Hacking Gamification

Bing Gordon, KPCB

@bingfish

@kpcb

Why Gamify?

Game patterns are the new normal

2 -10x improvement

1

Acquire

2

Engage

3

Retain

Decades of Gaming

Acquire

1

First Five Seconds

Acquire

“I am smart—this is what I expected.”

“First” Matters

First Session

“This is fun—what I expected, only better.”

“I know what I am doing—and I like it.”

1

Acquire

“First” Rules

• Win first, win fast

• Give them a reason to return

• Send invites (if you love it)

1

Acquire

The Original “Touch”

Pinball Construction Set 1983

1

The New “Shelf”

Acquire

1

Acquire

10:1

1

Acquire

Just as in SEM…

The landing screen

is everything.

1

Acquire

Reduce bounce by

90%

Before install:

Sketch what you expect to see…

After first five seconds:

Is this what you expected?

1

Acquire

Frames Are Wine Labels

1

Acquire

Interface is the Engine

NASCAR “draft meter”: 2x

1

Acquire

Interface Toys Work

Wants and fears spinner of Sims 2

1

Acquire

“Opt in” Complexity

Open style menus of Sim Golf

1

Acquire

FB Profiles = Social

15M not 1M for Zynga Poker

1

Acquire

Friend Bar Mechanic

70M, not 2M for Farmville

1

Acquire

Virality: The New Marketing

Incentives

Virtual goods Games: imbue value in VG

Invites

Incented invites

-- 4 -10x (watch for TOS!)

Incented installs +25%

1

Acquire

Virality: The New Marketing

1

Take Aways

Acquire

10x

Touchable “box”

90%

Bounce reduction

» I feel smart

» Win first, win fast

2x

Interface = engine

4-10x

Viral design

Engage

Wow!!!

2

1x first two sessions

Engage

Good!!

1 to 3x first session

Design Beats

Yuck!

0x first session

Oh F*#@!

Never

2

Engage

Wither Factor

First Successful Time Pressure

2

Engage

Identity

The Most Precious Asset

2

Engage

Who Are You?

Build a Profile: Identity, career score key.

2

Engage

Like Going Out

Take 30 minutes

2

Engage

Power of Personalization

Tiger Woods Golf: +50%

2

Engage

Live Life in Levels

2

Engage

Show Numbers

2

Engage

Badges Rule

• I have 600+

• 2x hours/week

• 75% female, average

age 42

2

Engage

Trophies Matter

2

Engage

Yearning for Recognition

Sim City: 20,000 uploaded cities “They all look the same!”

2

“Aileen City is such a great place to live. The parks are

beautiful and the highways are never jammed.

Come to Aileen City!”

Engage

UGC Text #1

1% upload | 25% download

“Joe City is a towering spectacle of glass and concrete. It is not just a city, it is an economic dynamo!”

“You have to watch the citizens to understand Jennville. They shop, they bustle, their houses are perfect.”

2

Engage

Engage

Co-Op Crushes

Competition 3:1

2

Engage

Engage

Gifts 30x Brags

2

Engage

Engage

Party of 5

20 - 30% productivity gains

2

Engage

Design Principles

• Value what you make, value what you earn

• Golf courses should look hard, play easy

• 90% of players are 90% of the way

• Constraints are fun

• Experts fail fast; everyone else wins fast, wins first

2

Engage

Take Aways

2x Great second session Viewable profiles Badges, achievements Numbers, stats for 10-25%

4x “Invest” and avoid “wither” UGC for 25% of players Social obligation for 25% of players

Retain

3

Retain

Multiple, Parallel Goals

Probabilistic, too. Lessons from the Skinner Box. 2 currencies (Las Vegas)

3

Retain

Look Ahead

Will she come back? When? What will she do in the second session? Will she be playing a month from now? What will she expect?

3

Retain

“Pinch”

Resource Management in Farmville

3

Retain

Constraints & Quantity

3

Retain

Pre-Announcements Huge

World of Warcraft -- 0% churn

from level 35-40, 55-60 (mount,

elder game)

Pre-register at retail -- 10-20% of first week sales

3

Retain

Content Updates Sell

Correlated to quality

3

Retain

Madden Football

• 70% repeat if “game of the year”

• 30% repeat purchase if “liquid AI is

what’s running down their legs”

Content Updates Sell

The Sims expansions

• 16 expansions, 50M units

• 60% ARPU increase

3

Retain

Social Obligations Lock-In

• Madden

– “You can’t convert the whole fraternity.”

• Guilds

– Appointment gaming

– Peer pressure and privileges

– Marriages (and divorce)

• Asynchronous: 4x more than simultaneous

3

Retain

Magic Numbers

Twitter

• 40% 1 month retention

• 90%-ish monthly retention if 10 followers

Facebook

• 20 friends

• 70% “long term” retention

3

Retain

Virtual Assets : 3x Factor

Ultima Online House owners - 3 years

3

Madden sequels

Retain

• 2x for high quality

• Use “NPS” (Net Promoter Score)

• % recommend - % who wouldn’t

Quality Matters

Metacritic.com

• 80 - 85 = Top 50

• +50 -100% for each +5 points

Design Principles

3

Retain

• Show numbers

• Look ahead

• Pinch

• Constraints are fun

• Pre-Announcements

• Content updates sell

3

Retain

Take Aways

Do the Math

• 4x: Pinch and “look ahead” game mechanics

3

Retain

• 100%: Pre-announce (for a month)

• 50%: New content, if same quality as original

Take Aways

• 20%: Social structures:

– 90% less churn for players who are “well-guilded”

• 15%: Virtual assets

– 67% less churn for players who are “well-castled”

New Media, New Rules

“The best way to keep someone playing forever is to have them play today.” -- Bing

Real World Gamification