Jeremy Kang, King - Speaker Deck

Jeremy Kang, King

by wnconf

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© King.com Ltd 2017 – Commercially confidential About Me • Principal Game Designer at King, Stockholm. • Life-long gamer for 30 years. • 10 years in the industry: from Triple-A to Indie to Mobile. • Lived in 3 countries: Singapore, Berlin, Stockholm. • First game and favorite games: Mario and Zelda. Page 3

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© King.com Ltd 2017 – Commercially confidential How do Players play? Page 23 Do I want to wait that long for this reward? I guess I could play a few games of Candy Crush? Wait, what was I supposed to do again? Yeah, I hear you – you know the other day..

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© King.com Ltd 2017 – Commercially confidential Cognitive Load Page 25 “Cognitive load refers to the total amount of mental effort being used in the working memory” • Pick-up and Play • Interrupt-able game sessions • Should be as easy to pick up AND put down • Clear objectives • Plays should ALWAYS know how to achieve the goal. • K.I.S.S – Keep It Simple, Stupid.

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© King.com Ltd 2017 – Commercially confidential • Progression-based Retention driver • Linear Progression. • Up to 1000s of levels. • Light Social elements • Send Lives. • See friends on Saga Map. • Continuous content for casual players • New levels every 1-2 weeks. • 15-20 episodes per release. But this means… • We need lots of levels! Page 30 Fun Fact: Candy Crush Saga will hit 3000 levels soon! The Saga Envelope

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• Design levels and progressions. • Create content at a regular pace. • Own Episodes for release • New levels every 1-2 weeks. • 15-20 episodes per release. • Involved in designing new gameplay content as well. • Tweaks and Modifies levels based on player data. Level Design at King

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© King.com Ltd 2017 – Commercially confidential Tools | Building a Saga Level Creation Process Page 34 Level Conce pt Level Layout Level Creation Level Balancing Testing 1 2 3 4 5 Level Layout Set Objectives Place Game Objects Place Blockers Test Level

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© King.com Ltd 2017 – Commercially confidential Testing | Tweaking and Iterating http://candycrush.wikia.com/wiki/Level_65/Versions Page 35 Level 65 “This level sucks and there isn’t any nicer way to describe it…Really, it’s not you. This level just sucks.” http://www.stirrup-queens.com/2013/09/advice-to-pass-along-level-33-level-65-and-level-97-of-candy-crush/ “This used to be one of the difficult levels until it was modified and now it is one of the fun levels.” http://candycrushsagaallhelp.blogspot.de/2014/06/candy-crush-saga-most-fun-levels.html “Sure, there were other levels that were on the most dreaded list, but 65 bubbled up to the top as the most dreaded board.” https://geekdad.com/2013/09/hardest-level-candy-crush/ “18% of people answered that 65 was the most difficult level. https://geekdad.com/2013/09/hardest-level-candy-crush/

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© King.com Ltd 2017 – Commercially confidential Testing | Tweaking and Iterating • Difficulty keeps the player challenged in a level. • Level Balancing 1. No. of Objectives. 2. Balancing Moves. 3. Mastery Star values. 4. No. of colours in the level. 5. Balancing no. and level of blockers. Adapted from Game Level Design by Ed Byrne Page 36 Difficulty Level Conce pt Level Layout Level Creatio n Level Balancing Testing

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© King.com Ltd 2017 – Commercially confidential Adapted from Game Level Design by Ed Byrne Level Design Principles Difficulty Rhythm Flow Hooks Page 37 Making Levels Different Keeping Players Challenged Keep Players moving towards the Goal Varying the Player Experience

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© King.com Ltd 2017 – Commercially confidential Thought| Level Design Principles Level Concept Examples Page 38 Utilize Mechanics New Gameplay Dynamics Create (Emotional) Moments Gameplay Modifiers Level Concept Level Layout Level Creation Level Balancing Testing