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Connecting Mobile Games
and MMOsBy Dan Roy
This presentation will cover… What motivates players to attempt
to master an MMO? How can mobile motivate players
further to attempt to master a cross-platform MMO?
Tech Assumptions
Long term potential improvements Faster CPUs More memory Faster networks
Unchanged Small screens Sub PC input methods
Stories of Mastery
School – felt irrelevant Computers – liked feeling like
expert, helping others, getting praised
Mastery Motivators
What motivates players to attempt to master an MMO? Personal visibility of mastery Social visibility of mastery Social relevancy of mastery Personal relevancy of mastery
Case Studies
Magic: The Gathering Ragnarok Mobile Mage Armada: Kingdoms Travian The Violet Sector World of Warcraft
Magic: The Gathering – Low Tech Mobile Increasing mastery is personally and
socially visible Better cards Better strategies (card combos, probabilites) More wins
Playing, trading, and discussing increase relevancy and visibility
Portability brings game into new social contexts, just as mobile can do for MMOs
Ragnarok Mobile Mage
Mobile companion to PC MMO Single player Transfer Zeny back to PC MMO XP, Zeny add up Portability kept both games on
my mind RL friends saw me play and
started discussions Low online social visibility and
relevancy led to low personal relevancy
Armada: Kingdoms Mobile MMO Goal: get victory points through
attacking, building, secrets Avatar is a city, guilds are kingdoms
Armada: Kingdoms Slow RTS - attack pace allows for
notifications which enable defensive actions notifications can be in-game, email or SMS
Notify inactive players of their in-game status
Armada: Kingdoms
Beta sign-up: ArmadaKingdoms.com/beta
Travian A browser-based MMO Another “slow RTS” City maintenance drives
check-in behavior Don’t need 30fps, 100ms
ping to enjoy
The Violet Sector
A cross-platform, text MMO Playable via web and mobile (WAP)
4 teams of ~50 players, each fighting for dominance of space
3 hour turns – appointment gaming Different roles require different appointment
windows (5 min smallest to 3 hour largest) Few actions, easy multiple choice entry
The Violet Sector – Mobile Mobile access increases:
Personal visibility: see more updates, pay more attention, make more progress
Social visibility: seen online, seen in person; appointments -> online at same time
Personal relevancy: play more -> care more, urgency/importance confusion
Social relevancy: appointments -> interruptions of RL -> viral marketing -> RL social relevancy
World of Warcraft – Auctions View Sell, relist Bid, rebid Buy now Manage
inventory SMS
notifications
World of Warcraft - Crafting Buy mats Assemble usable
items See crafting succeed
or fail each time Watch crafting stats
increase
World of Warcraft - Armory
Show off items
World of Warcraft – Maintenance Something that accumulates over
time and needs tending Travian resources WoW resting bonus Pet hunger
World of Warcraft -Social Networking Browsable profiles
(Armory) Screenshot album
RSS-like news feeds Who leveled up Who joined/quit guild Who got an [epic [flying]]
mount, etc.
World of Warcraft – Rating Content Rating can:
Take as little or as much time as the player desires
Be started and stopped at any time with no penalty for interruption
Constantly promise a fresh experience (more content)
Rate quests based on difficulty, interestingness, or reward
Avatar appearance Youtube-style videos
of wow activities
World of Warcraft - Chat
Text and Voice Chat Keep in touch with guild Just listen/read or
participate Phones do voice well SMS people from WoW
chat in PC “Log on, we need u 4 raid!”
World of Warcraft – Combat PvE
A special kind of combat designed for web/mobile
Could be turn based with timers (like FF7)
Or be like WoW, but slower
World of Warcraft – Combat PvE or PvP vs. mobiles
Could be like Duels.com Choose equipment and spells, then combat auto-
resolves
World of Warcraft – Combat Team PvP with PC players
Encourage mobile players to think more strategically and rely less on reflexes
Mobile players could: Give buffs/debuffs to PC players
(lasting longer) Set traps Cast AoE Follow PC player, like Mario Kart See strategic minimap of
battlefield and give advice to teammates
Summary
Asynchronous Appointments Maintenance Status updates Keep game on player’s mind Sharable
Connecting Mobile Games and MMOs
Blog:www.CrossGamer.com
Thesis:“Mastery and the Mobile Future of
Massively Multiplayer Games”www.CrossGamer.com/thesis
