Volition uses Hydra to power Saints Row: The ThirdGames... · About the Game Saints Row: The Third...
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Developer Volition Publisher THQ Inc Launched November 2011 Platforms XBOX, PS3, PC (Steam) Challenges Engage players ingame and on the web with low barrier to entry Maintain player engagement after initial game completion Allow players to quickly share their characters and screenshots Hydra Services Profile Leaderboards UserGenerated Content Feed Services Account Login/Auth Challenges Social Notifications Results Over 10x growth in user registration and sign up Millions of player screenshots uploaded months after release Volition uses Hydra to power Saints Row: The Third About the Game Saints Row: The Third is an “overthetop” open world, actionadventure game that successfully blends the mechanics of a 3rd person shooter, with the character customization & development of an RPG. Challenges The Volition team has developed a great series that has attracted a huge following. While the gameplay is second to none, the team realized that online features and communities were key to maintaining high levels of engagement well after release. The key to engaging as many users as possible is to ensure that the, like the game, the barrier to entry was very low. Solution & Results The Volition team used Hydra to power their content sharing and user account creation. Users were able to (from within the game), quickly create their SR.com account and upload a character or environment screenshot. After successfully creating an account in the game, a user’s web account was automatically created, allowing them to upload their characters, which could then be downloaded back ingame by other users. Hydra was also used to power the “Initiation Station”, which was a version of the game that launched a month before the game’s release. It allowed players to create and customize their characters that would be used in the full game upon its release.
Transcript of Volition uses Hydra to power Saints Row: The ThirdGames... · About the Game Saints Row: The Third...
DeveloperVolition
PublisherTHQ Inc
LaunchedNovember 2011
PlatformsXBOX, PS3, PC (Steam)
Challenges Engage players ingameand on the web with lowbarrier to entry Maintain playerengagement after initialgame completion Allow players to quicklyshare their characters andscreenshots
Hydra Services Profile Leaderboards UserGenerated Content Feed Services Account Login/Auth Challenges Social Notifications
Results Over 10x growth in userregistration and sign up Millions of playerscreenshots uploadedmonths after release
Volition uses Hydra to powerSaints Row: The Third
About the GameSaints Row: The Third is an “overthetop” open world, actionadventuregame that successfully blends the mechanics of a 3rd person shooter, withthe character customization & development of an RPG.
ChallengesThe Volition team has developed a great series that has attracted a hugefollowing. While the gameplay is second to none, the team realized thatonline features and communities were key to maintaining high levels ofengagement well after release. The key to engaging as many users aspossible is to ensure that the, like the game, the barrier to entry was verylow.
Solution & ResultsThe Volition team used Hydra to power their content sharing and useraccount creation. Users were able to (from within the game), quicklycreate their SR.com account and upload a character or environmentscreenshot. After successfully creating an account in the game, a user’sweb account was automatically created, allowing them to upload theircharacters, which could then be downloaded back ingame by other users.
Hydra was also used to power the “Initiation Station”, which was a versionof the game that launched a month before the game’s release. It allowedplayers to create and customize their characters that would be used in thefull game upon its release.
The series realized over 10x growth in community participation and sign up.Months after the game’s release, users were continuously uploading anddownloading millions of characters & screenshots each month.
“Volition’s relationship with Agora has been consistently collaborative and productive. They always went the extra distance for us and we considered them an extension of the development team. It’s rare but very gratifying to have a relationship like we did with Agora.”
The Volition Team
Agora Games, LLC359 Broadway AvenueTroy, NY 12180P: 518.308.8253F: [email protected]
About Agora Gamesagoragames.comSince 2005, Agora Games is a team of engineers that has been developingthe Hydra platform and providing professional services to some of the biggestgames in the industry. We’re have the pleasure of supporting companiessuch as Activision, WB Games, THQ & many more.
About Hydrahydra.agoragames.comHydra is an online services platform that provides console, PC and mobiledevelopers with the tools to empower their gaming communities withengaging features. Hydra currently supports online services for Android, iOS,Unity, Wii, XBOX360, PS3, Steam & Games for Windows Live
