Anil Das-Gupta and Adam Telfer, speaking at GDC 2018 Deconstructing Golf Clash and the Battle Royale Genre

1. Deconstructor of Fun:
Breaking Down Top Mobile
Games
Adam Telfer Anil Das-Gupta
Chatterbox Games PLAYRMAKR

3. & HOW TO FOLLOW UP
CLASH ROYALE

5. GAMEPLAY
IP
THEME

6. 750+
1000+
250+

7. Top 50 Grossing

8. GAMEPLAY
IP
THEME

9. AUDIENCE

11. That’s Easy, Right?

12. Hybrids aren’t Easy to Get Right

13. It’s Never Directly Plug & Play

15. How did Playdemic Merge
with Clash Royale so successfully?

16. How did Playdemic Merge
with Clash Royale so successfully?
Intro to Golf Clash
Key #1
Key #2
Key #3

17. Intro to Golf Clash
Key #1
Key #2
Key #3
How did Playdemic Merge
with Clash Royale so successfully?

20. Tutorial By Watching!

24. PLAY
COLLECTUPGRADE

25. Intro to Golf Clash
Key #1
Key #2
Key #3
How did Playdemic Merge
with Clash Royale so successfully?

26. Intro to Golf Clash
Key #1: Stats vs Skill
Key #2
Key #3
How did Playdemic Merge
with Clash Royale so successfully?

27. Stats Skill

28. Stats Skill
Stats Have Visible Impact
But Skill Drives Victory

29. Visible Impact of Individual Characters

30. Visible Impact of Individual Characters
Variety of Stats that are Scaleable &
Important

31. Visible Impact of Individual Characters
Variety of Stats that are Scaleable &
Important
Yet Skill Drives Victory

32. Visible Impact of Individual Characters
Variety of Stats that are Scaleable &
Important
Yet Skill Drives Victory

33. Visible Impact of Individual Characters
Variety of Stats that are Scaleable &
Important
Yet Skill Drives Victory

34. Visible Impact of Individual Characters
Variety of Stats that are Scaleable &
Important
Yet Skill Drives Victory

35. Visible Impact of Individual Characters
Variety of Stats that are Scaleable &
Important
Yet (it feels like) Skill Drives Victory

36. Stats vs Skill
Level 1 -
Level 8
Level 1 -
Level 13
1.95x
3.06x
HP
HP

37. Stats vs Skill
Level 1 -
Level 8
POWER
1.07x
3.13x
CURL

38. Key #1: Skill vs Stats Balance
Clubs Impact is Visible
Variety of Scalable Stats
Upgrades are felt, yet the Game feels Skill-driven.

39. Intro to Golf Clash
Key #1: Stats vs Skill
Key #2: Gacha
Key #3
How did Playdemic Merge
with Clash Royale so successfully?

41. Pool Control

42. Pool Control
All Cards Are Useful

43. Pool Control
All Cards Are Useful

44. Pool Control
All Cards Are Useful

45. Key #2: Gacha
Pool Control by Tours
Many Clubs Useful by Hole Design

46. Intro to Golf Clash
Key #1: Stats vs Skill
Key #2: Gacha
Key #3: Shifting Meta
How did Playdemic Merge
with Clash Royale so successfully?

48. Not a lot of Club Variety
PvE Gameplay = Meta is Hand-Crafted

55. Key #3: Shifting Meta
Golf Clash doesn’t have a PvP Shifting Meta
To make up for it:
Buy-In, Targeted Offers, More Content,
Tournaments, Leagues

56. Stats vs Skill
Gacha
Shifting Meta
How did Playdemic Merge
with Clash Royale so successfully?

57. Stat Impact is Visible, but Skill feels most Important
Gacha
Shifting Meta
How did Playdemic Merge
with Clash Royale so successfully?

58. Stat Impact is Visible, but Skill feels most Important
Pool Control & Many Clubs are Useful
Shifting Meta
How did Playdemic Merge
with Clash Royale so successfully?

59. Stat Impact is Visible, but Skill feels most Important
Pool Control & Many Clubs are Useful
No Shifting Meta. Instead Buy-In, Content, Events
How did Playdemic Merge
with Clash Royale so successfully?

61. Don’t Fast-Follow against the same audience

62. It’s Never Directly Plug & Play

63. But the Challenge is worth it!

64. & How to Follow Up
Clash Royale

65. The Rise of Mobile
Battle Royale Games

66. Deconstruction

67. What’s the Hottest Thing in Gaming Right Now?

69. Intro to Battle Royale Games
Why Battle Royale has been so successful
Mobile Core Game Loop
Monetisation and Progression
Why are mobile Battle Royale games
such a big deal in 2018?

70. History of the Genre
PC
April 2012

71. History of the Genre
Brendan Greene
PC
2015

72. History of the Genre
PC
2016/2017

73. History of the Genre
PC
2017

74. History of the Genre
PC
2017/8

75. Battle Royale - The Phenomenon of 2017
● 32M Sales Worldwide in
less than 12 months.
● 3M Concurrent users.
● Another 3M concurrent
users playing Fortnite.

76. Most Watched Games on Twitch
● What’s the hottest genre in gaming right now?
● Why is Battle Royale so compelling?
● How have NetEase made it work on mobile?
● Mobile Core Loop
● Monetisation and Progression
● What’s Next and Summary

77. Most Watched Games on Twitch
● What’s the hottest genre in gaming right now?
● Why is Battle Royale so compelling?
● How have NetEase made it work on mobile?
● Mobile Core Loop
● Monetisation and Progression
● What’s Next and Summary

78. But can Battle Royale Work on Mobile?
?

79. But can Battle Royale Work on Mobile?

80. Why you Should be Interested
● Perennially in the top 50 most downloaded apps in the USA.
● Consistent top 100 grossing game.
● Increased revenue to baseline $200K since the start of 2018.

81. Intro to Battle Royale Games
Why Battle Royale has been so successful
Mobile Core Game Loop
Monetisation and Progression
Why are mobile Battle Royale games
such a big deal in 2018?

82. Risk vs Reward
● Land in cities or built up areas.
● Plays differently each time you play.

83. Strategic
● Plays differently each time you play.

84. Lobby
● See the coolest gear before going into a match.
● Wait times are short.
● Get into a new game quickly and effortlessly.

85. The Circle
● Creates urgency.
● All games have a dramatic
ending.

86. Drops - Weapons and Armor

87. Team Play

88. Game Pace
Initial skirmishes
upon landing
Chance encounters /
scrambling to next circle Made final 20
Made final 10
Final Battle
Exploration / inventory
management

89. Game Pace
Initial skirmishes
upon landing
Chance encounters /
scrambling to next circle Made final 20
Made final 10
Final Battle
Exploration / inventory
management

90. Game Pace
Initial skirmishes
upon landing
Chance encounters /
scrambling to next circle Made final 20
Made final 10
Final Battle
Exploration / inventory
management

91. Game Pace
Initial skirmishes
upon landing
Chance encounters /
scrambling to next circle Made final 20
Made final 10
Final Battle
Exploration / inventory
management

92. Game Pace
Initial skirmishes
upon landing
Chance encounters /
scrambling to next circle Made final 20
Made final 10
Final Battle
Exploration / inventory
management

93. Why has Battle Royale been so Successful?
● Different experience every time you play.
● Quick to drop in and play.
● Average session length is small (<15m).
● If you die, you can get into another game in < 1 minute.
● Incredible pacing.
● An adrenaline rush like no other.
● Extremely addictive.

94. Intro to Battle Royale Games
Why Battle Royale has been so successful
Mobile Core Game Loop
Monetisation and Progression
Why are mobile Battle Royale games
such a big deal in 2018?

95. Moving to Mobile - Challenges

96. Moving to Mobile - Challenges
● Long session time.

97. Moving to Mobile - Challenges
● Long session time.
● PUBG is not Free To Play.

98. Moving to Mobile - Challenges
● Long session time.
● PUBG is not Free To Play.
● There is no meta progression layer in PUBG.

99. Moving to Mobile - Challenges
● Long session time.
● PUBG is not Free To Play.
● There is no meta progression layer in PUBG.
● Mobile Devices are not PCs!

100. Session Length
● No compromise
made for mobile.
● Session length up to
40 minutes.

101. Free to Play - RoS Game Loop / Meta
Battle Royale
Rewards
+ Gold*
+ Rank Up

102. Game Loop / Meta
Battle Royale Acquire Items
Rewards
+ Gold*
+ Rank Up
Progression
+ Costume Skins
+ Weapon Skins

103. Daily Goals

104. Gameplay - Weapon Pickup System

105. Gameplay - Spatial Awareness

106. Movement

107. Gameplay - Quick Access Functionality

108. eSports Activities

109. Innovation

110. Innovation

111. Moving to Mobile - Summary
● Zero concession made to session length.
● Free To Play.
● Daily goals and capped income creates a basic meta progression layer.
● Automated some functions to make the game easier for mobile, but did not radically rethink the
control scheme.
● Emphasis on competition through eSports.
● Constant updates and gameplay innovations.

112. Intro to Battle Royale Games
Why Battle Royale has been so successful?
Mobile Core Game Loop
Monetisation and Progression
Why are mobile Battle Royale games
such a big deal in 2018?

113. Monetization
● Cosmetic items
only.
● No paying for
power.

114. Monetization
● Gacha

115. Monetization
● Cumulative top-up
system.

116. Monetization
● Bonus offers.
● Reward players for
their first purchase.

117. Room for Innovation? Progression

118. Room for Innovation? Progression

119. Monetization - Summary
● Cosmetic items only.
● Avoided the easy way out of charging players for power.
● Best practices from other skill based asian games.
● Weak metagame and series of progression is an opportunity for others to take advantage of.

120. What’s Next?

121. PUBG Mobile
● 2 games in development.
● 17M pre-registrations in
China alone.

122. Success can be Fleeting...

123. Fortnite - the NEW Battle Royale Phenomenon
● Epic reports over 3M concurrent players.
● 625K people simultaneously watched a recent Twitch stream!

124. Fortnite Mobile
● Same gameplay, same map, same content, same weekly updates.
● Supports Cross Play and Cross Progression between PlayStation 4, PC, Mac, iOS and Android.

125. Already Fast Followed!

126. How do you Win?

127. Deja Vu?
PC

128. 2018 - The Year of Battle Royale
● The hottest genre in gaming right now.

129. 2018 - The Year of Battle Royale
● The hottest genre in gaming right now.
● Constant updates and gameplay innovation will prevail.

130. 2018 - The Year of Battle Royale
● The hottest genre in gaming right now.
● Constant updates and gameplay innovation will prevail.
● Fair play meta is mandatory.

131. 2018 - The Year of Battle Royale
● The hottest genre in gaming right now.
● Constant updates and gameplay innovation will prevail.
● Fair play meta is mandatory.
● Huge teams and resources needed.

132. 2018 - The Year of Battle Royale
● The hottest genre in gaming right now.
● Constant updates and gameplay innovation will prevail.
● Fair play meta is mandatory.
● Huge teams and resources needed.
● More of the biggest hits will experiment with cross-play.

133. 2018 - The Year of Battle Royale
● The hottest genre in gaming right now.
● Constant updates and gameplay innovation will prevail.
● Fair play meta is mandatory.
● Huge teams and resources needed.
● More of the biggest hits will experiment with cross-play.
● Great for consumers!

134. THANK YOU!
QUESTIONS?