WOW vs. Facebook: Is Social Networking the New Casual Game?

Lecturer: Nicole Lazzaro, XEODesign, Inc.

The success of Web 2.0 changes the way we design player interaction and community. WOW attracts 9 million paid subscribers. Facebook, the more playful of the social networking services, has 50 million free ones. Is social play one of its secrets? To find out XEODesign did a comparative study of WOW and Facebook uses on emotions and social play. Examining the emotions people had using WOW, Facebook, and other games such as Wii Sports we compared the emotion profile of each to look at how these experiences encourage participation.

XEODesign's new research on social media has found interesting opportunities to increase engagement for multiplayer games such as WOW and Wii Sports. Inspired by PX Models created from online social activities, we look beyond fiero and schadenfreude to the emotion rich verbs that drive participation in Web 2.0 from Flickr to Facebook in ways that usability and market research cannot measure. Comparing these games with social networking services such as Facebook and Twitter reveals new emotional engagement from social interaction. The comparison draws an interesting road map for the future of online play. Is the future of multiplayer games a service for online chatterboxes or a Wii Sport nation?

Intended Audience: Designers, producers, programmers and marketers interested in leveraging Web 2.0 mechanics to create innovative games with a greater emotional response.

Prerequisites: Familiarity with XEODesign's research on emotion in games is helpful but not required. Note: this presentation focuses on new research and detailed PX models for WOW and Facebook and is not an overview to the 4 Fun Keys. For presentations and free white papers on the 4 Fun Keys: http://www.xeodesign.com/whyweplaygames.

Format: Lecture

Track: Design

Date/Time: Tuesday, 5:00 PM

Room: Seaport

http://www.xeodesign.com/ion2008/ION_XEODesign_slides_400n051308.zip