作者：Hassan Baig

自Facebook Open Platform于2007年末问世以来，社交游戏领域就变得炙手可热，得到数以亿计的风投资本。

此外，自2007年来，若干大型Facebook游戏公司逐步发展成熟—–Zynga、Playfish（如今隶属EA）、Playdom和Crowdstar就是最典型代表，带来商业领域前所未有的收益激增现象。就潜在收益底线及相对较低的准入门槛而言，社交游戏算是一个非常热门的领域。

如果你打算涉足这一领域，下面有几点建议供你参考：

为什么是Facebook游戏？

* 因为相比《魔兽世界》之类的AAA游戏，Facebook游戏的制作更简单

* 因为要通过销售虚拟商品和道具创收并不难

* 因为我们可以通过Facebook的社交渠道获取用户

* 因为Facebook每月新增约1亿用户（游戏邦注：持续扩充的潜在用户）

但有些人也许会疑惑：为什么不投身iPhone游戏开发？毕竟，这是个相当强大的工具，具有很高的制作价值及前所未有的机制模式。下面是我个人对于这一问题的看法：

* 因为就潜在用户规模方面而言，Facebook远胜iPhone，前者的用户数量比后者多出好几百万。

* 因为iPhone游戏的盗版现象非常猖獗。有约70-80%的下载数量无法给开发者带来任何收益，除非你在防盗版措施上投入大把资源。

* 因为作为一个创收平台，iPhone总是低价出售你的应用，而Facebook则积极提高产品的价值。

* 因为作为一个创收平台，iPhone在你的收益中分成30%，而Facebook则分文不取。

完全无需怀疑；iPhone是个不错的创收渠道，但Facebook更胜一筹。

我应该运用什么技术？

游戏要有ActionScript 3.0版本的前端代码，基于Adobe Illustrator/Flash格式的图像，基于Flash格式的动画内容，及包含常规mySQL数据库的后端内容。这是所有flash游戏的必备工具。

这里的不同之处在于：通过Facebook API进行沟通。你多半会让Flash通过javascript（通过 FBJS-bridge）进行沟通，然后让javascript通过Facebook API完成沟通循环。

坦白讲，这并不是唯一的操作方式。但无论你采用什么方式，最终得到的都将是复杂内容。你会被某些内容搞得焦头烂额，而全世界完全没有人可以帮你。所以记得要保持连贯性。

接受Open Platform会持续出现漏洞的事实，还有就是变幻莫测的Facebook API会让你感到非常棘手，但千万不要放弃。我并不是说不要涉猎这一领域，而是想要说明你将遇到什么问题。用事实说话，不要靠运气。

如何进行创收？

关于这一问题，有两个选择。首先是比较其次的选择：将你的创收平台外包给服务供应商。他们会和你分成收益，这将会是个全方位的双赢局面。

其次是更为棘手的选择：制作玩家愿意购买的内容。你要记住的是，要让游戏围绕虚拟道具的销售。这是能够带来收益的选择（游戏邦注：如果你不清楚虚拟道具的概念，不妨上网搜索）。

facebook pet society from siliconangle.com

你应该采取什么策略，让尽可能多的用户掏钱？参考创收领域专家们的做法。要认清这样的事实：除非你的游戏内容丰富，否则它就不适合出售虚拟商品。这意味着小测试和简单游戏就不在考虑范围内。《宠物社区》或《Farmville》是很好的模仿对象。

最后，无论你最后选择什么内容——不要忘记Facebook的用户群体主要是女性，装饰虚拟道具是最热销的商品类型。

从何处收集调查数据？

首先，不进行调查研究就无法在行业中长久生存下去。这在任何行业中都是如此。新手好运也无法持续到永远。

* 要搜索有关Facebook游戏发展趋势的信息，登陆www.insidesocialgames.com。

* 要寻找Facebook MAU或DAU方面的参数，关注www.appdata.com 。

* 要把握高效虚拟商品创收模式背后的心理学原理，查看ZT Online的经典案例。

总结

Facebook游戏开发目前是个热门领域，进入这一行业的时机已经成熟。错过这一机会，你就无法跟进潮流。如果你准备迎接挑战，那么回馈会相当丰厚。我并不是说这很简单，而是说这么做非常值得。

游戏邦注：原文发布于2010年3月8日，文章叙述以当时为背景。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Why and How to Develop Facebook Games?

By Hassan Baig

After the introduction of Facebook’s Open Platform in late 2007, the social gaming industry has become hot with hundreds of millions of dollars poured in by venture capitalists.

Moreover since 2007, several large Facebook gaming companies have come of age – Zynga, Playfish (now EA), Playdom, Crowdstar being the most notable examples – and have shown the world spectacular spurts in revenue unprecedented in recent business history.  Social gaming is perhaps one of the hottest industries to step into right now in terms of bottomline potential and relative poverty of barriers to entry.

If you’re looking to jump into this niche, here are some pointers to get you started:

Why Facebook gaming?

* Because it’s fairly simple to build compared to AAA games like World of Warcraft and the like.

* Because it’s not that hard to monetize through the sale of virtual goods and offers.

* Because gaining user-base is immensely helped via Facebook’s social stream.

* Because Facebook is adding around a 100 million users every month (ever-growing potential user-pool).

* Because these games cannot be pirated.

But then, some may wonder: why not get into iPhone game development? Afterall, it’s an incredibly powerful tool with great production-value potential and never-seen-before mechanics.  Here are my thoughts on the subject:

* Because Facebook trumps the iPhone in terms of potential user-base by hundreds of millions of more users!

* Because piracy is endemic over iPhone games. You won’t get a dime for around 70% – 80% of your downloads unless you invest serious resources in anti-piracy measures.

* Because as a monetization platform, the iPhone undersells your applications whereas Facebook over-sells them.

* Because as a monetization platform, the iPhone takes a 30% cut in every dollar you earn. Facebook takes none.

Make no mistake about it; the iPhone is a great way to make some money. Just that Facebook is greater.

What technology should I use?

The game itself will have its front-end coded in ActionScript 3.0 (older versions are not supported anymore), artwork done in Adobe Illustrator and/or Flash, animation work done in Flash, and the back-end having your usual mySQL database(s). These are essentially tools you’d need for any flash game.

Here’s where things change: communicating with the Facebook API. You’d probably have Flash communicate with javascript (through an FBJS-bridge), and then have javascript complete the communication loop with the Facebook API from there on.

Confessedly, this is not the only way to do it. But whichever method you end up using (and you can research that on Google), it’s going to be complicated stuff. There will be days (and nights) when you’ll be stuck on something and no one in the whole world would be able to help you. Literally! So be consistent.

Do expect numerous bugs which keep popping up on the Open Platform, coupled with ever-changing Facebook API may bug you hard, but don’t give up. I’m not saying don’t get into this business, I’m saying know what you’re up against. Bet on facts, not hope.

How do I monetize?

There are two answers to this conundrum. The trivial one is this: outsource your monetization platform to service providers such as these. They’ll probably do some sort of a revenue share with you and it’ll be an all-round win-win situation.

Here’s the harder answer: coming up with content which users actually want to buy. The one thing that you’ll need to keep in mind is ensuring your game centers upon sale of virtual items. That’s the real money-maker. You can Google virtual goods if you don’t understand the concept – many blogs such as these are littered with information.

What should be your strategy to get maximum users to fish out their credit cards for you? Take it from the gurus of monetization here. Be very clear about the fact that unless your game is rich in content, it will not be a good candidate for sale of virtual goods. Which means that quizzes and simple games are out. Which means content-rich games like Pet Society or Farmville are good ideas to emulate. Perhaps the least content-rich game which still monetizes nicely is this – you can use this as a least common denominator of sorts.

Last but not least, whatever content you finally decide on – please do not forget thatmajority of Facebook game users are female (around 55%-45% break-up), and that vanity virtual items (e.g. decorations) are the biggest selling category of virtual goods out there.

Where do I gather research from?

First of all, do not forget that those who don’t do their research won’t last long in this industry. In any industry. Even beginner’s luck doesn’t last forever.

* To find out all about Facebook gaming trends, bookmark www.insidesocialgames.com.

* To find out Facebook games’ metrics in terms of monthly active users (MAU) or daily active users (DAU), bookmark www.appdata.com

* To understand the psychology that goes behind effective virtual goods monetization, bookmark ZT Online’s classic case study here.

* To understand what successful viral mechanics on Facebook work best, bookmark this article (though the ‘notifications’ bit of it is outdated).

* To understand how Facebook’s Open Platform will morph over time, bookmark this.

* And lastly, to understand virility, bookmark this article.

Conclusion

Facebook game development is a hot industry right now and the time is ripe to jump into the fray. Any later and you would run the risk of missing the band-wagon. If you’re ready to take on the challenges, the rewards can be immense. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, I’m just saying it’s going to be worth it.（Source：whiterabbitonline）