Game Design Deep Dive Free-to-Play

Game Design Deep Dive:Free-to-Play (F2P) continues the series’ focus on examining genres with a look at the history and methodology behind free-to-play and mobile games. The genre is one of the most lucrative and controversial in the industry. Josh Bycer lays out not only the potential and pitfalls of this design but also explores the ethics behind good and bad monetization. This book offers: A comprehensive look at the practices behind the most popular free-to-play and mobile games A detailed talk about the ethics of F2P, and one of the few honest looks at it from both sides of the argument A perfect read for designers, students, or people wanting to educate themselves about the practices of the genre Joshua Bycer is a Game Design Critic with more thanseven years of experience critically analyzing game design and the industry itself. In that time, through Game-Wisdom.com, he has interviewed hundreds of game developers and members of the industry about what it means to design video games.

Foreword Acknowledgements Social Media Contacts Additional Books 1.The Goal of Game Design Deep Dive:Free-to-Play Introduction Consumer and Developer Benefits 2.The Birth of Live Service A Brief Look at MMOGs Team Fortress 2 League of Legends Live Service’s Impact 3. The Beginning of the Free-to-Play Era The MMOG Boom and Crash The Rise of the Browser and Casual Game Market The Era of Browser Game Design 4. The Basics of Free-to-Play Design The Difficulty of Defining the Market The Basic Structure Popular Genres Can Any Genre Become F2P? The Introduction of "Fun Pain" Creating a Live Service Game The Risks and Rewards of Live Service Design 5. The First Generation of Free-to-Play/Mobile Games The First Successes Cultivating the Casual Gamer Market The Limits of the Casual Market The Mobile Methodology The ThreePhases of Gameplay 6. The Matters of Monetization Ad Revenue Monetization Design Creating Currency Popular Monetization Options The Value of Timeand Money 7. The Second Generation of Free-to-Play/Mobile Games Of Brands and Battles Pushing PvP Play Defining Gameplay Systems Crafting the Long-Term Experience 8. Studying Surprise Mechanics Defining Surprise Mechanics Loot Box Gacha Design Random Progression Hero Collector Design 9. The Ethics of F2P Anti-Consumer Practices The Psychology of Microtransactions Ethics in Game Design Defining Ethical Game Design Why This Matters 10. The Third Generation of Free-to-Play/Mobile Games Carving Out Genres Major Mobile (and F2P) Names The Successes of Warframe andPath of Exile Battle Passes/Seasonal Play 11. Long-Tail Live Service The Challenge of Retention The Two Kinds of Content Balancing Live Service Gameplay Pop Culture Promotion Long-Term Support When a Live Service Game Ends 12. Looking Forward with Free-to-Play Design The Future of the Market Play-to-Earn Design and NFTs Conclusion Glossary

Joshua Bycer is a Game Design Critic with more than 7 years of experience critically analyzing game design and the industry itself. In that time through Game-Wisdom.com, he ha interviewed hundreds of game developers and members of the industry about what it means to design video games.