A Study of Language Usage Evolution in Open Source Software

: In December of 2010, the new game CityVille achieved 6 million daily active users in just 8 days. Clearly the success of CityVille owes something to the fun gameplay experience it provides. That said, it was far from the best game released in 2010. Why did it grow so fast? In this talk the key factors behind the dramatic success of social network games are explained. Social network games build word-of-mouth player acquisition directly into the gameplay experience via friend invitations and game mechanics that require contributions by friends to succeed. Software analytics (mined data about player sessions) yield detailed models of factors that affect player retention and engagement. Player engagement is directly related to conversion, shifting a free player into a paying player, the critical move in a freemium business model. Analytics also permit tracking of player virality, the degree to which one player invites other players into the game. Social network games offer multiple lesso...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2011
• Where: CORR
• Authors: Siim Karus, Harald Gall
• Keywords: California Santa Cruz, Computer Game Design, CORR 2011, Education, Game Design Program