Fields, T: Social Game Design

Introduction The Changing Tide What This Book Is Not What Is a Social Game? Are Mobile Games Social? Meet Your Competition BBS Games and MUDs MMOs Just Being Multiplayer Doesn't Make You Social Great Mobile Games ARE Social Interview with Words with Friends Creators, The Bettners History of Game Monetization What Do We Mean By Monetization A Brief History of Game Monetization Interview with Richard Garriott, "The Three Grand Eras of Gaming" Why Create a Social or Mobile Game? Social and Mobile Games Put a Lot of Power in the Hands of the Developers Social Games Make the Developer Responsible Social Games Give Power to the Users Used Retail Game Sales: Friend to Social and Mobile Developers Interview with Jason Decker of Pocket Legends, "Love Letters from Your Community" Industry Terms and Metrics Industry Terms and Metrics Measuring Player Population Measuring Monetization Social Network Advertising Mobile Terms General Terms Why These Metrics Matter Case Study: Ravenwood Fair and the Use of Metrics in Game Design Interview with Everett Lee of OMGPop, "The Science of Social Game Design" What Is a Social Network? What Is a Social Network? Who Is the Average Social Gamer? Who Is the Average Mobile Gamer? What Social Networks Are Popular Today? Games Are Global It's All about Scale Using Social Networks to Extend Traditional Games Creating Social Networks as a Platform Holder Is Apple's Game Center a Social Network? Conclusions Interview with Janus Anderson, "Gaming and the Social Graph" How to Acquire, Keep, and Regain Users How to Build it So They'll Come The Purchase Funnel Acquisition: How to Get Players Acquiring New Users on Facebook Acquiring New Users on Mobile Platforms Advertising Efficiently The Rising Cost of CPI Virality Redirecting Users for Increased Virality How to Retain Users Tracking Retention Using Leaderboards and Messaging to Add Stickiness Using Messages to Remind Users to Return Only the Last Inch Matters Interview with Exploding Barrel: "Give

Since 1995, Tim Fields has worked in the game industry as a producer, project manager, design lead, and business developer. Tim has helped small studios and top publishers, such as EA and Microsoft, run teams that create great games. He has worked on shooters, sports games, racing titles, and RPGs using talent and teams from North America, Asia, and Europe.