作者：Scott Steinberg

游戏领域相继出现了一些“古怪”现象：游戏付费转化率逐渐走低；预付款用户日益变少；诸如Facebook等社交网络和在线门户网站中充斥着越来越多大同小异的游戏产品。尽管游戏行业存在诸多消极因素，传统游戏正在逐渐走向“衰亡”，但这实际上也证明：如今的游戏市场需要更多可靠且有创意的产品。包括艺电和Eidos（游戏邦注：一家总部位于英格兰的游戏和电脑游戏发行公司）在内的行业先驱总结了主流游戏市场营销的几点经验，希望有助于各位开发者更好地吸引消费者和合作伙伴：

jojos-fashion-show(from spendtimeonline.com)

亮出游戏的独特之处：游戏画面与玩法设置哪个更重要？这个问题一直备受争议。但是事实上，这两个因素都并非决定游戏成败的关键因素。与发行一款优秀的游戏同样重要的是，开发者必须赋予游戏特殊的但却能让玩家一眼识别的游戏特性，就像《Jojo’s Fashion Show》（游戏邦注：Gamelab开发的时尚新颖模拟游戏）呈现出的时尚氛围，《Garden Defense》中色彩丰富的漫画场景，以及《Magic Match》中使用的“咯咯”笑声音效等。游戏开发者应该好好琢磨，如何做才能使自己的游戏在竞争激烈的市场中脱颖而出。如今有无数的竞争者都在抢夺玩家眼球，而为了避免自己的游戏被竞争对手所埋没，开发者必须赋予游戏一个特殊的“艺术风格”或者不一样的“声音表现”。这么做也能帮助玩家更好地记住游戏，并在一连串的游戏列表中认出并购买这款游戏。

采用独创的运营模式：只有免费发售产品，开发者才能通过游戏内置广告谋取更多利益；与Facebook或Hi5等平台合作不仅能够提高玩家的品牌意识，还能为游戏吸引更多的新玩家。虽然这个领域不乏机遇，但是如何好好抓住这些机遇就需要开发者掌握一个原则，即只有制定出更完善且更有创造力的运营模式，才有可能通过投资获得回报，才能吸引更多潜在的用户（和投资者）。总之，开发者如果能够想出更多从游戏中谋取利益的方法，他们便能在往后的实践中获取源源不断的利润。

避免过于边缘化的题材：如果一款游戏是以现实世界为模板，并且其游戏设置完全按照玩家感兴趣的模式开发而成，那么他们也将会难以抵抗这种诱惑吧。这里并不涉及任何促销手段，单从心理因素出发，即玩家由于时间紧凑，财力有限，所以会更倾向于那些与自己产生共鸣的产品。就像一般家长在沃尔玛或者Direct2Drive.com网站中购物的情况一样，比起复杂且不熟悉的产品，他们更喜欢购买那些熟悉且操作简单的产品吧。

设置富有吸引力的特殊功能：仍然有许多桌面游戏还是局限于测试IQ，搭配物体以及寻找隐藏物品等活动。但这些游戏内容已经远远不能满足如今追求更多游戏类型的玩家了，所以开发者应该仔细思考，如何做才能使游戏吸引玩家注意力。即每一款游戏的设计都必须引入一个（或多个）足够吸引玩家的新功能。列举2个过去的例子：《StoneLoops of Jurassicare》（游戏邦注：Codeminion公司的一款ZUMA游戏）中设置了石球爆炸环节，即玩家必须从前进中的链条里取出弹药才能清除这些石球；《Posh Boutique》（游戏邦注：PuzzleLab的一款服装店模拟游戏）运用了时间管理设置，使玩家能够自行选择时尚顾客。虽然这些功能只能算是一种进化而非变革；但它们仍产生了一种更易与玩家沟通的积极影响。

合理使用品牌化战略：在吸引新玩家的过程中，每款游戏通常只有2至3秒的展示机会，所以开发者必须确保他们能够在着极其短暂的时间里最好地向玩家传达游戏魅力，并牢牢抓住他们的心。下面我们来谈谈《FarmVille》，《Virtual Villagers》和《Nightclub City》这三款游戏是如何实现其游戏的价值定位。首先，这些游戏都具有一些特殊且极具吸引力的主题，而且它们并未侧重游戏的技术性能，反倒是更加关注游戏的画面感，色彩调色以及文本展示和游戏内部的角色描述等细节，以此表现出游戏的个性化。除此之外，这类型的游戏中都有一些讨巧的主角，例如《美女餐厅》的Flo，这些角色在吸引玩家，并推动游戏的市场营销过程中扮演着一个不容小觑的角色，也为游戏副产品的开发创造了潜在的有利条件。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Marketing Social Games, Casual Gaming Hits

By Scott Steinberg

We’ve all heard the horror stories: Conversion rates on game purchases are shrinking; cash advances are dwindling; and social networks (e.g. Facebook) and online portals are fast-flooding with countless look-alike offerings from an increasingly overcrowded pool of international developers. But cheer up. Despite the doom and gloom permeating the industry, even those swift to label traditional games “dead” will quickly confirm: There’s always room for solid, innovative product in the marketplace. Having self-published several successful titles and counseled industry leaders from EA to Eidos on making and marketing mainstream games, here are several simple tips we’ve found for making buyers, and business partners, sit up and take notice.

Create a Singular Identity- It’s an age-old debate: What’s more important: graphics or gameplay? The answer—neither. As crucial as solid delivery is the establishment of an immediately identifiable audiovisual hook. Consider the chic vibe of Jojo’s Fashion Show, the colorful cartoon aesthetic of Garden Defense, or the helium-voiced Giggles of Magic Match. Observe how each game jumps off the virtual rack. With hundreds of rivals competing for buyers’ interest, employing a singular art style or sonic shtick keeps you from getting lost in the shuffle. At the same time, it also creates a handy mnemonic device that helps consumers more easily recall franchises when it comes time to shop for the token sequel.

Use Original Business Models – Hawking high-quality amusements that support cheap, episodic expansions; giving titles away free so that you can serve millions of in-game ads; creating Facebook- or Hi5-specific ports of flagship franchises to create brand awareness and drive additional shoppers to your website. The choices here are limitless, but the principle is singular: If you want to increase return on investment and attract more potential fans (and financiers), you must find greater—and more inventive—ways to monetize your wares. In short, the more methods you discover (or invent) to make money off of each game, the greater the potential windfall—and trade support—you’ll see on the back-end.

Avoid the Unfamiliar – Certainly, spaceship shooters and head-scratching puzzlers starring slimy beetles sell in small quantities. But you’re almost 100% guaranteed to move more units of any game that uses familiar, real-world activities as a foundation. No fancy promotional tricks here, just simple psychology: Consumers, pressed for time and money, routinely gravitate towards products which speak to their interests. Want to connect with the average parent shopping at Wal-Mart or Direct2Drive.com? Can the high-concept, unfamiliar themes, and instead go with what they already know and take comfort in.

Shake Things Up – Thousands of desktop diversions let you match patterns, test your IQ, or find hidden objects. So what’s to make today’s choosier enthusiast stop and give yours a glance? Introduce a new, arresting feature (or two or three) that should be built into every game produced. A couple of past examples come to mind: StoneLoops of Jurassicare invented the marble-blasting formula by merely letting you pull ammo from advancing chains, while Posh Boutique turbo-charged the time management genre by making you select the fashions patrons race to collect. Such features were evolutionary, not revolutionary, but they were easy to communicate and had a meaningful impact on on-screen action.

Employ Better Branding – Games have just two or three seconds to grab shoppers’ attention, ensuring that the most successful titles will always keep messaging simple and paint an instant picture in viewers’ minds. FarmVille. Virtual Villagers. Nightclub City. Note how all three titles immediately convey their value proposition. The lesson here: Package and present games to captivate and reinforce specific themes. What’s more, use screenshots, color palettes, supporting text, and in-game characterization to push personality rather than technical performance. At the same time, you’ll notice that strong, sympathetic heroes (such as Diner Dash’s Flo) bolster buyer empathy and increase overall marketability—while building spin-off potential as well.（source:gametheoryonline）