Blockhead Characters

http://blockparty.com/

lol... yeah...

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_in...tory=25347

talks about how blockparty will be some type of service like clubpenguin but for teens >____>

At GDC Austin, Nexon America vice president Min Kim considered what developers need to do to get ready for the "penguin army" -- kids who were born during the dot-com boom years, and the first fully-connected generation -- as they graduate from Club Penguin.

These kids, which Nexon internally refers to as the "bubble babies", and describes as "the first truly connected generation, born during the dot.com bubble" are already playing online social games, says Kim. "We hypothesize the big boom is going to happen when you get these kids, and it will be very natural for them."

What they're doing now isn't his biggest worry; he's more concerned about their future interests , as his company's games, such as Maple Story, appeal more to teens, says Kim.

"By 2012 they're going to be 11, 12, 13 and the sweet spot for our demo is around 14, 15, 16, and that's not going to happen till 2015. We think that there's going to be an explosion of this kind of [social gaming] behavior by 2015."

Where After Penguin?

These users will abandon Club Penguin and the other kid-targeted services, and not for other games -- unless they're successfully captured, says Kim. "After they're done with all of these services, where are they going to go next? Are they going to stay social on the PC? Abandon the PC for console?" No, he says. He thinks YouTube, iTunes, and other media stand to benefit from this audience -- unless efforts are made to appeal to them.

That leads naturally to the launch of Nexon's BlockParty service, a new brand for its social gaming portal with a new identity designed to appeal to a slightly older audience. Kim announced its existence during his presentation.

"The cool thing about this versus what else is going on in the market, is that we're going the opposite way," says Kim. "If you look at Facebook, they've gotten all of their users and are figuring out how to keep their users entertained. We've got the games and want to keep a robust community." Community is the relationships between people, Kim reminds us -- not just between users but also between companies and the users.

When it comes to advice on selling items, Kim did have one caveat, however: "I feel like all services are different, so I'm going to talk about the logic behind why people are buying things, and you can create your own mix."

'A New Behavior' For Game Monetization?

Says Kim, "We've done this from 2000 up to now, many different types of games and demographics, and from that we've been able to create our own rulesets that we apply to many different types of games," however, not all rules apply to all the games Nexon runs.

Kim pointed out that arcade games, once hugely popular, were their own microtransaction-like business model -- until they were crushed by home console games.

It was a natural fit for gamers until it was replaced, and a new generation's behavior can be shaped by its own options, says Kim. "Why can't we develop a new behavior? As these types of online services are coming to the PC, with a new generation growing up, why can't they develop a new purchasing behavior?"

Figuring out what users would pay for "was just trial and error," at first, says Kim. "And even for a lot of the services you guys are thinking of, I think it's more important to be agile and try many things."

When it comes to making changes, says Kim, "it's better to be agile than right." But if you analyze your data -- and you must, he says -- "do a lot of things and be quick enough to make changes."

"With an online game you're creating a relationship you will have with your consumer for a very long time, and if the commitment is not high at the start," says Kim. But depth of engagement is required for microtransactions to be valuable.

Quality and value are key, says Kim. If a game gains users, it will start to drive transactions, but they may not stay. "You can't sacrifice game quality for community, but if you have all your friends playing, you're going to have a great time." How to keep them playing? "The first need that you really have to satisfy is fun. I think people start off thinking business model, but if your game is not fun, the community is not going to stick around."

That's important, Kim says, because "people are content for other people -- you need the non-paying users as well as the paying users."


The Eight Game Item Types

When it comes to items, they can serve eight purposes, says Kim: function, envy/prestige, recognition, collecting, rarity/scarcity, competition, friendship, peer pressure. These are the keywords, he said several times, that you should be thinking about when designing your items to sell.

There are obviously functional items like tokens that allow you to continue your game in Nexon's Dungeon Fighter Online, but all items fulfill some function for gamers -- it just may be largely or entirely social. 


Many "vanity" items (that affect players' appearances) popular, but Kim doesn't believe the term should be used. "I get this question all the time. I really believe vanity equals function. All items are functional items. People actually talk to you if you have cash items purchased. Vanity is in the eye of the beholder."

When it comes to your business model, says Kim, "What you're trying to do is a mimic the subscription. When you're mimicking that subscription you know that most of your players aren't going to pay. Don't make the non-payers for that subscription. Don't shoot for an ARPU of $100 because you know 10 players won't pay."

It's also important, rather than concentrating on a few items everybody is forced to buy due to the game's design, says Kim, to "create a lot of different items, and hope that people will buy a subset." He also says, "Not everybody wants to buy the same thing."

When it comes to users with prepaid cards, says Kim, make sure you have a wide variety of items available so you can quickly recoup the value of the card. "Think of a candy store. When your mom gave you $2 or $3 and you walked in and you're like 'what can I buy?' and you're maxing that out. You have a lot you want to purchase and that money is never enough."

These items are also very important from a user retention perspective: "Collectable items create a relationship between you and the game."

Item lifecycle is a tricky issue, says Kim. How does Nexon drive sales? "We do a lot of events. We actually do a lot of sales. Our site is kind of like a store. If we see the lifecycle of an item is dwindling we'll put it on sale and potentially pull that item out."

"Even in a game like MapleStory, there are so many items that are good, and there's the paralysis of choice." Kim notes that you can generate "more sales on saying you're going to get rid of [an item] than keeping it in the system for another year or two."

what WHAT WHAAAAAAAAAT

I.. I DONT.. EVEN..

what WHAT WHAAAAAAAAAT

I.. I DONT.. EVEN..

None of this should be news to anyone.
It's standard corporate marketing.

If it is news to anyone - Welcome to the real world; You're just prey to companies.

When it comes to users with prepaid cards, says Kim, make sure you have a wide variety of items available so you can quickly recoup the value of the card. "Think of a candy store. When your mom gave you $2 or $3 and you walked in and you're like 'what can I buy?' and you're maxing that out. You have a lot you want to purchase and that money is never enough.

[B]People actually talk to you if you have cash items purchased


[/B]"

THIS


Oh and replace addicting with the word fun and the article is pretty much nexons business model.

The first need that you really have to satisfy is fun. I think people start off thinking business model,

Oh, didn't know that. Sorry. I'm kinda behind nowadays. Stupid school. >.>

All nexon games have been updated with an animation of blockheads holding a "click here" sign. It says that Nexon.net will be no more, and will be replaced by blockparty.com. It's turning into gamer facebook...

Check it out.

Old.

Also, wtp, I thought NEXON cared about us, not about money

Silly NEXON

Also, wtp, I thought NEXON cared about us, not about money

Please tell me this was sarcasm.

There is only one way to confirm this.

Someone go play another NEXON game, see if the NEXON animation is there, and if so, if the blockheads are there. :|

No animation of them when I started up Mabinogi

No animation of them when I started up Mabinogi

neither on Dungeon Fighter, but on the DFO site theres a ad at the top adverting the changes to come and the like

Please tell me this was sarcasm.

Obviously it was.

None of this should be news to anyone.
It's standard corporate marketing.

If it is news to anyone - Welcome to the real world; You're just prey to companies.

Yeah...shows had soulless "standard corporate marketing" is.

Yeah...shows had soulless "standard corporate marketing" is.

Obviously it had an effect since it's now infected your avatar.

That leads naturally to the launch of Nexon's BlockParty service, a new brand for its social gaming portal with a new identity designed to appeal to a slightly older audience.

lolwut

"The cool thing about this versus what else is going on in the market, is that we're going the opposite way," says Kim. "If you look at Facebook, they've gotten all of their users and are figuring out how to keep their users entertained. We've got the games and want to keep a robust community."

[COLOR="green"]So they are pointing out how they are different than Facebook because they are making themselves into Facebook...
wat
If people are leaving Facebook because there isn't anything fun to do there, which is how you justify why they are adding things to keep you entertained, then how would adding social networking to your games make it better? Wouldn't logic dictate that they don't want the social networking if they are leaving Facebook?[/COLOR]

Community is the relationships between people, Kim reminds us -- not just between users but also between companies and the users.

Maybe you should work on the fact that the relationship between your company and the user is at the point where everyone wants to burn down your corporate headquarters, instead of how to "add community" to your already decently popular games. Leave the social networking to social networking sites. Work on what you're supposed to do.

wat

No, he made a correct jump there. You read it wrong.

Facebook:
Community --> keeping the users around

Nexon:
Keeping the users around --> community

So Facebook had its community first, Nexon had its games first. Everyone else is trying to keep their users around with the community, Nexon is being more game-focused. If you really want to look from another business's perspective, it just means that Nexon is "catching up", not going in a totally new direction.

No, he made a correct jump there. You read it wrong.

Facebook:
Community --> keeping the users around

Nexon:
Keeping the users around --> community

So Facebook had its community first, Nexon had its games first. Everyone else is trying to keep their users around with the community, Nexon is being more game-focused. If you really want to look from another business's perspective, it just means that Nexon is "catching up", not going in a totally new direction.

Oh, sorry. Thanks Fiel. Now reading it again I see it. So they are making themselves like Facebook so as to keep themselves from losing more users? Why would they want to become a semi-copy of something else, when those people already have a large number of users? Why would you want a second cow if the first cow is free and pumping out milk by the ton? :f6:

Obviously it had an effect since it's now infected your avatar.

lol I think the animation is hilarious. The concept and site they will be flogging, well, I cant say what I think about that.

Why would you want a second cow if the first cow is free and pumping out milk by the ton? :f6:

Because nothing less than a total monopoly of cows and milk will be satisfactory for Kim...

I just hope the blockheads don't get in Nexon's games' playing (I don't mean the whole Nexon/Wizet crap). I'd be very scared!

I just hope the blockheads don't get in Nexon's games' playing (I don't mean the whole Nexon/Wizet crap). I'd be very scared!

they wouldn't fit in anywhere lol
that's like trying to fit in Cartman into Everybody Loves Raymond

Or Stewie Griffin into Bones...

They will *make* it happen, somehow. lol