blog.mrjonhudson

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This is EF’s next unicorn..

No code, gen ai game engine to create short games which are displayed in a feed

Problem (Why Now)

Gen α and young Gen z are constantly seeking instant gratification

These generations are highly engaged with quick, entertaining content similar to TikTok's format.

Gen α interact with media dramatically differently / The lines between traditional activity are so blurred

Watching TV + Play video games + Reading + Hanging out with friends are now 1 activity

The barrier for entry into game development is too high meaning we can’t have content creation like on social media

Traditional solutions require an ability to code, making game dev not accessible to the many.

Distribution of games is incredibly difficult, devs are usually MUCH better at dev than marketing.

memes source: r/ProgrammerHumor. (all to say that these are known HARD AF problems)

Solution

Part 0: The Frankenstein Board

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Consumer Social is driven by a Frankenstein Board (link to learn more) to make sure that viral and addiction is baked into the product from day 1, and not bolted on. This allows you to create a test bed: if one of the moments in your user journey isn’t happening, you know you need to swap out your mechanic. TL;DR: Get your users to say the words ‘Oh Shit’ as soon as possible, give them a reason to come back tomorrow (addictive), then they’ll want to tell their friends (viral).

VIRAL MECHANIC

Sharing games to other platforms EASY EASY EASY.

Creating content around current affairs for Social Media - Euros / Olympics / General Election / Love Island

Repost culture

Tag us in comments and we’ll turn it into a game

ADDICTIVE MECHANIC

Losing, knowing that they could have got the point and got a higher score and wanting to play again

Create a leaderboard (globally / friend)

Prompting B=MAP to get people to make games

OH SHIT MOMENT

Creating a game in 10 seconds.

Getting famous from a game that they played.

How easy it is to play game

Part 1: Making Games

A mobile first, no code game creator to allow content creators to be as creative as possible on top of proven game mechanics

List of PROVEN Game Mechanics

Tap fast

Tap a portion of the screen (seen above)

Tap at a specific time

Draw a specific line

Use microphone

Use gyroscope

Don’t do an above mechanic (e.g. don’t press button)

Part 1: Get Inspired

Part 2: Choose Game Mechanic

Part 3: Add Graphics → background → sprites

Part 4: Define finishing animations, add sounds, polish..

Start from a template or game that you’ve seen on the platform

each colour section describes a user action (area to tap)

Boundaries hidden, added background and sprites via text input / uploading images

Simple LEGO/Scratch style editor. Use Gen AI to simplify the process.

🍅 The Secret Sauce

Accessible thanks to gen AI Make games in seconds by utilising generative AI and simple UX.

Restricted Game Mechanics Creativity thrives when guard rails exist. By restricting the game mechanics in the game engine, creators must use graphics and sounds to make more engaging games.

Work = Fame Humans are motivated by working harder for recognition of the tribe. Reward creators that have put in effort to make higher quality games.

Build for 20 not 20 million If 1 of the 20 then becomes a creator for their 20, then you have a 5% growth rate

Part 2: Playing Games

Short form gaming to create an easy but unpredictable gaming experience for heightened dopamine

About the feed

Show games based on the slot machine algorithm for increased addiction.

Good games are measured based on how many people pass the level, how many people leave the app during / after the game, how many people remix the game etc..

Time to complete games decreases as your score increases to give the element of skill and therefore social capital.

Play a game 👇

https://www.figma.com/proto/mIMsQpu4qAGNmuMfy26BHn/UGC-Gaming

🍅 The Secret Sauce

Easy Distribution in a feed that gen α crave By analysing engagement with games, create an easy distribution channel for game devs that rewards more engaging games with minimum effort on their part.

Restricted Game Mechanics Make games simple to pickup for players in a matter of microseconds and engage ‘unconscious play’

Easy but unpredictable dopamine hits The secret behind all addictive mobile apps. Easy: created via game mechanics chosen to be easy to understand. Unpredictable: created via graphics and sounds and different game mechanic every time. TikTok style feed Generation α consume content via passive methods (recommendation algorithms), not active methods (e.g. search, word of mouth) like older generations are used to.

Market

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Social Medias thrive on the 90/9/1 rule. 90% of users are lurkers who scroll and like. 9% of the user base create content sometimes. 1% of users are termed ‘content creators’ and create most of the content for the platform.

[90%: lurkers] We are in the toilet attention market.

What are people currently using on the toilet?

Social Media

Mobile Gaming

[9%: amateurs] We are in the amateur content creator market.

Do you post on Instagram / Snapchat / Tiktok more than once a month?

If so, this is you. I want to make creating games as easy as posting on social media.

By decreasing the ability to create games, we aim to grow the motivation for people to create games, increasing the market

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Foggs Behaviour Law: Behaviour = Motivation * Ability * Prompt The motivation to create a game is there With enough advertising (and your viral mechanic) prompts to create a game is there By decreasing the ability needed to create a game An amateur can fulfil the behaviour and post a game to the platform.

[1%: creators] We are in the indie game dev market.

Indie game developers → New Wave Game Developers

Catering to current indie developers, but also opening up the possibility to a new wave of game makers. Think how Tiktok still caters to YouTubers and classic comedians, however has created a new wave of entertainers called ‘TikTokers’.

Why Me?

Hey! You’re at the end so you must be interested!

I’m Jon:

→ BSc Computer Science @ St Andrews

→ Research in how drunk people and toddlers use mobile apps

→ I’ve built a viral AI app from idea to 10,000 paid users

→ I've built an award winning game

→ Deep understanding of human behaviour and why we use consumer social products

→ Love to make social media content! (experience doing it for brands)

See my work at https://mrjonhudson.com

YOU’RE STILL HERE!?

SLACK ME!

Thank you for reading! If you want to see future content, you can follow me on twitter or connect with me on LinkedIn

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