Game Design Secrets

Summary

Here are the key points we covered in this chapter:

• The evolution of the Facebook game platform happens very rapidly, with sudden, unexpected changes sometimes occurring in a matter of weeks. Despite the speed of evolution, there are some trends you can probably count on.
• In the near future, cross-platform games, especially those that use Facebook Connect to enable play and sharing between smartphones/tablets and the web, will likely experience major growth. Also, games with shareable user-generated content will probably become a popular category. Simulation games of the CityVille/FarmVille variety, however, will likely continue to wane.
• Designers should also think about how to leverage updates on Facebook, not to drive viral growth, but to retain existing users.
• While 3D graphics may also enjoy growth on Facebook, they will do so in a limited, constrained fashion.
• The same is true for Google+. At the moment and for the next year or two, Google+ does not seem to be a viable competitor with Facebook as a game platform, but will probably become an important secondary market for social games.