In April's best-selling mobile game list, the number one game from overseas publishers was Monopoly Go. This is a mobile game that was adapted from the classic board game Monopoly IP at the beginning of last year. Its success last year allowed its publisher, Scopely, to make $2 billion in less than a year.
A few days ago, senior game designer David Fox was invited by foreign media deconstructoroffun to conduct an in-depth analysis of the social gaming track where "Monopoly GO" is located. He calls this kind of game "T3-MCC" game, and provides some examples and brains for developers who want to enter this type of game in the future.
T3-MCC 博弈游戏的核心
In 2019, Moon Active launched Coin Master, one of the highest-grossing mobile games, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Not only did it topped the list of games, but it also occupied a place in the pan-game category. At its core, the game is a mindless slot game that cleverly combines casual megamap and city-building metagames with effective mid-multiplayer mechanics such as attack, defense, and stealing, ultimately making it appealing far beyond traditional gambling games. And the now popular Monopoly Go recreates a similar model, combining craps with a classic board game.
What makes these weird hybrid "gambling" games so popular? We're going to come up with a simple and straightforward name for these games: T3-MCC. And unveil the curtain to delve into the mystery behind it.
In addition, we will also consider what other casual and midcore game mechanics have the potential to be integrated with the game loop mechanic to entice players to open, play, and spend non-stop.
History of social gambling games
It all started with Cash King, a one-click social gambling game. The game was released on Facebook in 2010 and was produced by the Israeli company Jelly Button (which was later acquired by Playtika and renamed Pirate Kings). What's innovative about this game is that it's not just money that you "win", but also the chance to attack your Facebook friends and steal their resources.
In 2016, another Israeli company, Moon Active, launched Coin Master, a famous game featuring pigs, Vikings, and gold coins, on mobile platforms.
In early 2023, Scopely launched Monopoly Go, investing millions of dollars in user acquisition and turning the game into the blockbuster it is today.
In conclusion, there are several key games in this genre, each of which has garnered an enviable legion of kryptonite players, while the bellwether has grabbed ridiculously high revenues.
Simple game mechanics
We can call the core mechanics of this game "click-click-click" (aka "T3"). It's as simple as clicking a big red (and always red) button. Depending on the random results of the clicks, players can earn coins or enter "extra" game modes such as defense, attack, and raid. Some gambling games have a wheel of fortune at their core, some use dice and pieces to move around the game table, and some use slot machine mechanics. In short, all games basically have the same "click the big red button" step.
Players spend a certain amount of energy currency, which they spend in return to earn gold coins, which they use to improve their game progress.
The advanced game is usually a city-building game, but it is also a simple "click-tap-tap" control mode. Players can choose which part of the island, city, tower, or area to upgrade by "tapping", but the ultimate goal is to upgrade the entire area and move on to new areas.
After completing an area, the player will be able to progress through the large map:
Each new area may also unlock new modes and features, such as power-ups, multipliers, stickers, quests, and more, often increasing the cost of core gold. Of course, each new area also costs more and more gold to upgrade it.
What's interesting about these games is that players occasionally encounter moments of attack or raid.
Attacking other players' cities can be a great way to capture a lot of gold, while also blocking other players' progress, "hurting others" and delaying others' progress.
Attacks and raids are also just click-click-click, but they have a more "game" feel than before, as players can choose which chests to open, where to dig treasure, what types of buildings to attack, etc. Although this is only the "Magician's Choice Battle" (MCC), because the so-called choices are illusory, and the results are completely predetermined.
So, that's the T3-MCC game.
Ultimately, the core loop of the game is this: the cycle from energy to gold to progress is very simple during the course of the game, while the offline idle economy is more subtle, and the longer you leave, the more energy you gain and the more gold/progress you can earn.
Design for game monetization
In fact, these are not typical gambling games. Obviously, players spend energy to spin/roll, rather than spending gold directly. In other words, players are betting on time, not money.
Coin Master doesn't use standard data or the "math" commonly used in slot machines to calculate the Return to Player (RTP), which generally guarantees that players will eventually run out of coins. On the contrary, the issuance of gold coins is very free. But the energy will run out quickly. Also, the dice rolls in Monopoly GO are not random. Instead, the game results are carefully tuned to achieve the desired result:
- A high win rate that makes players always feel like they're winners.
- Lots of offensive and defensive loops with a perk game that's rare in most gambling games.
- Spend energy to ensure predictable playtime. The length of time spent playing can vary depending on the type of player, depending on whether they are paying players, highly engaged users, etc.
The main purpose of earning gold in the game is to attack and raid. When you're attacked/raided, you don't actually lose as much gold, and often less than the person attacking you. Moreover, there is a limit to the extent to which you can be attacked. Still, the hurt you feel when you lose money is also a powerful motivator. This feeling is even stronger if it is an acquaintance who attacks you.
It's important to note that combat is a true multiplayer gameplay and a key part of the monetization system.
When you're attacked in real-time during the game, it often leaves your city, village, or island unfinished, and all the efforts you've just put into leveling up go down the drain. For revenge, you and your enemies will go into a cycle of defense and attack, with only one side coming out victorious in the end. This will be a powerful incentive for players to "spend a little money" on in-app purchases. Gain a "little bit" of extra energy to bring your enemies to the knees. It doesn't get any better feeling than this!
In fact, the only option a player can "really call the shots" during an attack is to choose a target: a random opponent or a player who has just invaded them.
In the point-and-click portion of the game, the player's only real choice is to risk how much energy to use. The greater the risk, the greater the benefit. If you don't have much time to play, you might as well gamble and you might get lucky.
The game even allows players to enter an "auto-spin" mode for a completely passive game. But when you enter a raid or attack sequence, you have to do it yourself. This keeps players engaged.
Online Operations: Tournaments stimulate player spending
Tournaments can add many variations to the game. To get to the top of the leaderboards and get amazingly high rewards, you'll have to use big multipliers, take big risks, and run out of energy faster.
In addition to leaderboards, there are usually plenty of short-term objectives for players to complete and earn excess rewards. Players also instinctively take big risks for this and consume energy quickly. Of course, game publishers are carefully calibrated for these events, so players tend to run out of energy before completing objectives, triggering in-app purchases.
Socialize and let the game go viral in large numbers
Finally, every "old element" in the social game is present. There are gift walls, invitations, and social media groups where stickers/cards can be exchanged. Not only does this bring a lot of virality to the game, but it also gives you the possibility to play against your friends, which is a key source of monetization.
Brainless, simple, and anytime, that's what makes these games so popular
With the advent of smartphones, human attention spans have become very limited. As the power of TikTok shows, entertainment that consumes quickly and easily is becoming increasingly popular.
The T3-MCC game is a natural evolution of "game mechanics crash". Some of the hottest games in the history of mobile gaming have mastered the art of simplifying game mechanics and presenting them in new ways for players who are distracted and want to play a few hands on the go, taking up fragments of their time.
For example, turn all inputs into simple swipes or taps
The T3-MCC game is a kind of condensation and folding of the gameplay, allowing the player to focus more on the pleasure of the moment and reach a state of flow.
The game of random probability always attracts players
What is clear is that gambling games, even unpaid social betting, are here to stay. Currently, the genre is worth $8 billion and is expected to continue to grow.
It's no surprise that gambling games are so popular. After all, all history and even our existence is based on randomness. You and everything about you are just the result of genetic probability, and each possibility makes you a completely different person.
While social gambling is already a very popular genre, T3-MCC games like Coin Master expand the range of games and can still make players feel more exciting and require more attention to make choices.
In this way, they broke the typical audience of slots, attracted a younger, more diverse group of players, and even reached players in countries that don't usually play gambling games.
Making this type of game requires innovation, and the combination of different opens up new possibilities
Want to make your own T3-MCC game? Don't try cloning! There are too many of these games out there, and most of them don't get enough players or revenue that they were expecting.
A skin-changing clone of Coin Master
Try new game mechanics
In fact, there are still many new areas to cultivate. Try new game mechanics: video poker, Keno, blackjack, or bingo.
The "trendy" new ways of playing that have emerged in the real money gambling space are also worth learning from, such as crash games, where you need to "try your luck" and make the plane stop before it crashes. The longer you wait, the more money you can earn.
Pinball games with "pseudo-physics" are also a direction worth trying.
The game Treasure Tails tried a similar approach, but the game failed to pass the trial run. The quality of the game is very high, and the numbers are clearly "great", but the cost of buying them makes it unprofitable.
区块链游戏《King of Destiny》采用了抽卡和轻度卡牌组构。
The game Go-Go Magnet has players using a giant magnet to randomly draw "treasures" from the bottom of the sea. Players can then manually merge these treasures for additional rewards.
In addition, the game SpinCraft uses mechanics similar to the meat pigeon game to modify the reels of its own slot machine, adding new symbols or multipliers to keep things fresh.
Cascade randomly adds gems to the tray with each "spin", which the player can then use to play match-3, cascading, and clearing them all.
Finally, Playtika's latest acquisition, Animals & Coins, is very different from pure T3. The game is centered around "one-click" hyper-casual games. You have to hold down the energy button to build a bridge between the islands, you have to build the bridge high enough and long enough to get there, but not too high or else you will waste energy. Each island will randomly "drop" gold or MCC-style attacks/raids. The main game requires (a little) real attention and skill from the player.
Try a better metagame or city building
Improving the large map metagame is also a fruitful direction to try to innovate.
The question is, do players prefer to choose their own decorations and creatively place buildings/furniture, or do they prefer a mindless "click-click-click"?
Moti Novo, who designed the social gaming genre Cash King, also co-designed a game called Dice Life. This game obviously has more depth, including a variety of resources, building types, and more. The gameplay is more like a farm-building game like Settlers of Catan. Sadly, the game didn't get far before it was axed by Playtika. Is the timing wrong, or is the complexity and depth of the game beyond what the player really needs?
Try more different tactics
Experimenting with different combat types and choices may also be fruitful. Character attributes, equipment, skill points and tech trees, training and evolution are all the main contents of RPG games.
Can these be used for T3-MCC games? Lucky Buddies attempts to replace city-building with character-building. In the game, you can use weapons and armor to level up your troops and defeat more difficult bosses.
Slots Survival, on the other hand, turns the battle into a craps mini-game, with the option to add some buffs similar to the meat pigeon game as you progress through the game.
Axie Golden Road, published by Sky Mavis, unlocks the cute little monster "Axie". Organize them into squads and use them strategically to defend or attack specific floors of battle towers. The goal of the design is to achieve the feel of RPG fighting through tactics and base building, but at the same time maintain the relaxed and fluid state of the T3-MCC game, as this is the charm of the T3-MCC game. Of course, in the future, the game may also include "owning assets" and bonus elements in web3.
《Axie Golden Road》就是文章作者David Fox开发的游戏
Work wonders
Making a T3-MCC game seems "easy". But it's incredibly difficult to complete and run this type of game, requiring very creative gameplay design skills, not to mention having a certain competitive advantage in terms of marketing in order to acquire players at a reasonable cost in a very crowded market.
T3-MCC designers had to have the data analytics to be able to create a game-style console that made the game feel random, but at the same time tightly controlled economics and a certain amount of time. Not only do you have to make sure that you have enough fun in the game, but you can also run out of energy at critical moments and make in-app purchases.
The graphics and overall feel of the game also need to be perfect, because everything the player does is very simple and requires little choice or skill, so every moment of the picture needs to feel wonderful and fresh for the player, and it is worth watching dozens of times. It's best to make it sweaty and engaging without making a choice.
I believe there is a huge business opportunity here. The T3-MCC approach is not a flash in the pan, but a new way to meet the needs of a large number of gamers who like to "gaming" and spending. There is no doubt that the next Coin Master will bring us new surprises, and its new changes will be both obvious and simple, like a miracle.
Original source:
www.deconstructoroffun.com/blog/2024/4/29/battle-royale-meets-casino-royale