just in teractive : GameLayers from PMOG to Dictator Wars

PMOG was a MMO in a Firefox toolbar. We were able to prototype rapidly, using open source technologies. We built up a game that was meant to run constantly in the background, inspecting your web trail for treasures and traps. With a web toolbar you could leave items on web pages for other players to find.

Over time we hit some obstacles for PMOG:

* Too much reliance on user-generated game events. Without some goals provided by the game itself, new players couldn't find a direction for themselves in the game. "Have fun on the internet" is a good idea, but it's not going to drive someone through an open ended product. "Welcome to PMOG: your goal is to do X or become Y" would have helped more people understand the game.

* The name "PMOG" was tough to swallow, and it didn't describe an exciting game world. We thought it was clever because it stood for "Passively Multiplayer Online Game" which was like an MMO game that ran in the background. But it tripped up so many potential players that we changed the name in March 2009 to "The Nethernet." The new identity energized our product but it was late in the product cycle.

* We built our own social networking and messaging technologies. Because we started work on PMOG in 2006, it made sense to roll our own. Three years later, expanding and maintaining those frameworks took up a lot of time, and newer projects were making use of existing social networks like Facebook and Twitter to keep their costs down.

* We introduced micropayments and revenue streams late. We had a solid idea for introducing virtual currency in our product, but by the time we rolled that out, our players expected the game to be mostly free. It would have been good to prioritize revenue from the beginning, and make that an integral part of the product design.

* Unlikely platform. We thought we were badass, breaking new ground by making a rich MMO in a Firefox extension. It could still be a great product some day. But it's hard to change people's opinions, and most people believe Firefox extensions are a) for web geeks, and b) useful for blocking ads or downloading YouTube videos. No one visits Mozilla and searches for games to download.

In mid-2009 we had to make a tough call - support this game which wasn't growing or monetizing fast enough. Or shut down PMOG/The Nethernet so we would have more resources to move forward with other projects. We shut down the Nethernet in August, and in September, GameLayers launched Dictator Wars, a casual RPG game on Facebook.

After PMOG/The Nethernet, Dictator Wars has been fun to build for a few reasons:

* Facebook. Viola - no social network to build and host, no messaging or chat to worry about. And, if anyone joined Dictator Wars, they immediately brought their friend networks with them. Suddenly people could play our game in a system they were already a part of.

* Clear goals. Dictator Wars was built on the idea that you could become the toughest, richest world leader. Our game design, visual design, and written content all supported that idea. Our playtesters never said "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing" as we regularly heard from people playing PMOG / The Nethernet. Instead people said, "watch me - I'm going to be the best at this game."

* Good times. Immediately, we invited people to play and they played hard. They played a lot, and they invited their friends. People enjoy playing Dictator Wars. What a relief to see a wide range of people enjoying themselves playing our game!

GameLayers today is continuing to make games. Hurrah! I'm honored to have a chance to entertain people on the internet with a fantastic team. We've remained true to our two core principles: we use the internet as a playfield and we make games you can play throughout your day.

I'm writing this piece on the IMD site so here's some thoughts for anyone making a product or business out of their work at the IMD:

* Be selective with your innovation. Keep as much of your product predictable, so people can find their way to the gem of awesome that you have pioneered. Too much innovation means you'll have to individually teach each user how to love your product and you don't have time for that.

* Serious Business. If you really want to be a professional entertainment software maker, realize you have to figure out where the money comes from. You can skip worrying about the money if you like writing grant applications, or you want to live on ramen and handouts. But if you want to actually hire people to work with you, pay kickass artists to make content for your game, and afford to buy new shoes, figure out what people would want to pay for if they were using your software. I ate up everything offered in the "Business of Interactive Media" class with Jordan Weisman and Mark Bolas - it was a fantastic introduction to the economics of running a software business. But I didn't learn enough and ask hard enough questions of myself, my team, and our product at the outset.

* First Five Minutes. If someone can't figure out what to do in the first five minutes of your interactive experience, you are hosed. You might find a small audience who appreciates your product. But people need to enjoy themselves quickly if you want to reach more folks.

While I was at the Interactive Media Division, I had a great time making experiments, meditations on experience and perception. I practiced my artistic voice, I practiced collaboration. By the time I left, I wanted to learn business - making those experiments into something useful for people beyond the IMD with GameLayers. Still learning!

See you in Dictator Wars :-)