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2	What Are We Talking About? Providing a game experience doesn’t end when you leave the couch Checking your clan mate’s game stats during a break at work Posting your Guitar Hero shredding video to YouTube Planning a raid with your guild
3	How We See the World Functionality and services of increasing value for both publisher/developer and consumer Competition, Community functionality essential to breaking that barrier
4	Who Are We? We provide technology and online services for those interested in Creating multi-platform services for their games and franchises Increasing consumer game play and loyalty Keeping consumers engaged with the game – even when not actively playing GameSpy has proven technology and track record Used in over 400 titles worldwide Available on 8 different platforms (PS3, PSP, PS2, DS, Wii, PC, Mac, Linux)
5	Why is this important? Building a loyal fan base That will buy your expansion packs and sequels That will evangelize your game and make their friends buy your games That will provide valuable feedback for future feature and title development
6	How to do it? Add features in your game that foster community Look for ways to leverage that outside of the game NOTE: Your game doesn’t have to be a multiplayer game to do this successfully. A YouTube search on “Guitar Hero” yields 11,000+ results The “PlanetTheSims” forums has 3,300 active members and 35,000 posts Martigen’s Monster Mod for Oblivion has been downloaded from FilePlanet 30,000 times
7	Who is doing it right? Certainly not the ONLY people, but some we are quite familiar with Battle for Middle Earth franchise Automated ladder matches, web-based reporting Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Tailor-made online experience The Battlefield franchise Stats, Awards, Rankings, Web-based presence World of Warcraft tapping MySpace Taking advantage of someone else’s growth and momentum
8	Battle for Middle Earth franchise Outsourced competition and community to GameSpy Automatically reports game results to web-based Arena ladders 300,000+ players 4.5 million ladder matches 30,000+ matches played per week Take small steps first
9	Lessons Applied to Command & Conquer 3 Lessons learned in BFME2 applied to Command and Conquer 3 C&C Online portal RTS as a Sport Match broadcasts Match commentary Web-based match archive Scheduling
10	Nintendo WiFi Connection Standard set of online functionality for DS Matchmaking Buddy System Rankings and Scores Consistent, base feature set among games adds perceived value Info on all WiFi Connection titles from Nintendo’s WiFi Connection portal
11	Every Game Has Something to Show Show something for every game Last 20 players Top Cities Day vs. Night connection stats
12	User-generated Content Mini Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis In-game level editor Upload and share user-created levels Feature great levels on website Offer great user for others to download
13	Cool Features Build Community Featured player User contributed content Clothing Decks Grafitti Skate crews Tournaments Community Events
14	Battlefield Franchise In-game player profile and game statistics system for Battlefield 2 franchise Deep statistics that cover the range of gameplay Persistent world experience to session-based game
15	Battlefield Franchise Extend these ideas with Battlefield 2142 Remember that franchise plan we talked about earlier? Broke barrier with full-on franchise portal and Comrade In-game buddy lists with GameSpy Comrade access from desktop Portal highlights franchise-wide news and events Portal provides detailed player profile, progress info Leaderboards with buddy comparisons
16	Comrade Buddy Lists Same buddy list available on desktop or in-game See when your friends are playing Follow friends into game Message friends for help Ambassador program 2142 Dev Team as a buddy Inform community of upcoming events Patches Expansion packs Tournaments
17	Detailed Player Profiles Web-based profile allows players to stay connected to the game “I’m almost there…” Progress graphs show how close to next rank. Encourage repeat play. Bragging rights Plan and plot next moves Plan next medal to pursue Research weapon upgrades Players to invite to team
18	Web-based Leaderboards Leaderboards to show players where they stand There’s only one number one Provide many leaderboards for additional chance to be that number one Integrate with other systems Filter by buddies Filter by country Filter by rivalry
19	Franchise Portal You’ve built an audience, now put it to use Promote expansion packs Promote community events Promote other titles within franchise
20	World of Warcraft Tap social networks No faster way to build and leverage a community Easy to judge efficacy of outreach 116,000 friends Instant feedback 50,000 comments Provide easy tools for community to organize itself and interact
21	Best Practices Speak Softly, and Carry a BFG Constantly feed news of all kinds to the community Embrace tools that create sense of perpetual activity – even when you’re not working on the game anymore Make users feel involved and valued: beta programs, ”veteran” rewards, etc.
22	Embrace User-created Content Realism Mods = More Blood, Prolonged Sales User-created content is the best bargain in game development Mods, maps, widgets extend the retail lifespan of your game Give them tools Offer them help / tutorials Offer them distribution channels
23	Building Isn’t Operating
24	Middleware Is Your Friend The budget bell always tolls first for community features Middleware can provide cost & time efficient ways to ensure these features DON’T get cut Build vs. Buy is an illusion: Collaborate with your middleware provider for best results Especially when they have multi-title, multi-year experience It’s not just for in-game anymore! Stats, messaging, competition and content all reach beyond the main menu
25	Good Lord, Don’t Just Sit There Do whatever you can, when you can Don’t forego community just because you can’t build it all for your current title’s budget or development timeline Design your community with your franchise timeline in mind – make a plan! Future proof your game – don’t apply a one-title community mentality to a multi-title franchise; iterate!
26	Come Talk to Us We’d love to talk to you more Booth 730 on Expo Floor http://www.poweredbygamespy.com/