successful design and live operation of events

Successful Design and Live Operation of

Events

Chris PlummerHead of Ideation & New Development Strategy, :DeNA

CONQUERING RAID BOSS

and other secrets for successful live event

operation

Common Event Misconceptions

SALE!NEW

CONTENT!

ARPDAU

SPIKE!

“Just For Whales”

Credible EventsCustomer Point of View

“Did you make it

to the…?”

“I want to get in

before it’s over!”

“…even more fun

than the normal

game!”

“I’m getting so

much more

stuff!”

“Can’t wait ‘t

ill

the next event!”

“That top prize is

insane!”

Why bother?

Successful event operation will dramatically inflect game performance week to week.

Event Engagement

Event Monetization

CommonEvent Frameworks• Solo

Progression • PvP• Raid Boss

PvP

Raid Boss

Progression

Event Harness Essentials

Start & End Event Game

Rules/Mods/Modes

Event Scoring and/or Currencies

Event Reward System(s)

Event Content Tools

Event Promotion & Description UI

Event KPI Analytics

Event-specific Affinity

Event Designer’sChecklist

Clear Premise Exclusive Content

and UX design

Clear Progression Design

Event KPI Targets

Base reward structure for ‘everyone’

Elite reward structure for elite players

All the reference players could need

EVENT TYPE LIVE TUNING

Theme 1 Theme 2 Theme ..n

RAID BOSSSecrets to Success

Play

EncounterHarder Boss

Attack

Re-Engage or

Call 4 Help

Win & EarnMore

Rewards

Redeem & Buy

Equip

RAID BOSS Cycle

- Game energy

+ Event Points+ Battle Energy+ Reward Tickets

- Battle energy

- Battle energy+ Raid members

- Reward Tickets+ Gameplay Items

+ Gameplay Stats

- Time$

$

$

RAID BOSS featuresInvasion premiseUnique InstancesEvent EnergyCall for helpVictory Rewards

Limited LifespanBoss ProgressionEP RewardsLeaderboard RewardsPay for advantage

Raid Boss KPIsParticipation RateDaily EP Totals by Engagement

CohortRevenue & Volume of Event ItemsDaily Event Energy Used / DAUWin/Loss Ratio per BossHelp requests and Response Rate

Sample: Day 3 Event Point Distribution Target by Engagement Cohort

Each engagement group progresses at a different pace.

500

1,50

0

2,50

0

3,50

0

4,50

0

5,50

0

6,50

0

7,50

0

8,50

0

9,50

0

10,50

0

11,50

0

12,50

0

13,50

0

14,50

0

15,50

0

16,50

0

HIGHMEDIUMLOW

500

1,500

2,5

00 3,5

00 4,5

00 5,5

00 6,5

00 7,5

00 8,5

00 9,5

00

10,50

0

11,50

0

12,50

0

13,50

0

14,50

0

15,50

0

16,50

0

HIGHMEDIUMLOW

Sample: Day 7 Event Point Distribution Target by Engagement Cohort

Big Prize Thresholds

The single,most important thing…

!

CompellingRewards!

Raid Boss Participation Rewards, HELLFIRE

Reward Redemption, HELLFIRE

Top Leaderboard Rewards,

TRANSFORMERS LEGENDS

And don’t forgetdaily tuning…

EventParticipation?

• Tune rewards first• Tune UI• Tune Boss difficulty last

Progression Pace?Tune encounter rate firstTune Boss difficulty last

Sample Spawn Rate by EP

EP > 200 300 500 800

1,200

1,700

2,500

3,700

5,400

7,900

11,600

17,000 Boss 14 - - - - - - - - - - - 0.01 Boss 13 - - - - - - - - - - 0.01 0.02 Boss 12 - - - - - - - - - 0.01 0.02 0.04 Boss 11 - - - - - - - - 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.08 Boss 10 - - - - - - - 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.08 0.05 Boss 9 - - - - - - 0.02 0.02 0.05 0.10 0.11 - Boss 8 - - - - - 0.02 0.05 0.05 0.10 0.11 - - Boss 7 - - - - - 0.05 0.08 0.10 0.12 - - - Boss 6 - - - - 0.05 0.08 0.10 0.12 - - - - Boss 5 - - - 0.05 0.05 0.10 0.05 - - - - - Boss 4 - - 0.05 0.10 0.10 0.05 0.02 - - - - - Boss 3 - 0.05 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.03 - - - - - - Boss 2 0.10 0.15 0.10 0.10 0.05 - - - - - - - Boss 1 0.20 0.12 0.10 - - - - - - - - - Event Rate 30% 32% 35% 35% 35% 33% 32% 30% 30% 27% 25% 20%

Event Energy?Tune supply of Energy firstTune Boss difficulty last

Supply & Demand of Battle Energythrough Raid Boss Progression

Supply Demand

Battl

e En

ergy

Raid Boss Progression

Help Requests & Responses?

Tune ‘team’ engagement rewards and request volume first.Tune Boss difficulty last.

Last words…1. Know your most exciting moments!

Cultivate them and monetize there.2. Tuning Boss difficulty affects

everything. Use Caution!3. Offer insanely awesome rewards for

the top leaderboard positions. Don’t be shy!

Make it happen!

Questions?