building mmog for sns
TRANSCRIPT
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Building an MMOG for SNS audiencesQuang Dang – GSSJuly 2012
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Who am I?
I’m from GSS, the studio behind:
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What is this all about?
• Why and how we create an entirely new game.
• How we went through the development progress.
• Lessons learned.
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Introduction
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Introduction
• What is “MMO”?
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MMO Games
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Introduction
• What is “MMO”?– Massively Multiplayer Online
• But not only MMORPG…– MMOFPS, MMOACG, MMORTS…
• “MMO” = real-time interaction between players.
• What about “SNS” games?
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SNS Games
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SNS Games
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Introduction
• What is “SNS” game?– Based on SNS platform, simple, easy to
engage, millions of players, viral factor.
• Differences between MMO and SNS– Hard-core players vs. first-time players.– Higher interaction & community.– ARPPU: MMO is 10x more than SNS.– Paying rate: MMO is 3x more than SNS.
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Introduction
• Why we need an “MMOSNS” game?– High ARPU + huge user base = success!– Rapid development.– We cannot catch up other developers
without original games.
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Game Concept
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How it all started?
• Preliminary analysis at the end of 2010 pointed out:– A new trend: web-based games.– Casual games took over all game rooms.– Huge SNS user base.
• What is our next game going to be?
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Zing Me: The Rising Star
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Gunny DAU on Zing Me (Apr 2011)
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The Ideal Game
Rapid Development
Web-based
SNS Users
Gameplay
SNS Casual
Monetization
$MMO$
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Customers
• So we will have a new casual game, but who will be our customers?– Teen & students: from age 13 to 24.– Playing time: 2-4 hours per day.– Spend 150k-250k VND per month.
• And they’re interesting in what?– Appearance, outfit.– Bikes, vehicles, phones.– Dating, making friends.– Music, entertainment.
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Market Research
• Online Survey:– 3 phases: total ~70k samples.– Multiple direction questions, different sets for
MMO and SNS users
3%
12%
24%
37%
18%
4%
Độ tuổi
Dưới 13 tuổi13 tuổi – 15 tuổi16 tuổi – 18 tuổi19 tuổi – 22 tuổi
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And the game is …
• Code name: X11.• Kick started on April 2011.• New genre: mix of
– Simulation: farm, city.– Social: interaction, help friends.– Casual: multi-player mini games.
• Goal:– Alpha version by end of 2011.– ARPPU: comparable to ACG
games (>100k VND).
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Cash Cow
WorkCollect moneyMini games
Home
Player
Pet
Space
CoffeeVehicle ShopCinema
Shop
Earn money• Do job on interior
• Collect money
Shop• Clothing• Pet• Vehicle• Interior
Decorate• Apparel• Home
Social• Chat• Interact• Show down
Entertain• Mini-game• Music• Video
Original game loop design
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Key Selling Points
• Cute art style, 3D animation.• ‘SNS look & feel’: simple gameplay, virality
design.• Real-time interaction.• Character and house decorations.• Room-based, contents-oriented, easy to expand.
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Development
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Timeline
April 11
June 11
August 11
Oct 11
Dec 11
Feb 12
April 12
June 12
Prototype
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Prototype
• Technical prototype released at the end of April.
• Basic game design for avatar decoration and farming.
• 3D team slowly move from TTK to casual style.
• 2D team drawing truly ‘2D’ concept.
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Timeline
April 11
June 11
August 11
Oct 11
Dec 11
Feb 12
April 12
June 12
Prototype
Pre-Production
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Pre-Production
• Prototype looks good, but what about the real one?
• This is what we got after 2 months.
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Pre-Production• Issues:
– Customizable room graphic quality is much lower than the prototype.
– Farming with an avatar is not fun enough! 3D is completely different!
Work-around solution: forget the farming and economy, just focus on avatar and home decoration first.
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Timeline
April 11
June 11
August 11
Oct 11
Dec 11
Feb 12
April 12
June 12
Prototype
Pre-Production
1st build with UI
The Sims Social went beta!
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Timeline
April 11
June 11
August 11
Oct 11
Dec 11
Feb 12
April 12
June 12
Prototype
Pre-Production
1st built with UI
Server Integration
Announced PigFarm launch at Japan press
conference
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Sep-Oct 11
• Improved graphics by adding sfx and lightmap for objects.
• Simple design for game economy.
• Globalization framework. • Cartoon art style
redefined.• Game server intergrated.
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Timeline
April 11
June 11
August 11
Oct 11
Dec 11
Feb 12
April 12
June 12
Prototype
Pre-Production
1st built with UI
Server Integration
Public Alpha!
Not really
Internal Alpha
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Internal Alpha
• Issues:– Negative feedback on graphics quality.– Servers did not pass stress tests
Unable to release to public alpha.
Major changes in art – Art style: more deformed, detailed
texture.– Production pipeline: 3d artists now have
more room for creativity.
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Internal Alpha
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Timeline
April 11
June 11
August 11
Oct 11
Dec 11
Feb 12
April 12
June 12
Prototype
Pre-Production
1st built with UI
Server Integration
Internal Alpha
The New X11
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X11 Reboot• Art:
– New character models.– Re-work on 70% of home decoration and outfit, 90% public scenes.
• Tech:– Switched from framework to feature driven development.– Minimal download is top priority.
• Design:– Core game loop suiatble for SNS/SLG and PvP users.– Clear monetization points and strategy.
• Process:– Multiple Scrum teams for features.– Kanban for production team.
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New Art Style
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New Design
Casual users
• Do jobs• Earn
money• Buy home
décor, outfit.
• Compete by house values
Aggressive users
• Do public jobs
• PvE, collect skills.
• Fusion skill, outfit.
• Compete by PvP
Both
• Chat, interact
• Make friend• Invite
friends• Complete
collections• Gain levels
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The new name
X11
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Timeline
April 11
June 11
August 11
Oct 11
Dec 11
Feb 12
April 12
June 12
Prototype
Pre-Production
1st built with UI
Server Integration
Internal Alpha
The New X11
Closed Beta
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Crunch mode for CB
• 1 sprint per 2 weeks.• Parallel features development by 4
scrum teams.• Code refactor by framework team.• Daily scrum meeting, weekly
overnight camp.• Finally, CB launched on June 20
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The barrier
~60% drop in users due to slow Flash loading and Unity web plugin installation
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The challenge of plugin installation
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Open Beta – July 14
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Lesson learned
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Lesson learned
• Purely graphics prototype may cost you a lot of re-work later.
• Agile process requires an Agile-supported framework from the beginning.
• Dedicated asset management and game balance really helps.
• Agile spirit (not process) worked well with mixed-level engineering team.
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A passion for creation
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