to encourage spending!

New users (funnel) Non Spenders (sales)


Post Game AnalysisPoint 4


Product Manager

AnalyticsEngineering

Art/Design Stakeholders

New features

New content

Balancing

Seasonal

Continued Development


Basic Dashboard of stats

ARPU – Average Revenue Per User

ARPPU – Average Revenue Per Paying User

% of Paying Users

ARPDAU – Average Revenue Per Daily Active User

Retention (7-Day & 30-Day)

delve into this data to drive questions

Jan Feb March Apr May June


Questions

Product Manager Analytics

Hey Number Dude, what happens to ARPDAU if we halve the cost of the energy biscuits?

Your mother.

Sounds great! Run the tests then!

Sigh.

Example: data says we don’t sell many energy biscuits...


A/B Tests

“Bucket C”Everyone else

New user comes in

Bucket BNormal Price

Biscuits

Bucket A1/2 Price Biscuits

Fill in parallel!


Simplifying Tutorial

38.5% 44% 1-Day Retention


Shop Layout Testing

14% increase in purchases


A/B Test Pitfalls

Which needle?

Time and country - makes a difference

Test other options

Ignoring creativity

Push data


In conclusion...


time to be unique!make sure yours is sticky

Don’t build a console game on a mobile!

know your core loop

look after your core loop, look after your engaged users

monetize your carrotsunderstand sales techniques

ask questions of your data


Thanks!@StruManchu

We’re Hiring!www.naturalmotiongames.com

EngineersProduct ManagersDesignersArtists

Oxford | London | SF

http://www.naturalmotiongames.com

http://www.naturalmotiongames.com

Long Face, Long Tail - Struan Robertson, F2P Summit 2012

Technology

Transcript of Long Face, Long Tail - Struan Robertson, F2P Summit 2012