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Oscar Clark \u00a0 \u2022\u00a0 April 15, 2015<\/p>\n
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Opting For Video Ads:<\/strong><\/p>\n Making a great game is just the start as they say.\u00a0 Understanding the best way for your game to make revenue is vital if you want to be able to make games professionally. In this post we will look at how you can use advertising in your game to generate advertising revenue without annoying players.\u00a0 In fact we aim to show that by treating advertisements as part of the overall player experience design, users may even come to love ads.<\/p>\n What Not To Do:<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s very easy for ads to get in the way of the player. Banners, for example, take up space on the screen, sometimes obscuring vital information or being placed in a way where they can be triggered accidentally. What\u2019s worse is that the players quickly learn to ignore those areas of the display. The only way banners get noticed once that has happened is when they become visually distracting \u2013 something that typically breaks the user experience.<\/p>\n Interstitial ads are much more effective at grabbing players\u2019 attention, but we\u00a0have to be careful with their frequency and position.\u00a0 If we show them too often, we risk irritating players and that makes them much more likely to churn. We don\u2019t want that!<\/p>\n Now I\u2019m not suggesting that Interstitials have no place in the mix. We do, however, need to understand their limitations and where in the flow of the player experience that it would be least damaging. Better yet, where in the game\u2019s design it might actually be beneficial for players to have a break. In games which have a series of intense periods of play, users can\u2019t indefinitely sustain the demanded high level of concentration or energy needed, especially on a mobile or tablet device. Players will eventually just give up, and worse, if there is no opportunity for a break they will may associate the game with that fatigue and may choose a less intensive game next time.\u00a0 Over the long term players need a natural down time.\u00a0 In design terms we need to think of this like a pendulum with players\u2019 engagement gaining intensity on the downswing, leading to increasing fatigue as they reach the top of the tick, and then relaxing followed by a building desire to act which is at its peak as the pendulum returns with the tock.\u00a0 A great example of this is a game like Dumb Ways To Die 2.<\/p>\n Video Interstitial:<\/strong><\/p>\n In Dumb Ways To Die 2<\/a> we have an intense and escalating game play with players being asked to comprehend a short form mechanic \u2013 perform it successfully and then do the next, only faster each time.\u00a0 Once you die you can easily replay, but when you return to the map (a menu for collections of mini-games) the game shows you an interstitial. This is the point of least resistance where players have already decided on a change of pace.<\/p>\n It\u2019s essential that mandatory video advertisements such as interstitials can be skipped and that the players can see how much time is remaining so that we don\u2019t build up resentment.\u00a0 These kind of ads usually don\u2019t have any rewards associated with them, unlike most of the other uses we will discuss here. But, this also means that they can be useful for games which don\u2019t have a natural currency or suitable In App Purchases.\u00a0 However, there are consequences. This approach inherently requires us to intercept the player experience and not only limits the frequency we can show such ads it also affects the nature of their engagement with them. Our motivation for watching an ad is dramatically changed when we opt to do so.<\/p>\n Choosing To Watch an Ad:<\/strong><\/p>\n There are a couple of factors which affect players\u2019 willingness to actively choose ads. The ad content itself must be relevant, i.e. showing a game player an ad for another game, and they should also be short \u2013 somewhere between 15-30 seconds. However, there usually has to be something in it for the player. That might be a number of things from coins or resources in the game, to extra lives. Yet these rewards also have to be relevant to the player and repeatable \u2013 there must always be a reason for the player to watch another ad. If I unlock a major<\/strong> item or a new level by watching one video, that\u2019s a great value but unlikely to create the scale of views needed to drive enough revenue to make that worthwhile. Equally, if watching videos unlocks enough power-ups to imbalance the game then you have broken the reason to play.<\/p>\n Angry Birds Go uses video ads to allow players to obtain a free boost, but only at the start of the race.\u00a0 This doesn\u2019t overpower the experience but it does require a player to switch their attention from the game strategy to the video playback.\u00a0 The motivation is clear: If I want a boost in my next race then I will get it by exchanging my time watching this advertisement.<\/p>\n Other games choose to do this at the end of the game. For example in Sonic Dash<\/a>, players have a chance to continue their existing run after \u2018dying\u2019 by either using a \u2018Revive\u2019 token or by watching a video ad.\u00a0 The ad allows the player to break from the intensity for a brief moment before restarting play, which can help their performance (at least it does for me).<\/p>\n What\u2019s important is that the payoff for watching the video is intrinsically part of the game itself.\u00a0 There is no separate incentive to download the advertised game, but if they choose to then it\u2019s because they liked the look of the game. That\u2019s what at the end of the day provides the revenue and at the same time reinforces their engagement with your game.<\/p>\n Added Incentives:<\/strong><\/p>\n This leads us to another realization \u2013 that we have to make the rewards for watching video compelling and something which players want. In Angry Birds Transformers<\/a>, after a successful run they have a section where you are showed your score and offered the chance to double your score if you watch a video at that time. For this kind of ongoing action game it\u2019s the perfect way to reward players for their engagement not only in the gameplay but also in the ads themselves.<\/p>\n Meaningful Benefit:<\/strong><\/p>\n Sometimes the reward can be tied to a significant action within the game. In the case of wickedly replayable Retry<\/a>, the player can choose to unlock the next save point with either a coin or by watching a video replay. This reward has a meaningful benefit for players.\u00a0 It comes at a point of success and frustration and can help you to avoid the pain of having to repeat your multiple attempts to gain that landing point in the first place.\u00a0 They key to this technique is to understand what players value and to help them obtain that value in a way which they will happily repeat such as unlocking a new save point or perhaps replenishing your fuel for a racing game. Watching the video in the Retry example gives the player what they seek directly; but it\u2019s not suitable for all games and can often be hard to scale. \u00a0Instead other games seek to use video replays to speed up the acquisition of some form of currency or resource which are usually a more indirect means of obtaining that item of value.<\/p>\n