Sesión técnica sobre Game Design, Gameplay y metologías agile para proyectos profesionales de videojuegos. Será conducida por Christian Gascons, CEO y fundador de FrozenShard Games (http://www.frozenshard.com/), estudio con oficinas en Barcelona desde el cuál se han creado videojuegos como el Sports Quiz 2013 o World War II: TCG, y que actualmente está desarrollando su próximo lanzamiento: Castles. PROGRAMA DETALLADO •Presentación de Frozenshard: proyectos desarrollados (Castles vs World War II: TCG) • Game Design: Recursos (Tamaño del equipo; Fuentes de financiación: Crowdfunding + outsourcing); Herramientas (UDK, Unity, SVN, GIMP, GDrive, etc…); La idea; La hoja de Ruta (organización, distribución de tareas, planificación…); Pre-launch (testeo, marketing, promoción, …); Post-launch (Mantenimiento y actualizaciones, cómo fidelizar a los jugadores, métricas de seguimiento, marqueting, viralidad, visibilidad, ) •El proyecto Castles •El juego World War II: TCG •Gameplay (cómo hacer la experiencia del juego “apasionante”) •Metologías ágiles – Scrum: qué son; la metología Scrum; lo mejor de la metodología; en qué casos se puede usar; cómo aplicarla en equipos pequeños; reuniones; roles; documentación Se trata de una actividad gratuita, pero en caso de estar interesado/a tienes que confirmar asistencia enviando un mensaje de correo electrónico a: informatica@eug.es

1. Game Design,
Gameplay and Scrum for
professional video game
projects
Christian Gascons
Frozenshard Games

2. FrozenShard
● Deep Marketing research
● Company founding
● The founders
● Project Castles vs World War II: TCG
2

3. What do I need?
1. The resources
2. The idea
3. The roadmap
4. Pre-launch
5. Post-launch
6. Marketing
3

4. The resources
● Team size
● Funding
● Tools
4

5. Team size
Small / Large team?
Doesn’t matter
5

6. Funds
› Crowdfunding
› Kickstarter
› Indiegogo
› Outsource
› Art
› Backend services
6

7. Tools…tools everywhere!
And much more….
7

8. What do I need?
1. The resources
2. The idea
3. The roadmap
4. Pre-launch
5. Post-launch
6. Marketing
8

9. The idea I
● Find a motivation
● Find team strengths and reinforce weaknesses
● Think what to do before doing it
● Don’t make a simple idea into a complex one
● Empower motivations (prototype/video of your
game?)
9

10. The idea II
● Find innovative
products (people
gets bored of the
same game)
● What makes your
game original?
NOTHING
10

11. What do I need?
1. The resources
2. The idea
3. The roadmap
4. Pre-launch
5. Post-launch
6. Marketing
11

12. Roadmap
● Organization &
Planification
● Divide tasks efficiently
& focus!
● Create (realistic!)
short/long term
plannings
● Progress Global view
12

13. What do I need?
1. The resources
2. The idea
3. The roadmap
4. Pre-launch
5. Post-launch
6. Marketing
13

14. Pre-launch
● Q&A: Test the game before shipping it,
players are not testers!
● Start the marketing before the launch, let
the world know you are there
● Clear, readable description & keywords
for your game
14

15. Pre-launch
● Promote the game
o Empower the
virality of the
game
o Spread the word
(youtube, twitter,
press releases)
15

16. Pre-launch
● Play your game
● Bad times, high
spirit
16

17. What do I need?
1. The resources
2. The idea
3. The roadmap
4. Pre-launch
5. Post-launch
6. Marketing
17

18. Post-launch I
18
● Fix your bugs
● Unmaintained games
don’t last much
● Update the game
(new content)

19. Post-launch II
19
● Player
retention
(daily rewards,
etc…)
● DAU / MAU

20. Post-launch III
20
● Add tracking &
study your metrics
(GA, Flurry, etc…)
● Funnels

21. Post-launch IV
21
› Example case:
› WWII: TCG Tutorial

22. Post-launch V
22
● Soft-launch
the game

23. Post-launch VI
23
● Keep
forums
healthy
● Yes, we
CARE

24. What do I need?
1. The resources
2. The idea
3. The roadmap
4. Pre-launch
5. Post-launch
6. Marketing
24

25. Marketing
● Save a budget for
the marketing
● Player acquisition
● Visibility
● Virality (Social
features)
25

26. What do I need?
1. The resources
2. The idea
3. The roadmap
4. Pre-launch
5. Post-launch
6. Marketing
26

27. Project Castles
27

28. Game Briefing
● Genre: Medieval / fantasy
● Online ARTS
● Engine: Unreal Engine 3
● Prototype Development time: 3 months.
● Platforms: PC
28

29. Prototype
29

30. 30

31. World War II: TCG
31

32. WWII: TCG
1. Briefing
2. Idea Conception
3. Documentation
4. Key Concepts
5. Monetization
6. UI
7. Session Stop
8. Gameplay Video
32

33. Briefing
› Digital TCG
› Current Platforms: iOS (iPad, iPhone)
› Future Platforms: Android, Facebook,
Kongregate & Steam
› Develop time: 14 months.
› Dev. team size: #3
33

34. WWII: TCG
1. Briefing
2. Idea Conception
3. Documentation
4. Key Concepts
5. Monetization
6. UI
7. Session Stop
8. Gameplay Video
34

35. Idea Conception
› We like TCG’s
› Not so many competitors
› Existing competitors make too much $
› Professional Game quality
35

36. WWII: TCG
1. Briefing
2. Idea Conception
3. Documentation
4. Key Concepts
5. Monetization
6. UI
7. Session Stop
8. Gameplay Video
36

37. Documentation
› Helps understanding the game
› Documented features == happy coders J
› Prevents communication lack &
misunderstandings
37

38. Documentation
● Mockups, mockups and more mockups
38

39. WWII: TCG
1. Briefing
2. Idea Conception
3. Documentation
4. Key Concepts
5. Monetization
6. UI
7. Session Stop
8. Gameplay Video
39

40. Key Concepts
› Simplicity
› Resource system
› Playing and upgrading cards
› Abilities
› Double lane & No graveyard
› Game Modes
› 3 Card types
› Social
40

41. Simplicity I
41

42. Simplicity II
42

43. Simplicity III
43

44. Simplicity IV
44

45. Key Concepts
› Simplicity
› Resource system
› Playing and upgrading cards
› Abilities
› Double lane & No graveyard
› Game Modes
› 3 Card types
› Social
45

46. Resource System
46

47. Key Concepts
› Simplicity
› Resource system
› Playing and upgrading cards
› Abilities
› Double lane & No graveyard
› Game Modes
› 3 Card types
› Social
47

48. Playing and upgrading cards
48

49. Key Concepts
› Simplicity
› Resource system
› Playing and upgrading cards
› Abilities
› Double lane & No graveyard
› Game Modes
› 3 Card types
› Social
49

50. Abilities
50

51. Key Concepts
› Simplicity
› Resource system
› Playing and upgrading cards
› Abilities
› Double lane & No graveyard
› Game Modes
› 3 Card types
› Social
51

52. Double lane & No graveyard
52

53. Key Concepts
› Simplicity
› Resource system
› Playing and upgrading cards
› Abilities
› Double lane & No graveyard
› Game Modes
› 3 Card types
› Social
53

54. Game Modes
54

55. Key Concepts
› Simplicity
› Resource system
› Playing and upgrading cards
› Abilities
› Double lane & No graveyard
› Game Modes
› 3 Card types
› Social
55

56. Card types
56

57. Key Concepts
› Simplicity
› Resource system
› Playing and upgrading cards
› Abilities
› Double lane & No graveyard
› Game Modes
› 3 Card types
› Social
57

58. Social
58

59. Key Concepts
› Simplicity
› Resource system
› Playing and upgrading cards
› Abilities
› Double lane & No graveyard
› Game Modes
› 3 Card types
› Social
59

60. WWII: TCG
1. Briefing
2. Idea Conception
3. Documentation
4. Key Concepts
5. Monetization
6. UI
7. Session Stop
8. Gameplay Video
60

61. Monetization
› F2P but not P2W
› Remove “payed” features giving
advantages to a player in game.
› Revenues from non-advantageous
content.
61

62. Monetization
62

63. Monetization
63

64. Monetization
› On F2P games
› Speed leveling up stuff / access to new
features.
› Access the full game
› Remove ads?
› As long as you don’t disturb the balance…
64

65. WWII: TCG
1. Briefing
2. Idea Conception
3. Documentation
4. Key Concepts
5. Monetization
6. UI
7. Session Stop
8. Gameplay Video
65

66. UI
› Intuitive
› Informative
› Usable
› Beautiful
66

67. UI II
Good Bad
67
Fallout UI Oblivion UI

68. WWII: TCG
1. Briefing
2. Idea Conception
3. Documentation
4. Key Concepts
5. Monetization
6. UI
7. Session Stop
8. Gameplay Video
68

69. Session Stop I
69
Energy Losing units

70. Session Stop II
70
› We uses lives
system.
› Empowers virality
› Sometimes gives
revenue

71. Give me more!
71

72. 72

73. World War II: TCG
10’ Gameplay Demo & Break
73

74. Gameplay
Basic mechanics
74

75. Gameplay I
75
› Avoid patterns

76. Gameplay II
76
› Games are puzzles
› When you play a
game you will only
play it until you
master the pattern
› Once mastered, the
game becomes
boring

77. Gameplay III
› Players will play your game until it gets
boring
› Enjoy while learning to play, no more
boring tutorials
› Easy to learn, hard to master
77

78. Gameplay IV
78
› Players seeking to
advance in a
game will always
try to optimize
what they’re doing

79. Gameplay V
79
› Make plans for the
mastered players
(online /
multiplayer)

80. Gameplay VI
80
› User generated
content? (Draw
something,
Where’s my water,
etc…)

81. Game timelapse I
81

82. Game timelapse II
82

83. Game timelapse III
83

84. Game timelapse IV
84

85. Make a fun game!
› Demo / Tutorial (Show some of what they’ll get)
85

86. Make a fun game! L
86

87. Make a fun game! J
87

88. How to add meaning to your
game?
› The secret is in the little details..
› Recommended video: “The art of
ScreenShake – Ja Willem Nijman (from
Vlambeer)
88

89. How to add meaning to your
game?
“The art of Screenshake” · Vlambeer’s Ja Willem
Nijman’s Gameplay Demo
89

90. How to add meaning to your
game?
› Build awesome First user experience
› Bigger bullets, fire rate…
› Screen Shake
› Camera kick, camera LERP
› Corpses & shells permanence
› Gun kicking
› Smoke effects, slow-motion
› Make it a challenge
90

91. Agile methodologies
Scrum
91

92. Agile methodologies
92
Design
Build
Test
Release

93. Why agile?
› It has been proved: “It Works”
› Rapid delivery
› Reduces overall risk
› It’s a must for videogame development
Iterative planning + feedback loops
Easy adaptability to changing requirements
93

94. What’s interesting
Scrum
› 2-4 weeks iterations
› Changes in Sprints
not allowed
› Priority depends on
the Product Owner
XP (Extreme Progr.)
› 1-2 weeks iterations
› Changes in Sprints
allowed
› Work in strict priority
order
94

95. What is Scrum?
95
› Simplicity
› Flexibility
› Adaptability
› Small Teams

96. Main Roles
› Product Owner (PO)
› Represents the client
› Manages Dev.team & backlog
› Scrum Master (SM)
› Removes impediments
› Dev. Team
› Stakeholders
96

97. 97
Product Backlog
Feature
Feature
Feature
Sprint Backlog
Commu
nication
Stakeholder
Dev.
TeamPO
Output
Feature Requests
Never-ending Process

98. Product Backlog Example
Backlog Item Priority (1-10)
Historical Missions 2
Trading cards with people 8
Restoring purchases 9
Double-tap returns to level 1
Keep track of purchases 10
98

99. Product Backlog Example
99
Track
purchases
Restore
purchases
Trading cards system
Historical Missions
Double Tap

100. Backlog priority pyramid
Sprint
Release
Future Features
100

101. Backlog real-life example
101

102. Sprint (or Iteration)
102
› Daily
› 10-15’
› Standing!
1. What did you do
2. What will you do
3. Any impediments?

103. Is applicable if…
› You are able to fill a Product backlog
› You have a team
› You have a Product Owner (PO)
› You have a Scrum Master (SM) (can be
anyone)
103

104. Scrum graphically
104
Agile Product Ownership in a Nutshell – Henrik Kniberg

105. Agile Product Ownership in a
nutshell
A video by Henrik Kniberg
105

106. 106

107. Summarizing…
› Iterations (never-ending development process)
› Adaptability to changes
› Establish Roles
› Daily Meetings
› Documentation (Product Backlog, sprint backlog)
› Rapid deliveries
› Communication
107

108. Game Over.
Thank you for listening! Questions?
cgascons@frozenshard.com cgascons
108