Jon Radoff has a bird’s-eye view of the evolution of the Internet and its entertainment industries as one who has participated in them since 1992. Previewing his LOGIN 2011 talk, “8 Ways to Transform the Game Business With Social Technology,” Jon shares his thoughts on the role of social technologies and gamification — and how both should play a part in the evolution of gaming.
PAUL PHILLEO: Hi, Jon, thanks for taking the time for an interview. Can you give us an idea what your background is and how you’re involved in the social side of games and gamification?
JON RADOFF: Thank you. I’m excited about taking part in LOGIN this year. I’ve been an entrepreneur and game developer for most my life — the first game I was involved with was a BBS “Door” game called Space Empire that I wrote back in 1987 while I was in middle school. I launched a game called Legends of Future Past, a multiplayer fantasy role-playing in 1992 — and distributed it through CompuServe and other proprietary networks. The game mechanics in some of these early games were similar to what we now find in social games today.
More recently, I started a social game company called Disruptor Beam. We think we’ve got a unique approach to the social game market that involves working with well-known brands and intellectual property to create games that players will love. Beyond that, I have an abiding belief that games can change the world for the better — and that businesses have a lot to learn from games — which is why I recently wrote Game On: Energize Your Business With Social Games, published by Wiley in April.
What are traditional game developers getting right in the way they professionally embrace social media — and where are they falling short of the mark?
I think most game developers are still looking at social media simply as a distribution channel. It’s a way to hype products, do “community management,” and get customers to spread the word about your products. All of those are great applications of social media, but I think the real innovations will come when we create new games that leverage social interactions in ways that haven’t been done before. It’s more than just a marketing opportunity.
How close of a tie-in do you think there should be between the way companies promote their games through social channels and the inclusion of social gaming elements within the titles themselves?
Not only could game companies make better products by incorporating more social technology, but game developers would really woo the social media audience. People who hang out on social media, like the ones who were early to Twitter, are really excited by innovation. I think it would be a lot easier to get products to promote themselves by making them inherently exciting through the use of social technology, rather than focusing exclusively on community management exercises.
How do you feel the trend toward social game development has helped spur the gamification trend?
Gamification is a term I’m actually not that excited about. I think it is overused. Most game developers know that there’s a lot more to a game than the point systems and mechanics; it’s also the story, the visuals, the immersion — the total experience. Social games have been the largest recent proponent of analytical techniques and reward systems to drive engagement, but I think they’re also finding that long-term success is going to depend on a lot more than short-term conversions. Social games are going to grow up a lot over the next two years, and so is “gamification.”
Do you feel gamification could have as much impact on how game companies develop their games as much as it might on companies creating gamified non-gaming applications?
I think that most game products are still marketed like media products — and not social media products. What I mean by that is that game launches are still heavily tied to advertising and PR. Game companies have an amazing opportunity: to apply all that game design know-how to the process of marketing their own products. We’ll see some truly revolutionary marketing programs in the game industry within the near future.
What non-gaming apps or interactive experiences do you think game developers can take a lesson from that might help them create a better game?
Too many games are dismissive of user interface — which is strange in an industry that’s so tied to user experience. The really successful social media and online products have gotten very good at UI. They’ve also learned that simplicity is amazingly valuable. Online products are also really good at getting people to communicate with each other (creating greater stickiness) and tapping into “crowd wisdom.” Just as I counsel social media developers to play lots of games to understand what works to craft a fun experience, I think game developers would gain a lot by scratching under the surface of social media websites to see what really makes them tick.
Last but not least, what other talks and topics do you plan to keep an eye out for this year at LOGIN?
There’s quite a few topics on social gaming and social technology at this year’s LOGIN. I’m looking forward to sitting in on several of them. I’m also looking forward to “Gamification Will Eat Itself,” because I’m really skeptical of the current way most people are looking at gamification — and this seems like a refreshing take that is willing to confront the market with what gamification would really mean. Most of all, I’m looking forward to catching up with friends and colleagues from the online gaming world who will be converging on Bellevue in May!
