GDC 2012 F2P Panel

Designing for Free: How Free-to-Play Games Blur the Line Between Design and Business

Speaker/s: Soren Johnson (Game Developer Magazine), Ben Cousins (ngmoco Sweden), Matthias Worch (LucasArts), Tom Chick (Quarter to Three) and David Edery (Spry Fox)
Day / Time / Location: Friday 4:00- 5:00 Room 2003, West Hall, 2nd Fl
Track / Duration / Format / Audience Level: Game Design , Business and Marketing and Management / 60-Minute / Panel / All
GDC Vault Recording: Video Recorded
Description:

The free-to-play movement is here to stay and will touch every corner of the games industry. However, the format blurs the line between game design and game business, so that business decisions will become increasingly indistinguishable from design decisions. Free-to-play content must be fun enough to attract and retain players but not so much fun that no one feels the need to spend some money. Managing this tension makes free-to-play design extremely difficult, especially for traditional game designers who are used to simply making the best game possible. Our panelists will discuss this transition and best practices for building free-to-play games with soul.
Takeaway: Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the trade-offs inherent with free-to-play design and how to navigate them while maintaining a game’s core.
Intended Audience: This panel is targeted at anyone interested in the design and business of free-to-play games.
Eligible Passes:  All Access Pass, Main Conference Pass