Ayogo is a Vancouver based studio that creates social games for social networks (Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, etc.), and mobile platforms (iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, etc.). Our games and gaming experiences help content creators and rights holders build new revenue streams and engage new audiences.
Want more insight into social game design? Check out our CEO's social game design blog or visit our technology blog.
In my last post, I discussed the significance of combining in-game rewards with certain game mechanics–like achievement loops–and how this game design combination might have the ability to increase the motivation of players to do more things during gameplay. Based on our experiences with some of our previous games, especially Healthseeker, we think another way [...]
As I mentioned in an earlier post, we have many exciting news to tell you about. The first bit of news had to do with us going (hopefully) to SXSW. Our panel topic was selected for the community voting process and the voting opens tomorrow! Make sure to visit the SXSW Panelpicker to sign up so you can vote. In other news…
Michael just returned from San Antonio, Texas, where he was a guest speaker to a large number of mostly medical professionals at the annual conference for the American Association of Diabetes Educators. He spoke to a large audience about how social games can be used to help people habituate new healthy behaviours through gameplay. In particular, he spoke about Healthseeker, a game designed for people living with diabetes, and some of its key design features, such as how the game creates compulsion loops around reciprocal social obligation, gifting, collection, and achievement to motivate action. The idea that a game could shift a player’s concerns from big commitments over long periods of time for greatly deferred rewards to small actions in short periods of time for instant rewards was very appealing to those in the healthcare industry. We certainly think it’s a feature of social game design that could be much better understood.
Lastly, you can now find Michael’s social game design posts re-published on Gamasutra, our industry’s “go-to” site about the art of designing games. We are also beginning work on a feature article exclusively for the site that should be published later this month. As always, you can always email me at victoria [at] ayogo dot com if you have any questions or just leave a comment.
From my previous posts, you know my enthusiasm for using social games to motivate activity and even teach new skills. In my last few posts, I discussed the idea of gamification and how we’re observing a trend that increasingly sees game elements deployed in the service of practical activity. Case in point: I wanted to [...]
My last blog post focused on the idea of gamification. The idea behind gamification is about adopting game mechanics and game principles outside of games, for example in such things as marketing campaigns. Social games in particular seem to be very good sources to draw from as examples of motivating players to act for many [...]
It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost a year since I gave a talk about the idea that games mean serious business. Fun (games) can be FUNctional. People are naturally playful, so motivating and incenting people to do things through gameplay, to us anyway, seems like a no brainer. I’m not surprised then to [...]
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