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Tim Nixon (Director of Online Experience, thatgamecompany)
Location: Room 2016, West Hall
Date: Monday, March 20
Time: 2:10 pm - 2:40 pm
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Summits Pass
Topic: Free-to-Play
Format: Lecture
Vault Recording: Video
Audience Level: All
When thatgamecompany made the transition to a live-service studio, they faced the significant challenge of keeping up with the demands of a free-to-play economy while retaining their spirit of innovative game design. Events in live games tend to be quite dry and consumerist, so TGC challenged themselves to keep emotion at the heart of each event design and prioritize how the player feels over financial performance.
This talk shares key lessons the team has learned from three years of running live events in thatgamecompany's multiplatform free-to-play game Sky: Children of the Light (160+ million downloads, iPhone Game of the Year 2019). It will illustrate how events in Sky have been used to evoke childhood wonder, spark social connections, experiment with new mechanics, and deepen the player's connection with beloved characters. It will also explore the challenges the rapidly scaling team has faced as they manage a relentless live-content schedule.
Attendees will be inspired to see events and live content as more than just a grind, but as an opportunity to experiment and innovate, as well as a way to explore and enhance the core values of their game and their company. They will also leave with concrete tools for aligning a live-content roadmap with the company values and product strategy.
This is for anyone in a live game team interested in learning from the successes and failures of an ambitious indie team as they work to create meaningful and moving events for their players.