Don't wed game balance to Facebook constants
- For one of Commagere’s games, team was relying on the # of users allowed in invites to provide game balance (at the time, you could invite 20).
- Then FB changed this to be lower # at first, with increases later, which threw game out of balance and made it less fun overnight.
- Then the team had to spend days trying to just get back to where they were before FB deployed their change.
- Beware of the tendency for attaching to these “constants” because they become variable very quickly, without warning.
- Facebook games are played in small time increments. If you need a 5 min tutorial, you're too long – no one will play your game on FB.
- Go easy on text. No one wants to read on FB.
- Focus on accessible things. Cute has a larger audience than dark.
- Cats Cove = 5 developers took 4.5 weeks
- Happy Habitat = 6 developers took 5 weeks
- Baking Life = 6 developers took 6 weeks
- Create ad, place it on other games. (Point ad link to anything – competitor site, whatever. Doesn’t matter.)
- Look at click-thru rates. That is almost always a good indicator of success of that thing, almost like prototype but way cheaper and quicker.
- A/B or Split testing is HUGE.
- If you aren’t structured to do this from launch you will be unable to adapt to the audience’s wishes and you won’t have a long tail.