Presented at Casual Connect 2013 Time limited contests, events, seasonal activities and any special content are fall under the category of live operations. For mobile game indies, live ops are a chance to bump up retention and monetization and turn a successful game into a hit. These slides give a summary of what live ops are, case studies of different types and lessons learned.

1. Tournament Time!
Live Ops for Indies
simon@frenzoo.com

2. About Frenzoo
• 3d lifestyle games startup
• Launched last year
• “Learn every day” culture
• No shoes policy :)

3. 3
Rundown…
• Defining live ops
• Should Indies care?
• Case Studies
• Lessons learned

4. 4
LIVE OPS – One definition
“What players perceive as a time limited event”
Can be:
• Gameplay, content, contest, bonuses etc
• Single or multiplayer
• Local or global
– Local = can happen at different
times for different players
– Global = system wide
• Most advanced in Japan

5. 5
Reasons to do live ops
• Fun factor! (short term retention)
• Establishes return schedules (medium term retention)
• Community building (long term retention)
• Monetization increase
“More than half of our
Modern War revenues
comes from events”
- Mike Lu

6. Megapolis – local singleplayer
6
Example

7. Associated sale
7

8. Fall of a Meteorite summary
8
5 stages needed to complete within a week
• Build & upgrade around 10 buildings
• Collect many items through social
• Complete contracts
• Visit friends
Total requirement ~ 500 cash + 500,000 coins
IAP = $US 20 + $US 10 = $US 30 total

9. Campus Life – local singleplayer
9
Example

10. Motor World – global multiplayer
10
Example

11. Motor World – global multiplayer
11
Example
• Reward (car) of one stage
needed for next
• Completing stage 4 unlocks
global ranking
• Additional rewards for global
top ranked
• Pay to play at higher stages

12. Collaboration examples
12
Example
Mostly independentGuild cooperation

13. Style Me Girl – global multiplayer
Example
Eco chic event
• Themed style challenges (pvp)
• Themed time limited items
• Single global leaderboard
• Rare prizes

14. Eco Chic results vs Baseline
14
• Increased sales
• Players enjoyed
• Collecting spirit
• Casuals stopped early
• Server overload
• Too manual
• PvP only

15. 15
Lessons learned
• Plan for events in design phase
• Use core mechanics
• Local events are “set and forget”
• Give all a set of achievable goals
• Pair with themed item packs
• Have fun :)

16. 16
Thanks!
Any questions?
simon@frenzoo.com
@simonhk
Blog: IteratingFun.com