Gamification conference 4 May 2011, Digital Shoreditch, London

1. Game Mechanics?
Let’s Talk About Data
Digital Shoreditch, Gamification Workshop - London
Raf Keustermans, 4 May 2011

2. RAF KEUSTERMANS
Independent Consultant
Global Marketing Director Playfish (EA) 2009-2010
Marketing Director EMEA Pogo.com (EA) 2008-2009
Head of Marketing Western Europe Unibet.com 2005-2008
Project Manager & Strategic Planner at BBDO, Grey and
DuvalGuillaume (Publicis Groupe) 1998-2001 / 2002-2005
Co-Founder start-up (Cyganet - online community tools &
services) 2001-2002
raf.keustermans@gmail.com
@raf_keustermans

3. Gamification: two main schools of thought
« Games only work because all the « Certain game mechanics can work
different elements TOGETHER make as a STANDALONE solution outside a
it an engaging experience; narrative, game environment. Even without a
character & level design, art style, narrative, characters, … E.g. using
sound, gameplay and game ‘levels’ can be a great solution to
mechanics. structure content or processes.
You can’t just take one of those Using game mechanics doesn’t mean
element out of it and hope it has the something needs to look or feel like
same impact on engagement. » a game.»
Main goal : replicate the (perceived?) strong user engagement from (social)
games by adding game elements to a non-game business.

4. Fact: Everyone Is Super Jealous About
Social Games’ Strong User Engagement.
It’s Awesome.

5. Mythbusting!
Mythbusting!
What Social Games Can Teach
Us About User Engagement.
Or not.

6. • Average social game:
– 60-70% never returns after first game
session
– Only 15-20% still active 30 days after
installing the game
– Only 1-2% spends money
CHURN!
• In 2010, Facebook killed (spammy)
re-engagement channels:
– Most social games lost 30-40% of
their audience within 6 weeks
– Even the most ‘sticky’ games need to
remind players constantly about their
existance

7. EA Playfish generated
300M+ game installs since
2008, only 5.5M Daily
Actives today
Zynga spends $100M on
User Acquisition/year to
keep audience numbers at
the same level.

8. And there’s more…
• 80,000+ games on Facebook
– Only 200 games with 1M+ MAU
– Of those, < 100 with 20%+ DAU/MAU (playrate)
those, (playrate)
and < 60 are older than 6 months
• About 0.07% of social games have real scale
AND lasting engagement.

9. Even the top studios don’t always get it right…
EA Playfish,
Pirates Ahoy
Zynga,
Treasure Isle

10. But then again….
again….
• 50% of Facebook users play games (300M people)
• 150B minutes spent EVERY MONTH on social games
– That’s an average of 10 minutes for everyone on the
planet!
– Or 3,4M years are spend/wasted on social games every
spend/
year.
year.
– Wow.
• That’s an engaged audience, right?

11. So…
• The AVERAGE social game is not very good at
keeping users engaged.
• Not better/worse than the AVERAGE website.
• The TOP social games are great at engaging
users.
users.
• Just like the TOP websites.
websites.

12. Does That Mean
Gamification is a Fad?

13. No.
• But building games or creating/applying relevant
game mechanics is very, very difficult!
– There’s a reason why successful game
producers/designers make £100K+
• Game mechanics can’t fix broken businesses
– Retention, monetization problems
• Most gamification programs are loyalty programs
– More value in other areas (structure, feedback cycle)
• Stop talking about ‘engagement’, use real metrics
– What is the goal, how to measure, what to measure?

14. Focus on game mechanics that really work
• Use Levels to structure content, processes
– Make a registration process (or tax form) easier & more fun
– Break down stuff in little, chewable bits
• Games have rules, rules create order & clarity, a clear path to
achieve goals.
– ‘What do I need to do to get a promotion, to get better results at
school, to improve my fitness? How do I get there?’
• Feedback loops (direct/indirect) increase velocity of user
feedback
– Understand drop-out points, funnel leaks
– Fail fast & cheap. Learn. Iterate.

15. Btw, If You’re Really Looking For User
Engagement And Great Results…

16. Raf Keustermans
raf.keustermans@gmail.com
twitter.com/raf_keustermans