Very thought provoking. What a great conversation.
I wish I had a clearer vision on the next step for social games. I honestly do. Sadly I think it'll be a long, iterative process before that industry sorts out exactly how to make a genuinely compelling experience that fits into the very real confines and perceptions you described. Bits and pieces will shake out as true fun but it'll take time to see it cobbled together into a comprehensively non-crappy game.
My lack of imagination doesn't stop me thinking there's a better way, though.
It sounds like you really took a whack at this. I hope you find a way to do something with everything you learned. It's a tough problem that can touch a lot of people.
It's not that no one knows how to make a truly magnificent social game. In fact there are many people who know exactly how to do it.
Right now the marketplace is too young to appreciate quality. The masterpieces are overlooked and the winners are whichever games are the loudest and most accessible.
That's how it will be until the public as a whole gets more experience in this area and develops a certain level of taste.
There was no equivalent to HBO or Mad Men back when TV was new. It took a long time for quality shows to make money - and even now The Wire was considered only a modest financial success.
Great art often makes no money. The better an artist you are, the more likely you are to die before your works are appreciated.
Very thought provoking. What a great conversation.
I wish I had a clearer vision on the next step for social games. I honestly do. Sadly I think it'll be a long, iterative process before that industry sorts out exactly how to make a genuinely compelling experience that fits into the very real confines and perceptions you described. Bits and pieces will shake out as true fun but it'll take time to see it cobbled together into a comprehensively non-crappy game.
My lack of imagination doesn't stop me thinking there's a better way, though.
It sounds like you really took a whack at this. I hope you find a way to do something with everything you learned. It's a tough problem that can touch a lot of people.