Connecting Mobile Games

and MMOsBy Dan Roy

This presentation will cover… What motivates players to attempt

to master an MMO? How can mobile motivate players

further to attempt to master a cross-platform MMO?

Tech Assumptions

Long term potential improvements Faster CPUs More memory Faster networks

Unchanged Small screens Sub PC input methods

Stories of Mastery

School – felt irrelevant Computers – liked feeling like

expert, helping others, getting praised

Mastery Motivators

What motivates players to attempt to master an MMO? Personal visibility of mastery Social visibility of mastery Social relevancy of mastery Personal relevancy of mastery

Case Studies

Magic: The Gathering Ragnarok Mobile Mage Armada: Kingdoms Travian The Violet Sector World of Warcraft

Magic: The Gathering – Low Tech Mobile Increasing mastery is personally and

socially visible Better cards Better strategies (card combos, probabilites) More wins

Playing, trading, and discussing increase relevancy and visibility

Portability brings game into new social contexts, just as mobile can do for MMOs

Ragnarok Mobile Mage

Mobile companion to PC MMO Single player Transfer Zeny back to PC MMO XP, Zeny add up Portability kept both games on

my mind RL friends saw me play and

started discussions Low online social visibility and

relevancy led to low personal relevancy

Armada: Kingdoms Mobile MMO Goal: get victory points through

attacking, building, secrets Avatar is a city, guilds are kingdoms

Armada: Kingdoms Slow RTS - attack pace allows for

notifications which enable defensive actions notifications can be in-game, email or SMS

Notify inactive players of their in-game status

Armada: Kingdoms

Beta sign-up: ArmadaKingdoms.com/beta

Travian A browser-based MMO Another “slow RTS” City maintenance drives

check-in behavior Don’t need 30fps, 100ms

ping to enjoy

The Violet Sector

A cross-platform, text MMO Playable via web and mobile (WAP)

4 teams of ~50 players, each fighting for dominance of space

3 hour turns – appointment gaming Different roles require different appointment

windows (5 min smallest to 3 hour largest) Few actions, easy multiple choice entry

The Violet Sector – Mobile Mobile access increases:

Personal visibility: see more updates, pay more attention, make more progress

Social visibility: seen online, seen in person; appointments -> online at same time

Personal relevancy: play more -> care more, urgency/importance confusion

Social relevancy: appointments -> interruptions of RL -> viral marketing -> RL social relevancy

World of Warcraft – Auctions View Sell, relist Bid, rebid Buy now Manage

inventory SMS

notifications

World of Warcraft - Crafting Buy mats Assemble usable

items See crafting succeed

or fail each time Watch crafting stats

increase

World of Warcraft - Armory

Show off items

World of Warcraft – Maintenance Something that accumulates over

time and needs tending Travian resources WoW resting bonus Pet hunger

World of Warcraft -Social Networking Browsable profiles

(Armory) Screenshot album

RSS-like news feeds Who leveled up Who joined/quit guild Who got an [epic [flying]]

mount, etc.

World of Warcraft – Rating Content Rating can:

Take as little or as much time as the player desires

Be started and stopped at any time with no penalty for interruption

Constantly promise a fresh experience (more content)

Rate quests based on difficulty, interestingness, or reward

Avatar appearance Youtube-style videos

of wow activities

World of Warcraft - Chat

Text and Voice Chat Keep in touch with guild Just listen/read or

participate Phones do voice well SMS people from WoW

chat in PC “Log on, we need u 4 raid!”

World of Warcraft – Combat PvE

A special kind of combat designed for web/mobile

Could be turn based with timers (like FF7)

Or be like WoW, but slower

World of Warcraft – Combat PvE or PvP vs. mobiles

Could be like Duels.com Choose equipment and spells, then combat auto-

resolves

World of Warcraft – Combat Team PvP with PC players

Encourage mobile players to think more strategically and rely less on reflexes

Mobile players could: Give buffs/debuffs to PC players

(lasting longer) Set traps Cast AoE Follow PC player, like Mario Kart See strategic minimap of

battlefield and give advice to teammates

Summary

Asynchronous Appointments Maintenance Status updates Keep game on player’s mind Sharable

Connecting Mobile Games and MMOs

Dan Roydangame@gmail.com

Blog:www.CrossGamer.com

Thesis:“Mastery and the Mobile Future of

Massively Multiplayer Games”www.CrossGamer.com/thesis