What is the least offensive way to incorporate Social into a game (besides not at all)? My name is Jim and I am with Dark Tonic (www.darktonic.com ), the makers of Attack of the Wall Street Titan. On our last title, we took a lot of flak for pushing our players to connect through Facebook so they could see their FB Friends on the leader-boards. Although our intentions were good, our execution turned some people off. So we need advice on the best way to connect to FB w/o deterring others from just jumping in. Also, is rewarding players for connecting to a social network a "No-No"? Give us your opinion and keep an eye out for our next great game: Thank you, Jim_DarkTonic
Have you considered the fact that some facebook accounts are created for work. It looks really bad when all your co-workers are playing Candy Crush Saga and you are playing Minion Rush. Plus now Facebook is integrated into iPhone, so that makes maintaining multiple accounts a hassle. So other than Candy Crush Saga, I won't be linking any other game to Facebook until the rest of them shift. I use Facebook for work, not play. Perhaps the situation will be different with kids. Wait no. Unless you want to be the oddball kid playing Game X when the in crowd is playing Candy Crush Saga. So how to become the next Candy Crush Saga? EA used to do it very well during the console and pre iPhone era. Google it and find out what they did, but you will need that kind of budget.
Any game that forces me to connect to Facebook or doesn't give me the full experiance for not connecting is an insta-delete. People arn't going to get an iOS game just because they see spam on there FB wall, in fact it might even STOP them from getting the game. FB should only be used in a game so popular it's uncool to NOT have it.
I agree. I'm a gamer not a social butterfly that cares what others are playing nor a big ego to constantly shout out what I'm all about or doing. If a Facebook account is needed or any other type of interaction or to make it a full game then its deleted (or not even downloaded). Facebook does nothing for me but create arm twisting tactics to play the game in most cases. If it starts to invade most iOS games than I'll be picking up my ps3 controller full time.
Exactly, its like we do the promotion for them. I just use facebook to talk to relatives, i'm not even a 'usual' facebook fan who adds 3000 people as 'friends' as i said hello to them once in 1998 so i've added them. I wish games would stay away from facebook/twitter, as you say we're doing the marketing for them. If any game 'forces' me to use facebook i delete it, if someone on facebook/twitter bores me with score updates they're also deleted. Big no to facebook integration from myself
Huge 'No' to Facebook integration. Like others have said I instantly delete games that insist on Facebook login.
Long as it's optional, I think it's alright.. I just hate games that MAKE you sign in, otherwise you can't play. Also hate games that plaster a huge Facebook button after every level. I don't care that much connecting to FB because I have a specific gaming account with nothing personal, so yeah.. I wish all those others would just spend 2 minutes doing the game so they don't have to whine about not being able to play a certain game... Might as well just make an account even though it is annoying some games require it, it's only going to happen more and more in the future, so they may as well just get it over with and make a gaming alias account and be done with it!
I mentioned this in another thread, give users a freemium social Facebook/twitter adfest version, and release a premium/or IAP unlock version. If your game is something people will want to play they will pay for the IAP to rid themselves of the social media bloat. At least I would. Honestly, my favorite iOS games had zero Facebook integration - FFTactics, Solomon's Keep, Deep Dungeons of Doom, Bastion (did Bastion have any social media?), Game Dev Story, Super Crate Box, Tobe & Friends, Slayin'. Even if it was fun such as Rayman Fiesta Run, which I played nonstop until I finished it, I never once used any of the Facebook options and literally tolerated it being there. All I could think in my head was, "Really . . . REALLY?! Stop it already with the Facebook!" and then passive-aggressively play the game while hoping the guy who coded the Facebook button on the world map would die in a fire.
Required facebook means no buy to me. Spamming facebook walls or facebook nag screens are also very irritating.
I will never make a faecesbook account, not now, not ever and whenever a game asks me to login to fb, I delete the game immediately. Fb is a vile and repugnant site and does not belong in iOS games, please keep it out.. That goes for Twitter too.
I understand how it can be a bit of a nuisance to have to sign up with FB, but then what advice do you have for a small indie developer who wants to get the word out about their game, but have no marketing budget? Heck, they don't even have a development budget? What other tools can be used to let get the word out? Please advise.
Facebook relates in that it helps us developers know who you might want to play against based on the theory of "like-minded" friends. And to be perfectly blunt, we would like to take advantage of the virals that exist w/FB to help us get the word out about our game. There are a lot of mobile games out there, learning to be a great marketer of your content is almost as important as learning to create great content. It sounds lame, but those are the realities when the barriers to entry in getting a mobile product to market is so low. Check out what are next offering is gonna look like ( Treasure Tombs: Ra Deal http://www.darktonic.com/2013/07/introducing-treasure-tombs-ra-deal.html ) and give us some advice on how we can tell people about it w/o using social? Jim_DarkTonic http://bit.ly/yLcvMp
I ask you as well, what is another way to access over 1.2 billion potential Gamers? If games are going to continue to be .99 or free, there has to be a way to reach a lot of people in order to have a fighting chance of surviving and continuing with our passions. Now, if we are OK with a world that only has EA and King making games, then I agree that using FB should not happen. What kind of world do we want to live in? Jim_DarkTonic http://bit.ly/yLcvMp
I'm not sure what you mean by this? Why does it look bad that you are not playing what everyone else is, but are discovering new games? Also, isn't this the very thing that hopefully sharing socially will create? Your friends will see you playing Minion Rush and put down Candy Crush and give Minion Rush a shot. Now, Minion Rush is a poor example because that is a very high profile game, but if you were playing Treasure Tombs: Ra Deal ( http://www.darktonic.com/2013/07/introducing-treasure-tombs-ra-deal.html ) you would be sharing a great game with your friends and they might give it a shot. This is how small, passionate game developers have even the slightest chance of getting the word out about their games.
Those are not friends, but competitors in the office. The fact that anyone is obviously playing something different is ammunition for the rest of us to tear him down in front of the boss, just that he might not have the same groupthink as us and therefore unsound. How many would kill their chances for advancement over a videogame? Isn't that the reason we invest in all those parties, karaoke sessions, drinking sessions in the first place?
YIKES! Sounds like a pretty unhealthy company culture there. Well, how would you get the word out about your game to people you don't know?
Although I understand your need to want to promote your game we are not the devs here, we are the consumer. Our issue is with facebook integration within games. We want to simply play the game and apparently you would like us to continually promote your game while this is done. In other words we'll be doing your job for you. Your not seeing it as a consumer and that is its a major unwanted inconvenience for us. You can (and will apparently) do what you think is needed to promote your game (ever thought to put an ad in Touch Arcade?). I can see in the near future what could transpire if this type of integration continues. What next other than facebook? We're voicing our opinion that games won't be bought if this is the course devs will take in order to promote games through the consumer.
