Social Games Summit

GDC China Session Few areas within the games industry have witnessed as swift a rise as social games. From QQ Games to Farmville on Facebook, some of the most popular games played worldwide today are played within social networks—capturing millions of mainstream players never before considered "gamers." Amidst this paradigm shift in players are new development and business issues to consider such as price point sensitivity, maintaining innovation, and player retention.

The Social Games Track sits at the intersection of these converging trends, bringing together leading thinkers and business professionals to engage very issues and opportunities. Join the Social Games Track to learn about the new generation of mass multiplayer markets, how virtual worlds are changing to meet the demands of an ever-growing audience, and about opportunities for new players in both mature and emerging markets.

Check back soon for more information on 2010 sessions.

Session Highlights from GDC China 2009

Social Games - Lessons From The Revolution
Speaker: Mack Growen (GM, Playfish China)
Description: Social gaming has become the hottest sector in gaming, in the west as well as in China. This presentation takes a look at the social games revolution and the development of the market to date, and provides insight into the main challenges game companies in this market are facing and specifically how they relate to Chinese social games companies going global.

Creating an MSO: Viral Emotions and the Keys to Social Play
Speaker: Nicole Lazzaro (Founder and President, XEODesign, Inc)
Description: There is more to social gaming than spamming your friends. Rather than play to the edges of a social network to increase viral distribution playing to the center deepens the connections between friends. The Keys to Social Play map out new forms of engagement that create tension and motivation through social interaction. These Keys structure social engagement (what we call People Fun) by giving players what they value the most: shared experiences and increased bonds between friends. Like micropayments there are nickels of time in peoples lives and a thirst to convert them into social capital. The biggest opportunity in multiplayer gaming is an MSO (massively social online game) that aggregates these into meaningful social experiences. Together we will explore social gaming from WOW, MAPLE STORY, PARKING WARS, to XEODesign's own iPhone games: TILT and TATTLETALZ.com.

Social Networking – Lessons Learned
Speaker: Hugh de Loayza (VP of Business Development, Zynga)
Description: To succeed in the social networking industry, entrepreneurs and developers alike need to commit to a deep passion, gain broad business knowledge and learn from the veterans. Many entrepreneurs attempt and fail while others become wildly successful. Is there a formula for success? There are certainly many aspects to consider when starting a social networking business, from measuring success, to virality and knowing when to go all in. Listen to a veteran in the social networking space speak about his lessons learned and how he turned his failures into a winning hand.