作者：Joel Brodie

今年初，《Bubble Island》和《Magic Land》开发商wooga宣称自己已经成为了Facebook平台上第四大社交游戏开发商。现在，wooga更是以其超过3千万的月活跃用户而大放异彩。除此之外，Wooga还是Google+游戏平台的首航合作伙伴，并计划发布手机版《Diamond Dash》，进一步扩大自己的业务范围。Wooga首席执行官Jens Begemann在近日的媒体采访中介绍了公司快速发展历程及未来愿景，以下是游戏邦编译的访谈内容：

diamond-dash(from trendygadget.com)

wooga这个名字背后有何深意？

wooga是“world of gaming”的简写，它意味着世界性的游戏，我们希望以此让世人知道，我们的游戏是面向整个世界。

wooga创立于2009年，而那时的社交游戏市场竞争非常激烈，Facebook也正是从那时开始改变其原有的涂鸦墙和病毒式传播政策。然而正是在这种激烈的竞争条件下，两年过去了，你们已然变成了Facebook上最大的社交游戏公司之一，并携有6款游戏和高达3千4百万的月活跃用户。能否说说你们的成功秘诀？

比起病毒式传播途径，我们更关注于用户粘性和留存率，我想这也正是我们能够取得不断发展与成功的最重要因素。同时我们还采取了一些特定的方法，如深入开发游戏角色，并致力于游戏的本土化发展，即通过提供多种语言让其更具有世界性特征。wooga总是尽可能地优化用户体验，并且每周通过大量的a/b测试（游戏邦注：a/b测试是一个科学的统计方法）而不断地改善并优化我们的游戏。

尽管你们在Facebook上拥有3千4百万月活跃用户，并且称得上是Facebook上的一大社交游戏开发商，但是与拥有超过2亿6千万月活跃用户的Zynga相比，这中间还是有一定差距。你认为如何做才能进一步缩短这个差距？你认为wooga（或者其他开发商）能不能打败Zynga登上Facebook的宝座？

Zynga成立已有4年，比Wooga领先2年。社交游戏是一个变化迅速，拥有广阔发展前景的行业。仅凭着100多人的团队我们已经可以算是取得了很大的成功了（游戏邦注：Zynga的开发团队有2500人），而且我们也不会停止开发更多优秀游戏的热情。现在，平均每周会有两名新成员加入wooga的团队，我们也将更加努力，为广大玩家开发出更优秀的游戏。

你们在不久前宣布推出iOS版本的《Diamond Dash》。为何要选择这款游戏作为你们的首款手机游戏？针对于iPhone和iPad平台，你们对这款游戏做了何种调整？它与Facebook版本有何相同之处？

我们之所以选择《Diamond Dash》作为我们的首款iOS游戏，是因为它在Facebook上名列前10的游戏排行，以及超过1千万月活跃用户的优异成绩。推出《Diamond Dash》的手机版本能让全世界各地的无数玩家在自己的智能手机上与好友一起进行游戏。同样，我们也会每周推出定期的游戏比赛模式，因为这个模式是《Diamond Dash》在Facebook上取得如此成功的一大功臣。同时我们还推出基于HTML5的《Magic Land》的延伸版本《Magic Land Island》，以此表明我们希望在不同平台上发展手机社交游戏的“雄心”。

你们是如何让《Diamond Dash》这款在众多连线消除社交游戏（如《宝石迷阵闪电战》）的竞争中脱颖而出？

《Diamond Dash》可以说是速度最快的连线消除游戏，它所拥有的一些突出特征是其吸引众多玩家眼球的关键因素，并且也推动着它在几个月时间里就吸引了大批忠实粉丝。同时，这也是一款适合iPhone，iPod Touch以及iPad平台的有趣游戏。

Wooga CEO(from gamezebo)

wooga总部设在德国柏林，而非众多社交游戏公司云集的硅谷。能否跟我们谈谈作为欧洲一大社交游戏公司的利与弊？

作为柏林的一大国际性公司，我们拥有很多优势。因为这是一个非常具有创造性的城市，许许多多来自世界各地的人们汇聚在这里。50%的wooga员工都是来自于其他国家。这个城市非常有魅力，也正是如此我们才能招募到更多经验丰富且有奉献精神的员工们，不论他们之前曾经待在哪一个城市。

你们的游戏最吸引人的一点便是可爱的游戏角色。能否跟我们说说wooga独特的美术风格？

因为我们希望能够通过开发社交游戏而激发用户们的情感，所以创造出可爱且独特的游戏角色对我们来说非常重要。我们相信，多花一点时间而制作出具有吸引力的可爱游戏角色将能够帮助我们维系与用户之间的联系，以此优化游戏体验，并因此提高我们的用户留存率。我们正是在柏林这个城市，以心中有爱的理念创造着我们的游戏角色。

wooga最初以Facebook为平台，而如今开始转向手机平台。为何你们要怎么做？你认为哪一个平台或者设备最有利于wooga的将来发展？

我们可以看到，在过去几年时间里，我们的主要用户都把目光转向了手机，掌机和智能手机已经渐渐获得了大势。而作为一个主要的游戏开发商，我们有必要与目标用户一起成长，因此我们选择带着最初的游戏走向手机平台。我们下一个大目标便是创造一款优秀的手机社交游戏，让玩家能够与好友在手机上分享游戏乐趣。所以尽情期待我们的下一部作品吧！

对于HTML5作为未来一大游戏平台，你有何想法？

我们之所以选择将之前的游戏推向HTML5，是想借此减少手机游戏市场的一些不利因素。而因为HTML5无需用户下载就能获得游戏体验，它使游戏能够适用于所有手机设备，包括那些不支持flash功能的设备，所以它可以提供低障碍的游戏体验。

在Google+ Game推出的那一天你们同时在这个平台上发行了3款游戏。你认为谷歌需要如何做才能让Google+ Game这一平台取得成功？你们是否计划在Google+上推出更多游戏？

Google+ Game刚刚推出几周的时间，而我们很高兴能够与谷歌合作绑定这一功能，并且也很期待这一平台在将来的发展。但是现在谈论未来的计划为时尚早。

你们当前是否致力于一些即将面世的游戏？今年wooga将会发布几款游戏？

我们宣称将于今年推出《Diamond Dash》的iPad和iPhone版本以及《Magic Land》在HTML5的延伸版本。同时我们也将在Facebook上推出更多新游戏，而详细情况自然是要保密的。

你们的目标是在下一个十年末成为世界上最大的社交游戏开发商之一。而你认为wooga该如何做才能达到这一目标呢？

这个2020目标将始终指引着我们前进，但是我们首先要关注的是把眼前的游戏做得更好，让游戏在每一周都能够有所改善，并且致力于发展我们下一部创新游戏。

最后，向粉丝说说你的想法吧。

我们希望你们能够与好友共同体验我们的游戏，并喜欢这种游戏体验。同时也请你们相信，我们将会更加努力，满腔热情地为你们创造出更棒更好的游戏体验，以及更优秀的独特游戏。wooga真心想要把有趣的游戏带进你们每一天的生活！（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Interview: wooga’s fun games make for fast growth

By Joel Brodie

Earlier this year wooga, the developer behind social games like Bubble Island and Magic Land, announced that it had become the fourth biggest game developer on Facebook. Currently wooga boasts more than 30 million monthly active users between all of its games. Not only that, but the developer was one of the launch partners with Google+ games and has plans to bring Diamond Dash to mobile phones, expanding its reach even further. Gamezebo spoke with wooga CEO Jens Begemann about the company’s quick rise and where it hopes to move in the future.

What is the meaning behind the company name, wooga?

wooga stands for “world of gaming,” a concept that we think expresses the way we approach gaming… globally!

You started wooga in 2009, at a time where the social games competition was fierce and Facebook was starting to change its wall and viral policies. Yet, two years later, you are one the largest largest social games companies on Facebook, with six games and 34 million monthly active users. What is the secret to your success?

We believe that our focus on engagement and retention instead of just virality allows us to maintain steady growth and success. We achieved this via methods such as in depth character development and a dedication to localising our games in several languages. wooga is committed to optimising the user experience as much as possible, and our extensive a/b testing allows us to improve our games on a weekly basis.

Though you are a large social games company on Facebook with 34 million monthly active users, Zynga is #1 with more than 260 million. How do you close that awesome gap? Can you (or anyone) beat Zynga on Facebook?

Zynga is twice as old wooga – four years instead of just two. This is still a very young industry and things are changing fast. We have achieved quite a bit with our relatively small team of just 100 employees (Zynga has 2,500) and remain very focused on building the best games. Currently two employees join the wooga-team per week and will build even better games going forward.

You just announced your first mobile game for iOS, Diamond Dash. Why did you pick Diamond Dash as your first mobile game? What did you change in the iPhone and iPad versions of Diamond Dash? What did you keep the same from the Facebook version?

Diamond Dash is our first title for iOS, an easy choice after its incredible success as a top 10 game on Facebook, with more than 10 million active players per month. The mobile version of Diamond Dash will enable millions of players worldwide to compete with their friends also on their Smartphones. We also host weekly tournaments, a very successful aspect of the Facebook version of Diamond Dash. But we will also launch Magic Land Island,an extension to our new game Magic Land,which is implemented in HTML5, highlighting our cross platform approach for mobile social gaming.

How do you make a game like Diamond Dash stand out when it’s up against other match-3 games like Bejeweled Blitz?

Diamond Dash is probably the fastest social match-3 game. This, and its many other unique characteristics, lead to such a large and loyal fan base within just a few months, and it will be great fun to play on iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.

wooga is based in Berlin, Germany, not Silicon Valley where a lot of social game companies are headquartered. What advantages and disadvantages are there to being a European social games company?
There are a lot of advantages for an international company being based in Berlin. The city is very creative; a lot of people from all over the world move to Berlin. 50 percent of wooga’s employees are from other countries. The city is very attractive, this helps to recruit experienced and dedicated people, no matter where they have lived before.

One thing we like about your games are the cute characters. Can you tell us more about your unique art style?

Creating cute and unique characters is very important to us, as we aspire to develop social games that inspire emotions in our users. We believe that taking the time to make appealing and lovable characters helps to create a bond between users and the game, and this leads to a better gaming experience and therefore user retention. We create our characters with love in Berlin.

You started on Facebook and now moving to mobile. Why are you making this move to mobile now and what platforms and devices do you think will be big for wooga in the future?

During the past year, our key audience has shifted towards mobile, as tablets and smart phones have gained popularity. As a leading social games developer, it is important for us to grow and develop with our target audience and therefore we are now transferring our original titles to mobile devices, starting with Diamond Dash for iOS. It’s our next huge goal to create great mobile social games, and bring the experience of playing with your friends to mobile. So watch out for our next titels.

What are your thoughts about HTML 5 as a future gaming platform?

Through creating original titles for HTML5, we are aiming to extravagate the limits of mobile games. We believe HTML5 titles will achieve this as they do not need to be downloaded, and they allow us to support all mobile devices, including those that do not support flash.

You released three games on Google+ Games on the day of its launch. What do you think Google needs to do to make Google+ games successful and what future plans do you have to release more games on Google+?

Google+ games just launched a few weeks ago, we are very exited to be a launch partner and we are looking forward to see the platform evolving. It’s too early to talk about any plans for the future.

What upcoming games and projects are you working on? How many games can we expect to see from wooga this year?

We announced that we will launch an iPad and iPhone version of Diamond Dash and a HTML5 extension for Magic Land this year. More over we are working on new games for Facebook but all details are a good kept secret.

Your goal is to be one of the largest social gaming developers in the world by the end of the next decade. What do you need to do to achieve this?

Our 2020 vision guides us, but our focus is on making our current games even better every week – and working on our next innovative game.

Any final words for your fans?

We hope you enjoy the gaming experience we create for you to play with your friends and we work passionate to make the experience better every day and to create new unique games for you. I really enjoy doing this and look forward to create many more games to bring an enjoyable gaming experience into your everyday lives.（source:gamezebo）