Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
designed to keep people coming back for multiple play sessions a day, rather
than sitting at the keyboard for hours at a stretch.
The second key to socialization in these two games is how they are
'social.' Commonly cast into a category of social games, both are designed
in such a way that players are compelled to bring other players into the
game so they can benefi t from each other. Throughout play,
Frontierville
players will be met with the message that “life on the frontier is even more
fun if you team up with some neighbors!” The bottom of the screen is fi lled
with encouragement to add more neighbors and players are reminded to
send their friends gifts or check in on their friend's frontiers. Although
this persuasion to add friends to their game is overt, other ef orts are more
subtle and, perhaps, more powerful. Completing buildings in the game
either require getting materials from friends or purchasing them by buying
horseshoes. Some objectives in the game require visiting a friend's frontier,
which becomes easier by adding more friends. Premium crops in the game
and many of the later missions also require either having a certain num-
ber of friends or paying for enough horseshoes to unlock objectives.
City
of Wonder
takes a similar tack, with players being greeted by a pulsing
purple exclamation point encouraging them to add friends, called allies,
and a reminder to send their friends in-game presents. Certain objectives
in the game either require the assistance of allies or can be purchased with
the premium gold bars. Allied cities can be saved from random events, like
invasions of pirates or menacing chickens, which rewards the visiting player
with coins and experience. Either of these games could be played alone, but
the constant reminders to add people and the in-game rewards from adding
more people makes a persuasive case to conscript others to play the game
with you. Although these games could be construed as social activities, the
level of interaction is thin, as most of it falls under the heading of clicking
on someone's message or doing something that gains you an advantage by
visiting another frontier or city. In ef ect, the games require interaction with
others, but on certain terms and in self-interest. Message boards and blog
posts about the game are fi lled with requests for new 'friends' and prom-
ises to click on anything someone posts. Although these of ers may lead to
meeting new people, the terms on which those people are met and inter-
acted with are framed by the game, as it socializes players into the need to
add people who will give
you
what
you
need.
The economic incentives of
Frontierville
and
City of Wonder
drive a
dif erent mode of socialization for players of the games. Instead of encour-
aging players to see the game like a fi lm or getting them of of their couch
and into the game, these two games reward players for compulsive interac-
tion and enlisting their friends. This form of socialization is grounded in
the context of an economic model predicated on a large mass of players
and the acknowledgement of churn. Players who burn out on one game can
quickly replace it with another. By drawing more people in, companies have
a greater chance to attract the small percentage of players who will invest
