Date post: | 24-Jun-2015 |
Category: |
Entertainment & Humor |
Upload: | buff-nguyen |
View: | 1,276 times |
Download: | 0 times |
Building an MMOG for SNS audiencesQuang Dang – GSSJuly 2012
Who am I?
I’m from GSS, the studio behind:
What is this all about?
• Why and how we create an entirely new game.
• How we went through the development progress.
• Lessons learned.
Introduction
Introduction
• What is “MMO”?
MMO Games
Introduction
• What is “MMO”?– Massively Multiplayer Online
• But not only MMORPG…– MMOFPS, MMOACG, MMORTS…
• “MMO” = real-time interaction between players.
• What about “SNS” games?
SNS Games
SNS Games
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.
Introduction
• Why we need an “MMOSNS” game?– High ARPU + huge user base = success!– Rapid development.– We cannot catch up other developers
without original games.
Game Concept
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?
Zing Me: The Rising Star
Gunny DAU on Zing Me (Apr 2011)
The Ideal Game
Rapid Development
Web-based
SNS Users
Gameplay
SNS Casual
Monetization
$MMO$
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.
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
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).
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
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.
Development
Timeline
April 11
June 11
August 11
Oct 11
Dec 11
Feb 12
April 12
June 12
Prototype
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.
Timeline
April 11
June 11
August 11
Oct 11
Dec 11
Feb 12
April 12
June 12
Prototype
Pre-Production
Pre-Production
• Prototype looks good, but what about the real one?
• This is what we got after 2 months.
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.
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!
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
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.
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
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.
Internal Alpha
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
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.
New Art Style
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
The new name
X11
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
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
The barrier
~60% drop in users due to slow Flash loading and Unity web plugin installation
The challenge of plugin installation
Open Beta – July 14
Lesson learned
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.
A passion for creation