3. www.QuarterSpiral.com
about a boy
• 10 years experience as a game developer
• 30+ shipped games, multiple awards and nominations
game design game production
metrics & user testmonetization consultant
27. www.QuarterSpiral.com
“I'm one of those guys who has a
voice constantly jabbering at him
in his head. And it's usually not
very pleasant things that voice is
saying. And the games have that
way short of having any chemical
alterations to quiet that voice. I
find it very relaxing and centering
to play them.”
Ken Levine on the Active Design podcast
47. www.QuarterSpiral.com
super mario bros. 3
World
Choose branching levels,
play mini games
Sink time
Tap items
Platform
Finish the obstacle course
before time runs out
Sink lives, items
Tap lives
Gate
Lives
Gate
Boss castles
PayGate:$5
48. www.QuarterSpiral.com
delight
We can build off of the slightly linear nature of Super Mario Bros. 3 to build
a system dependent upon earning stars instead of pure level completion to
unlock new areas and abilities. Taking queues from games like Candy Crush
Saga and Jetpack Joyride, we will build in systems of achievement that will
motivate players to use a variety of consumable boosts.
Super Mario Bros. 3 is a masterclass in surprise and delight. The player is
introduced to novelties throughout the game that keeps the experience
constantly fresh. In order to monetize emotion, we will introduce elements
like a crafting system that allows the player to unlock new characters for
use with slightly different powers which allow for more novelty.
achievement
49. www.QuarterSpiral.com
metastructure changes
• Each level is a social leaderboard
• Earn 1 to 3 stars per level based on score
• [bonus stars for completing w/other characters]
• Unlock new worlds based on star totals
add achievement focus and social competition to game to allow for monetization
50. www.QuarterSpiral.com
time based elements
• Lives regen at 1 per 30 minutes
• Mini games are playable 1 per 24 hours
• EOL reward pays out once 1 per 24 hours
• Add new daily scratcher return mechanic
add time based gating to encourage daily returns
51. www.QuarterSpiral.com
coins as currency
• Coins no longer grant free life at 100
• Spend coins on entrance to mini games
• Spend coins to buy consumables pre level
• Spend coins to buy mystery box of craft components
• Spend coins to complete crafting tasks
players can grind for coins, but can purchase them in packages for $$$
52. www.QuarterSpiral.com
toad the craftsman
• EOL reward and Toad mini games grant craftables
✦ Scripted, public facing payout for each
• Craftables + gold turned in for consumables
• Rare craftables + gold to unlock new characters
✦ Princess Peach, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Samus, Link, Wario...
crafting will be the major coin sink
53. www.QuarterSpiral.com
standard requirements
• Starter pack for straight cash ($20 of value for $5)
• Boost upsell dialog before entering each level
• Contextual upsell on not enough coins, out of lives
• Notifications
standard elements to make purchasing and returns present
54. www.QuarterSpiral.com
new feature - survival mode
• A weekly high score challenge
• Randomly generated level
• Receive rewards based on making certain distances
• Costs coins to enter
• New level/refreshed leaderboard each week
coin sink + a piece of infinitely replayable content to keep players engaged
55. www.QuarterSpiral.com
super mario bros. 3
World
Choose branching levels,
play mini games, craft
Sink time, coins, craftables
Tap boosts, craftables
Platform
Finish the obstacle course
before time runs out
Sink lives, consumables
Tap coins, craftables
Gate
Lives
Gate
Stars earned
crafting
lives
consumablesmini games
characters
74. www.QuarterSpiral.com
• Classic score based arena shooter re-imagined for Mobile
• Bite sized levels played for high score
• Compete against friends’ scores, earn achievements and medals
smash tv saga
75. www.QuarterSpiral.com
x statement
• Single sentence that describes the essence of the
game
• “Razor” used to make decisions
• Punchy & memorable
Meaningless X statement
Return of the arcade classic
Meaningful X statement
Compete and cooperate in an over the top, reality TV shooter.
76. www.QuarterSpiral.com
analogs, antilogs and leaps of faith
• Idea taken from Getting to Plan B
• Analogs: successful games you want to be like
• Antilogs: similar games you want to avoid
• Leaps of faith: elements unproven in the
marketplace
77. www.QuarterSpiral.com
smash tv analogs
• Ratchet and Clank
✦ Leveling weapons
✦ Fast and furious gunplay
• Bubble Witch Saga
✦ Short, rewarding levels
✦ Leader board competition
✦ Earned currency and boosts
78. www.QuarterSpiral.com
smash tv antilogs
✦ Smash TV Arcade
✦ Don’t be a quarter
monster
✦ Engagement not
frustration
✦ Simcity Social
✦ Social network integrity
✦ Multiplayer not friend
gating
80. www.QuarterSpiral.com
monetization philosophy doc
• Identify player types
• Identify a small # of monetization emotions (2-3)
• Don’t try and do everything, make a small number
of distinct choices
• Each emotion should be a razor you use in the
future to evaluate monetization moments
• Razors are used when writing feature briefs
• Define core loop, sinks and taps
81. www.QuarterSpiral.com
Smash TV Saga has multiple achievement systems to entice the player.
Each level, he can earn a number of predetermined levels. In addition,
there is a global achievement system similar to XBLA. Points earned by
completing achievements and earning medals are used to purchase
powerful weapon upgrades.
dominance
Smash TV Saga is a score based game where each level is a unique
leaderboard that the player competes to dominate against his friends.
Leaderboards are heavily emphasized in game: they are shown before and
after levels, in-game notifications show when you’ve passed a friends score
and the game encourages you to brag on your friend’s wall after topping
his score.
achievement
82. www.QuarterSpiral.com
core loop
• Simple diagram that lays out core experience
• What are the sinks (player spends consumable)?
• What are the taps (player earns consumable)?
• What are the gates (what gates progress in each
section of the game)?
83. www.QuarterSpiral.com
smash tv saga
Kill
Kill hordes of enemies
Sink ammo, time
Tap stars, money, xp
Guns
Purchase and upgrade
Sink gold, stars
Tap guns, ammo
Gate
Player level
Gate
Lifetime Stars
84. www.QuarterSpiral.com
feature brief
• High concept
• Success metric
✦ Monetization, engagement, virality, retention, quality
• Single screen mock up
• Sinks and Taps
• Description
85. www.QuarterSpiral.com
proposed feature - smash pad
• During each round the player picks up money and
home goods
• In between levels, the player can visit his SmashPad
to decorate it with items earned
• The player’s friend can visit his SmashPad, choosing
to “Bro Out” or “Blow Out”
• Monetization: The player can buy premium home
goods using the game’s purchased currency.
86. www.QuarterSpiral.com
using our razor
•Feature rejected!
• Proven mechanic – houses in Sims Social
• Based on emotion – Jealousy/Vanity
• Social interaction with “Bro Out” vs “Blow Out”
• Does not map to our key emotions.
87. www.QuarterSpiral.com
proposed feature - phone a friend
• In level, there are buttons to “Phone a Friend”
• Each type is a super ability with a cooldown time
• Example: “Lifeline” fills you to 200% health
• Using “Phone a Friend” costs a Smash Token
• Smash Tokens are earned on level up, but can also
be purchased in large quantities
88. www.QuarterSpiral.com
using our razor
•Feature accepted!
• Super abilities will help the player earn high scores
• Super abilities will help the player earn medals
• Super abilities are consumable based
• Super abilities are available to free and paying
players
96. www.QuarterSpiral.com
ask yourself
• How many players will I get?
• How many will convert to payers?
• What LTV do I expect from the average player?
• How much will I pay to platform holders?