Ten things that tv companies always get wrong when making games

Ten Things that TV Companies Always Get Wrong when Making

Games (and how to avoid these traps)

Nicholas LovellGames for Television

18th April, 2012

Nicholas Lovell, GAMESbrief

• Author, How to Publish a Game, GAMESbrief Unplugged

• Director, GAMESbrief• Clients include: Atari, Channel 4,

Channelflip, Firefly, IPC, nDreams, Rebellion and Square Enix

• @nicholaslovell / @gamesbrief

I worked on this

• Misfits – The Game• Nominated for a

BAFTA Television Craft award

• Working with Clerkenwell, Channel 4 and Mobile Pie

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Ten ways to get it right

Are you gamers?

1. It’s not about story







• Games are not movies or TV shows• Games are not linear• The tension is in the player’s head, not on the screen• What games do best:– Choices– Dilemmas– Engagement– Immersion

• Please, no interactive movies

2. Find the fun

2. Find the fun (it’s hard)

• If you leave a pitch knowing what the narrative arc of the game is, but not the MECHANIC, you haven’t got a game

• It is possible to make a game that is just about narrative; it is also very, very expensive

• Finding the fun is intuitive. Leave time for prototyping and finding the fun during commissioning and production

3. Make it iterative

3. Iterate. A lot.

• Every successful social game is still in beta• You need to iterate during production, as well

as after– Especially if you are inexperienced at

commissioning• A adherence to the initial project brief can be

disastrous. Build in flexibility.• Read The Lean Startup

4. Commission earlier

4. Commission earlier

• Games take a *long* time to make• TX is fixed• If you want a good game to go alongside your

show, start early• At least six months. Probably more• Unless you want it to look, feel and play like

an afterthought

5. Have a post-TX plan

5. What happens when the show ends?

• You’ve spent a lot of money on making your game. Transmission has ended. Now what?

• Do you mothball it?– But games build slowly, via word of mouth, over

time• Do you continue it?– But that incurs ongoing costs, and gamers will

demand changes• Have a plan

6. Games are about RETENTION

6. Focus on retention, not acquisition

• TV is good at ACQUIRING customers• Games are good at RETAINING customers and

MONETISING them• Play to the strengths of the medium

7. Make it free, make it profitable

7. Make it free, make it profitable

• Infinity Blade has netted $30 million (after Apple share)• 7 free games were higher grossing in 2011

8. Don’t think about revenue *after* the

design

8. Design for the business model

• “If a game is built around a business model, that’s a recipe for failure.”

- Dave Jones, designer, APB• I see eight different revenue streams• Dave Perry sees 38• Each one needs a different style of gameplay• No time today but key insight:

virtual goods are about STATUS and FEELING, not possession and ownership

9. Cater to the whales

How much do gamers spend on average on an

In-App purchase in an iOS / Android game?

$14

9. People spend a lot of money

• The average IAP transaction value on a US smartphone is $14

• 51% of the revenue comes from transactions worth more than $20

So how do we make money from the power law

10. Learn

“Nobody knows anything”

William Goldman

10. Making games is not a “known science”

• It’s endlessly changing:– Technology– Business models– Consumer preferences

• Make a game for many reasons, but make it to learn

• Launch, learn, iterate

10 ways to get it right


2. Find the fun3. Iterate4. Commision

earlier5. Have a post-TX

plan

6. Focus on retention

7. Make it free8. Design for the

business model9. Cater to the

whales10.Learn

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Ten things that tv companies always get wrong when making games