hit reset: release is day one of the development cycle ben liu coo, pocket gems

Hit Reset: Release is Day One of the Development CycleBen LiuCOO, Pocket Gems

Pocket Gems●Founded 2009, backed by Sequoia Capital●14 iOS and Android titles●Pioneer in free to play mobile games

● 1st farm game● 1st store game● 1st zoo game● 1st hotel game● 1st exploration simulation game

Tap Zoo and Tap Pet Hotel#1 and #4 Top Grossing iPhone Apps of 2011

Longevity

Tap Zoo12 months straight in the top 10 grossing apps

Tap Pet Hotel8 months straight in the top 10 grossing apps

Live Game PhilosophyHow can we make the game as fresh and new as the day we released it for the first time?

What It TakesWeekly updates

● 1 new feature every 2 weeks● New content every week

Technology Infrastructure: Client●Game engine●AB testing

Technology Infrastructure: Server●DCON●Analytics

Live Game PhilosophyHow can we make the game as fresh and new as the day we released it for the first time?

Tap Zoo Backstory

Tap Zoo EvolutionAnimal

s

Xbreed

Social Achievements

Quests

iPad Retina

Daily Bonus

LTO Zoo Sprout

Smart Side walks

Animal Mixing Sounds

Africa

Tap Zoo v0 (September 2010)

Tap Zoo Today (March 2012)

Tap Zoo Today (March 2012)

Tap Zoo Today (March 2012)

Tap Zoo Today (March 2012)

Tap Zoo EvolutionAnimal

s

Xbreed

Social Achievements

Quests

iPad Retina

Daily Bonus

LTO Zoo Sprout

Smart Side walks

Animal Mixing Sounds

Africa

Tap Zoo Today (March 2012)

Live Cycle

Ideation

Release

Measure/ Learn

Live Game PhilosophyHow can we make the game as fresh and new as the day we released it for the first time?

Tap Pet Hotel Backstory Ideation

Release

Measure/ Learn

Ideation Ideation

Release

Measure/ Learn

Ideation Ideation

Release

Measure/ Learn

Ideation: Party Rooms Ideation

Release

Measure/ Learn

Ideation: Party Rooms

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Ideation

Release

Measure/ Learn

V1 Release: Party Rooms●Minimum Viable Product

● What is the pure essence of the feature?● What is the minimum amount of work to do in

order to get useful feedback?

Ideation

Release

Measure/ Learn

V1 Release: Party Rooms●August 2011

Ideation

Release

Measure/ Learn

V1 Release: Party Rooms●August 2011

Ideation

Release

Measure/ Learn

V1 Release: Party Rooms●August 2011

Ideation

Release

Measure/ Learn

Measure/Learn: Party Rooms●Close to 100% users tried the feature●Repeat engagement not so hot (1 and 7 day feature retention)●Ok monetization(feature ARPU)

Ideation

Release

Measure/ Learn

Ideation: Party Rooms

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Ideation

Release

Measure/ Learn

V2 Release: Party Rooms●December 2011

Ideation

Release

Measure/ Learn

V2 Release: Party Rooms●December 2011

Ideation

Release

Measure/ Learn

V2 Release: Party Rooms●December 2011

Ideation

Release

Measure/ Learn

V2 Release: Party Rooms●December 2011

Ideation

Release

Measure/ Learn

Measure/Learn: Party Rooms●Sky high initial engagement!●1.5x repeat engagement!●2x monetization!

Ideation

Release

Measure/ Learn

Future●Run loop faster●Machine learning ●Tap Paradise Cove

Hit Reset: Release is Day One of Development Cycle●Questions?