Make your own game.pdf

Making Your Game Influencer Ready
A Marketing Wishlist For Developers
David Ortiz Lapaz (@kroniksan)
Communications Director @ ICO Partners

About me
❖ Computer Engineer.
❖ 15 years in the games industry
(journalism, inhouse, agency).
❖ Love data, automation and coding little
tools.
❖ Managed hundreds of content creators to
date.

Structure
State of play Analysis time
ArenaNet Partner
Program Mini Dive
Things to look out
for
The future &
predictions

What this talk is about
Connecting marketing and development
together to better work with content creators.

State of Play
ArenaNet Partner
Program Mini Dive
Things to look out
for
The future &
predictions

Games launch with creators at the forefront
● New game design: Streamer
Mode, Twitch integrations...
● New ways of monetizing:
Twitch bits, referrals, sponsored
content.
● New problems: Stream sniping,
chat harassment, DDOSing...

Twitch bait-ing
A set of features that
makes a game great for
livestreams.

Launching via creators ONLY
Apex Legends
● 2.5M players in 24h.
● 25M in 7 days.
● 70M+ players to date.
● More gameplay hours than any other
game on Twitch on 1st week.
● Use of #ApexPartner + referral links

Analysis time
ArenaNet Partner
Program Mini Dive
Things to look out
for
The future &
predictions

Marketing vs development (dramatization)
Idea Plan Campaign Brief Delivery
Content creation
Unrelated, important
stuff
Still on
unrelated,
important, stuff
“We need to
implement what
now?”
“Is this what
you wanted?”
“Oh sh****t!!!”

The 8 Marketing - Dev principles
❖ Creation of narratives.
❖ Sense of ownership.
❖ Supporting creators.
❖ Playing with fans.
❖ Real time, shared experiences.
❖ In the moment.
❖ Emotional connections.
❖ Fun, quick.

Applying the principles
Tactics for different stages
of game development

Social Features
What: Add friend lists, guilds /
clans, etc. Leverage social tools
(Steam) where possible.
Benefits: Let creators play with
their audience quickly.
When: Game in still in development.

Backend Tracking
What: Create / integrate a
metric-tracking system in the game.
Benefits: Monitor key marketing
metrics in the future. Supports other
features.
When: Game in still in development.

Early Access To Content
What: Implement a beta / private
branch of your game.
Benefits: Day 1 content, guides and
creators become experts.
When: Pre Launch.

Referral links / creator codes
What: External or internal referral
mechanisms. Game purchases or
MTX.
Benefits: Creators can monetize
their content creation.
When: Pre Launch.

Customization
What: Add items or features
inspired by content creators.
Benefits: Strong for marketing,
creators can benefit from it
monetarily.
When: Post launch.

Custom game modes
What: Let creators modify the game
rules with an in-game editor.
Benefits: Empowers narratives,
inspiration and fun.
When: Post launch.

ArenaNet Partner
Program Mini Dive
ArenaNet Partner
Program Mini Dive
Things to look out
for
The future &
predictions

Overview
❖ Organic grassroots program.
❖ In-house.
❖ 1 year beta, >100 creators signed.
❖ Launched Sept 2015.
❖ Creators very well supported.
❖ Still going strong.

❖ Developed late, 2 years after release.
❖ Hard to make changes to the game.
❖ Not proven model at the time.
❖ Not proven ROI at the time.
❖ No reference framework to inform
decision-making.
Challenges

❖ Strong IP.
❖ Great community managers.
❖ Clever use of technology for scaling.
❖ Superb content creators.
❖ Regular content coming to the game.
❖ Leveraged existing featureset.
Keys to success

Things to look out for
ArenaNet Partner
Program Mini Dive
Things to look out
for
The future &
predictions

Be wary of...
❖ Building your game solely around content creator
mechanics.
❖ Relying solely on content creators for launching a
game.
❖ Player acquisition is important, but player retention is
key.

The future &
predictions
ArenaNet Partner
Program Mini Dive
Things to look out
for
The future &
predictions

❖ Playing and streaming become one.
❖ Content creators turn game consultants.
❖ Creator-first features become standard.
❖ Better marketing teams.
❖ Data-driven ecosystem.
❖ Game design to consider streamers from day 0.
Where are we going?

❖ Twitch for Game Developers
❖ List of games with Twitch Integrations
❖ F2P Guild Design - Anthony Pecorella
References

❖ Twitch Plays Pokemon
❖ Dead Cells
❖ Snap Finger Click - Quiz Time
❖ Party Hard 2
❖ Choice Chamber
❖ Legend of Dungeon: Masters.
❖ The Darwin Project
❖ Move or Die
Examples of Twitch Bait

Unpaid, addressable audience (Subs - Followers)*
● Youtube 6x bigger than Twitch.
● Twitch 18x bigger than Mixer.
● Youtube 110x bigger than Mixer.
Viewership (Total views) - As per SocialBlade’s Viewership Data.*
● Youtube 20x bigger than Twitch.
● Twitch 80x bigger than Mixer.
● Youtube 1500x (!) bigger than Mixer.
*: We analyzed Youtube, Twitch & Mixer. Looked at the top 250 channels, gaming vertical only.
A thought on video platforms

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