Preface |
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ix | |
Acknowledgments |
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xi | |
Social Media Contacts |
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xiii | |
Additional Books |
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xv | |
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1 The Goal of Game Design Deep Dive: Free-to-Play |
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1 | (4) |
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1 | (1) |
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1.2 Consumer and Developer Benefits |
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2 | (3) |
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2 The Birth of Live Service |
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5 | (1) |
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2.1 A Brief Look at MMOGs |
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5 | (2) |
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7 | (2) |
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9 | (2) |
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2.4 Live Service's Impact |
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11 | (4) |
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3 The Beginning of the Free-to-Play Era |
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15 | (1) |
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3.1 The MMOG Boom and Crash |
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15 | (3) |
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3.2 The Rise of the Browser and Casual Game Market |
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18 | (1) |
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3.3 The Era of Browser Game Design |
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19 | (4) |
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4 The Basics of Free-to-Play Design |
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23 | (18) |
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4.1 The Difficulty of Defining the Market |
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23 | (1) |
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24 | (2) |
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26 | (3) |
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4.4 Can Any Genre Become F2P? |
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29 | (2) |
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4.5 The Introduction of "Fun Pain" |
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31 | (2) |
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4.6 Creating a Live Service Game |
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33 | (2) |
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4.7 The Risks and Rewards of Live Service Design |
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35 | (6) |
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39 | (2) |
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5 The First Generation of Mobile/F2P Design |
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41 | (16) |
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41 | (4) |
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5.2 Cultivating the Casual Market |
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45 | (2) |
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5.3 The Limits of the Casual Market |
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47 | (2) |
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5.4 The Mobile Methodology |
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49 | (3) |
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5.5 The Three Phases of Gameplay |
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52 | (5) |
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55 | (2) |
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6 The Matters of Monetization |
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57 | (14) |
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57 | (1) |
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58 | (2) |
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60 | (2) |
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6.4 Popular Monetization Options |
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62 | (4) |
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6.5 The Values of Time and Money |
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66 | (5) |
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7 The Second Generation of Free-to-Play/Mobile |
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71 | (16) |
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7.1 Of Brands and Battles |
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71 | (5) |
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76 | (4) |
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7.3 Defining Gameplay Systems |
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80 | (3) |
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7.4 Crafting the Long-Term Experience |
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83 | (4) |
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86 | (1) |
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8 Studying Surprise Mechanics |
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87 | (18) |
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8.1 Defining Surprise Mechanics |
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87 | (3) |
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90 | (2) |
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92 | (2) |
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94 | (2) |
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8.5 Hero Collector Design |
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96 | (9) |
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104 | (1) |
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105 | (26) |
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9.1 Anti-Consumer Practices |
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105 | (3) |
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9.2 The Psychology of Microtransactions |
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108 | (2) |
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9.3 Ethics in Game Design |
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110 | (5) |
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9.4 Defining Ethical Game Design |
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115 | (13) |
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9.4.1 Does the Player Feel Forced to Play the Game? |
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117 | (2) |
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9.4.2 Does the Player Feel Coerced or Pressured to Spend Money? |
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119 | (1) |
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9.4.3 Does Spending Money Give Players Exclusive Access to Unique Content? |
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120 | (2) |
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9.4.4 Can a Nonpaying Player Compete with Those That Pay? |
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122 | (6) |
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128 | (3) |
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130 | (1) |
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10 The Third Generation of Free-to-Play/Mobile Games |
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131 | (16) |
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131 | (3) |
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10.2 Major Mobile (and F2P) Names |
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134 | (4) |
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10.3 The Successes of Warframe and Path of Exile |
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138 | (5) |
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10.4 Battle Passes/Seasonal Play |
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143 | (4) |
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11 Long-Tail Live Service |
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147 | (24) |
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11.1 The Challenge of Retention |
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147 | (3) |
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11.2 The Two Kinds of Content |
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150 | (4) |
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11.3 Balancing Live Service Gameplay |
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154 | (6) |
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11.4 Pop Culture Promotion |
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160 | (4) |
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164 | (4) |
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11.6 When a Live Service Game Ends |
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168 | (3) |
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12 Looking Forward with Free-to-Play Design |
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171 | (8) |
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12.1 The Future of the Market |
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171 | (2) |
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12.2 Play-to-Earn Design and NFTs |
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173 | (4) |
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177 | (2) |
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178 | (1) |
Glossary |
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179 | (4) |
Index |
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183 | |