Why Create a Social Game

Chapter 4 discusses the motivations behind building social games as opposed to other types of games. The chapter discusses the power developers can derive from publishing directly onto a social (or digital) platform and being able to bypass the traditional distribution models. We also discuss the added responsibilities associated with providing software as a service in the form of online free-to-play games. The chapter investigates some of the reasons that the current crop of social games are so popular with users, and includes recommendations for how to build future games to heed these lessons. The chapter looks at the current state of the North American retail market as another reason to focus on social game development. An insightful interview with veteran game artist Jason Decker from Spacetime concludes the chapter.