Social Games and Gamification overview for the 13 May 2011 THUPR conference in London.

1. Social Games & Gamification

2. RAF KEUSTERMANSIndependent ConsultantGlobal Marketing DirectorPlayfish (EA) 2009-2010Marketing Director EMEA Pogo.com (EA) 2008-2009Head of Marketing Western Europe Unibet.com 2005-2008Project Manager & StrategicPlanneratBBDO, Grey and DuvalGuillaume (Publicis Groupe) 1998-2001 / 2002-2005Co-Founder start-up (Cyganet - online communitytools & services) 2001-2002raf.keustermans@gmail.com@raf_keustermans

3. Games & GamificationTimeline Gamification SocialGames PONG 1972 2005 1994 2012 2007 2010 1980’s Brands (re)discoverGames « Golden Age of Arcade Games » XBOX 360 PS3

5. Big, But ClosedIndustry

7. Metrics-led design, new generation of gamedevs

8. Broadband penetration

11. That’s an average of 10 minutes for everyone on the planet!

12. Or 3,4M years are spend/wasted on social gameseveryyear.

13. Wow!

14. Next-GenerationMarketing

17. F > M

18. 30+

20. HugeGrowth+ High (Perceived) Engagement + Big $$ + New Generation of Game Developers = Brands and Non-Gamecompanies are gettinginterestedin Games.

21. Gamification! Gamification is the use of game mechanics for non-game applications. Game mechanics: Level structure Reward (feedback) systems: points, badges, … Competitiveelements (leaderboards, tournament) Appointmentmechanics Virtual currency

22. Gamification: two main schools of thought « Certain gamemechanicscanwork as a STANDALONE solution outside a gameenvironment. E.g. using ‘levels’ canbe a great solution to structure content or complexprocesses. Usinggamemechanicsdoesn’tmeansomethingneeds to look or feellike a game.» « Gamesonlyworkbecause all the differentelements TOGETHER makeit an engagingexperience; narrative, character & level design, art style, sound, gameplay and gamemechanics. You can’tjusttake one of thoseelementout of it and hopeit has the same impact on engagement. »

23. Criticism: ‘Pointsification’ Fluffymetrics (‘engagement’) Re-inventingloyaltysystems Uglyword Most gamificationprojects are glorifiedloyalty programs. Strange, most (social) gamessuckatretainingusers: 60-70% neverreturnsafter first game session Only 15-20% still active 30 daysafterinstalling the game

24. But… somegamemechanicscanworkoutsidegames! Use Levels to structure content, processes Make a registration process (or taxform) easier & more fun Break down stuff in little, chewable bits Feedback loops (direct/indirect) increasevelocity of user feedback Understand drop-out points, funnelleaks Fail fast & cheap. Learn. Iterate. ‘Status’ isextremelypowerful.

25. And Even Badges Can Work! Nothing new Relevant tool if thereis a context/meaning

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