Hac king Gamific a tionBing Gordon, KPCB

@bingfish @kpc b

Why Gamify?

Game pa tterns a re the new norma l

2 -10x improvement

Acquire Engage Retain

Dec ades of Gaming

Acquire

First Five Sec onds

“ I am smart—this is wha t I expec ted .”

First Session

“ This is fun—what I expec ted , only better.”“ I know wha t I am doing—and I like it.”

Acquire

“ First” Ma tters

• Win first, win fast

• Give them a reason to return

• Send invites (if you love it)

Acquire

“ First” Rules

The Orig ina l “ Touc h”

Pinba ll Construc tion Set 1983

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The New “ Shelf” Acquire

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10:1

The land ing sc reen is everything .

Just as in SEM…

Acquire

Reduc e bounc e by 90%Before insta ll:

Sketc h wha t you expec t to see…

After first five sec onds:

Is this wha t you expec ted?

Acquire

Acquire

Frames Are Wine Labels

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NASCAR “ d ra ft meter” : 2x

Interfac e is the Eng ine

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Wants and fea rs sp inner of Sims 2

Interfac e Toys Work

Open style menus of Sim Golf

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“ Op t in” Complexity

15M not 1M for Zynga Poker

FB Profiles = Soc ia l

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Acquire

70M, not 2M for Farmville

Friend Bar Mec hanic

Inc entivesVirtua l goods

Games: imbue va lue in VG

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Vira lity: The New Marketing

InvitesInc ented invites

-- 4 -10x (wa tc h for TOS!)Inc ented insta lls +25%

Acquire

Vira lity: The New Marketing

Take Aways10x Touc hab le “ box”

90% Bounc e reduc tion» I feel smart» Win first, win fast

2x Interfac e = eng ine

4-10x Vira l design

Acquire

Engage

Wow!!!1x first two sessions

Good!! 1 to 3x first session

Yuc k!0x first session

Oh F*# @!Never

Engage

Design Bea ts

First Suc c essful Time Pressure

Wither Fac tor

Engage

The Most Prec ious Asset

Engage

Identity

Build a Profile: Identity, c a reer sc ore key.

Engage

Who Are You?

Take 30 minutes

Engage

Like Going Out

Tiger Woods Golf: +50%

Engage

Power of Persona liza tion

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Live Life in Levels

Show Numbers

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• I have 600+• 2x hours/ week• 75% fema le, average

age 42

Badges Rule

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Trophies Matter

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Sim City: 20,000 up loaded c ities“ They a ll look the same!”

Yearning for Rec ognition

Engage

Engage

UGC Text # 1

“ Aileen City is suc h a grea t p lac e to live. The parks a re

beautiful and the highways a re never jammed.

Come to Aileen City!”

“ Joe City is a towering spec tac le of g lass and c onc rete. It is not just a

c ity, it is an ec onomic dynamo!”

“ You have to wa tc h the c itizens to understand Jennville. They shop ,

they bustle, their houses a re perfec t.”

1% upload | 25% download

Co-Op Crushes Competition 3:1

EngageEngage

Gifts 30x Brags

EngageEngage

20 - 30% produc tivity ga ins

Party of 5

EngageEngage

• Va lue wha t you make, va lue wha t you earn

• Golf c ourses should look hard , p lay easy

• 90% of p layers a re 90% of the way

• Constra ints a re fun

• Experts fa il fast; everyone else wins fast, wins first

EngageDesign Princ ip les

2x Grea t sec ond sessionViewab le p rofilesBadges, ac hievementsNumbers, sta ts for 10-25%

4x “ Invest” and avoid “ wither”UGC for 25% of p layersSoc ia l ob liga tion for 25% of p layers

EngageTake Aways

Retain

Probab ilistic , too.Lessons from the Skinner Box.2 c urrenc ies (Las Vegas)

Retain

Multip le, Para llel Goa ls

Will she c ome bac k? When?What will she do in the sec ond session?Will she be p laying a month from now?What will she expec t?

Retain

Look Ahead

Resourc e Management in Farmville

Retain

“ Pinc h”

Constra ints & Quantity

Retain

World of Warc ra ft -- 0% c hurn from level 35-40, 55-60 (mount, elder game)

Pre-reg ister a t reta il -- 10-20% of first week sa les

Retain

Pre-Announc ements Huge

Retain

Content Upda tes SellCorrela ted to qua lity

The Sims expansions• 16 expansions, 50M units• 60% ARPU inc rease

Madden Footba ll• 70% repea t if “ game of the year”• 30% repea t purc hase if “ liquid AI is wha t’ s running down their legs”

Content Upda tes Sell

Retain

• Madden– “ You c an’ t c onvert the whole fra ternity.”

• Guilds– Appointment gaming– Peer p ressure and p rivileges– Marriages (and d ivorc e)

• Async hronous: 4x more than simultaneous

Soc ia l Ob liga tions Loc k-In

Retain

Twitter• 40% 1 month retention• 90%-ish monthly retention if 10

followers

Retain

Fac ebook• 20 friends• 70% “ long term” retention

Mag ic Numbers

Virtua l Assets : 3x Fac tor

Ultima Online House owners - 3 years

Retain

Metac ritic .c om• 80 - 85 = Top 50• +50 -100% for eac h +5 points

Retain

Qua lity Matters

Madden sequels• 2x for high qua lity• Use “ NPS” (Net Promoter Sc ore)• % rec ommend - % who wouldn’ t

RetainDesign Princ ip les• Show numbers

• Look ahead

• Pinc h

• Constra ints a re fun

• Pre-Announc ements

• Content upda tes sell

Do the Math

Retain

Take Aways

• 20%: Soc ia l struc tures: – 90% less c hurn for p layers who a re “ well-guilded”

• 15%: Virtua l assets– 67% less c hurn for p layers who a re “ well-c astled ”

Retain

Take Aways

• 4x: Pinc h and “ look ahead” game mec hanic s

• 100%: Pre-announc e (for a month)

• 50%: New c ontent, if same qua lity as orig ina l

“ The best way to keep someone p laying forever is to have them p lay today.”

-- Bing

New Med ia , New Rules