G-Star 2018: Google Play

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随着国内手游市场规模增速的减缓，出海在游戏厂商中扮演的角色越发重要。在前几天的韩国Gstar展会上，6waves总裁Rex Ng、天空树创始人余泳峰、米哈游海外VP金雯怡、睡神飞工作室成员龙御风，以及游道易海外市场负责人Ethan Collins，五位嘉宾现场分享了一些在游戏研发、运营方面的出海成功经验。
With the slowdown in the growth rate of the domestic mobile gaming market, the role of going global in game companies has become increasingly important. During the recent Korean G-Star exhibition, five guests, including Rex Ng, President of 6waves, Yu Yongfeng, Founder of Skystone, Jin Wenyi, VP of miHoYo Overseas Operations, Long Yufeng from Sleepfly Studios, and Ethan Collins, Head of Overseas Markets at Yodo1, shared some successful experiences in game development and operations in the global market.

五位嘉宾在分享中提到，除了在研发中设立筛选标准，聆听玩家声音，利用Google提供的工具外，在游戏上线以后，厂商对游戏的优化、广告投放的调优等依然要持续进行，不能只注重新玩法、新模式的添加。
The five guests mentioned in their sharing that besides setting selection criteria during development, listening to player feedback, and utilizing tools provided by Google, even after the game goes live, continuous optimization by the manufacturer regarding the game and fine-tuning of advertising placement is necessary. It's not just about introducing new gameplay or modes.

此外，曾开发出《魔性建筑工》的睡神飞工作室成员表示，如果你的游戏专注于玩法创新，那么一定要尽快地把它做出来，交给玩家测试，观察玩家反馈，不要总想着把游戏做的非常完善，拖上很久，否则可能会走很多弯路。
In addition, a member of Dreamplay Studio, who developed *Builder Duet*, mentioned that if your game focuses on gameplay innovation, you must quickly develop it, hand it over to players for testing, observe player feedback, and not always aim for a perfect game that takes a long time to create. Otherwise, you might end up taking many detours.

以下圆桌讨论及采访内容经游戏葡萄整理：
The following roundtable discussion and interview content have been organized by Youxi Putao:

**Google：做游戏的成功秘诀？
The Secret to Successful Game Development?**

Rex Ng：我们公司很看重题材的先发优势，视角比较全球化，会关注各种不同题材的游戏，并将某一题材带入该题材产品尚未拥挤的市场。
Our company places great importance on the first-mover advantage of themes. Our perspective is quite global, and we pay attention to games of various genres, bringing a certain theme into a market that isn't yet crowded with products of that theme.

余泳峰：我认为做游戏最重要的就是创新。如果你喜欢这种玩法，那你就只能在我们的游戏中玩到——我们就是从这种道路上走过来的。
Yu Yongfeng: I believe that innovation is the most crucial aspect of game development. If you enjoy a particular style of gameplay, you can only find it in our games - that's the path we've taken.

金雯怡：我们公司从成立开始，就是由一群喜爱ACG的人组成的，他们是跟中国最喜欢二次元的那些玩家一起成长起来的。对我们来说，我们要聆听这群玩家的声音，并且持续不断地为他们提供他们喜爱的内容，这才是最重要的。此外，我们也希望做到技术创新，我们相信很多东西是由技术驱动的。
Jin Wenyi: Our company has been formed from the start by a group of people who love ACG. They grew up with the same players who love two-dimensional the most in China. For us, it's important to listen to the voices of these players and consistently provide them with content they love. Additionally, we also strive for technological innovation, as we believe many things are driven by technology.

龙御风：我做游戏的思路可能跟很多人不太一样。我以前没从事过游戏行业，我做游戏的思路，是我无论在什么地方，在生活当中，看到了有趣的东西，就会想这个东西能不能做成游戏。我会去了解不同地区玩家的喜好，在他们的喜好当中找到我也喜欢的东西，然后把它做成游戏。
Long Yufeng: My approach to game development might be a bit different from many others. I hadn't been involved in the gaming industry before. My way of thinking about game development is that whenever I encounter something interesting in life, I consider whether that thing could be turned into a game, regardless of where I am. I learn about the preferences of players from different regions, find things I also like among their preferences, and then turn those into games.

Ethan Collins：我们的秘诀就是，我们每款游戏都会做市场营销，并且每款游戏都会想一个新的推广主意。
Our secret is that we conduct marketing for every game and come up with new promotional ideas for each one.

**Google：如何运用Google Play做好游戏出海？
How to effectively use Google Play for global game expansion?**

金雯怡：我们出海时用到Google的地方会很多。一个是Google后台会提供各种各样的参数和工具，可以让你看到你和同类产品在各方面参数上的比较，像是唤醒率等等。同时我们有大量的素材icon，都可以通过Google后台做A/B test。
Jin Wenyi: We use Google in many ways when going global. One is that the Google backend provides various parameters and tools that allow you to compare your product with similar ones in terms of various parameters like retention rates. Additionally, we have a lot of materials such as icons that can be tested through A/B testing on the Google backend.

另外我们会在YouTube上做偏向Branding的投放，包括我们之前提到的游戏新版本的视频。我们把它做了英文本地化之后，放在YouTube上，两周就获得了大概1300万的观看量，并带来了将近4万多的关注，和无数的点赞和转发。当然我们也会通过Google做一些买量。
Furthermore, we do branding-oriented placements on YouTube, including videos for our game's new versions, as mentioned earlier. After localizing them in English, we put them on YouTube, and within two weeks, they gained around 13 million views, brought nearly 40,000 followers, and numerous likes and shares. Of course, we also engage in some paid acquisition through Google.

Ethan Collins：我们每款游戏上线的时候，会测好几个icon、描述，这是为了提高安装率，降低CPA。即使是一款已经上线2年的游戏，我们可能仍在优化。另外Google新的instant game平台也给了我们不少帮助，我们的《疯狂动物园》最近上线了一个测试版，它可以让新玩家先一步体验我们的游戏。然后我们可以根据数据，得知新用户的数据如何，
When each of our games goes live, we test several icons and descriptions to improve installation rates and lower CPA. Even for a game that has been live for 2 years, we might still be optimizing it. Additionally, Google's new Instant Game platform has been quite helpful. Our game *Rodeo Stampede: Sky Zoo Safari* recently launched a test version, allowing new players to experience our game in advance. We can then use the data to understand how new users behave.

另外Google在好几个地区都有Playtime活动，我们每次都会安排人参加这些活动，听演讲，了解产业趋势，最好的发行商和开发商到底用了什么方法来提高游戏的表现。
Furthermore, Google hosts Playtime events in several regions, and we always send people to attend these events, listen to presentations, understand industry trends, and learn about the best methods used by distributors and developers to enhance game performance.

余泳峰：我们也用了蛮多的Google工具，例如刚才说的A/B Test。我们之前有一款音乐游戏，它的下载量大概是200万-300万。在A/B Test中，我们尝试将icon做出不同的颜色和角度。最后最好的一款icon做出来的时候，这款游戏的下载量大概增加了50%-80%。
Yu Yongfeng: We also make use of various Google tools, such as the A/B test mentioned earlier. We had a music game before with around 2-3 million downloads. Through A/B testing, we tried different colors and angles for the game icon. Ultimately, when we settled on the best icon, the game's downloads increased by about 50%-80%.

我们现在的游戏也运用了google的FireBase平台，在用了fire base之后，我们能很容易做推送相关数据的分析，能知道玩家没有打开推送的原因，是不是因为我们的message内容不够吸引。另外，Google全球各地的人员会告诉我们每个地区有什么新的工具、新的市场趋势。
For our current games, we also utilize Google's Firebase platform. After using Firebase, we can easily analyze data related to push notifications and understand why players don't open them, whether it's due to unattractive message content. Additionally, Google's teams worldwide inform us about new tools and market trends in each region.

龙御风：其他人已经讲很多内容了，我就讲两个我觉得蛮有用的东西。其中一个叫android vitals，尤其在日本这边很有用。日本的手机型号特别多。比如索尼，以及他们本地的一些冷牌。所以很多游戏在中国上线后蛮稳定的，但去日本就会出很多问题。而android vitals可以让我们看到用户遇到的卡住、闪退这些情况。每次游戏上线前我们都会做很多的质量检测，android vitals的数据到达了一个标准，才会让游戏上线。否则如果日本用户给了游戏很差的评分，这款游戏就不可能在日本做好了。
Long Yufeng: Others have covered a lot of content already, so I'll share two things I find quite useful. One of them is Android Vitals, which is especially useful in Japan. There are many different phone models in Japan, like Sony and other local brands. Many games are quite stable when launched in China, but they encounter various issues when launched in Japan due to the multitude of phone models. Android Vitals allows us to see instances where users experience freezes or crashes. We conduct a lot of quality checks before each game launch, and only when Android Vitals data meets a certain standard do we proceed with the launch. Otherwise, if Japanese users give the game poor ratings, it won't perform well in Japan.

**Google：从你们的成功经验中挑出最重要的一个。
Pick out the most important lesson from your successful experiences.**

Ethan Collins：我的是优化、优化，再优化，我之前说到A/B Test非常重要。我经常看到无论是国内还是国外的开发商，他们上线一款游戏之后，不会做很多后续的优化测试。或许他们会持续添加新的内容，但优化并不会做。我们会做很多新的Banner广告，为游戏设定不同的价格，来看最能提高我们收入的价格应该是怎样的。
Mine is optimization, optimization, and more optimization. As I mentioned before, A/B testing is crucial. Often, whether it's domestic or international developers, they don't perform extensive post-launch optimization testing. They might keep adding new content but neglect optimization. We create numerous new banner ads and set different prices for the game to determine the most revenue-enhancing pricing strategy.

金雯怡：我的是永远要和玩家沟通，我们会根据玩家的声音来确定我们研发的内容和方向。什么样的内容是玩家喜欢的，这一定不仅仅取决于我们，我们有大量的社群和线下活动，来直接和玩家交流。
Jin Wenyi: Mine is always communicate with players. We determine our development content and direction based on player feedback. What kind of content players like isn't solely up to us; we have a large community and offline activities to directly interact with players.

龙御风：我们专注于玩法创新，但这件事其实很难，就像我们之前做了32款游戏，虽然体量都比较小，但数量也不少了。其中真正能有成绩，大家认可的作品，是非常非常少的。
Long Yufeng: We focus on gameplay innovation, but it's quite challenging. We've made 32 games before, and while most are small in scale, not many of them have achieved recognition. The works that truly succeed and are acknowledged by everyone are very, very few.

我的建议是，尽快把东西做出来让玩家测试。我的第一款游戏我花了两年的时间，最后拿给玩家的时候发现已经很少有人关注这款游戏了。当然这可能也是因为游戏本身做的不好，但时间也是游戏成绩的一个非常重要的因素
My advice is to quickly develop something and let players test it. With my first game, I spent two years developing it, but by the time I presented it to players, very few were interested. Of course, it could have been because the game itself wasn't good, but time is also a crucial factor in a game's success.

我刚开始做游戏的时候，总想着把一个游戏做的非常完善，再放到市场上去。但实际上创新的东西可能并不需要那么完善，他只需要一个比较好的点，把那个点做透了以后，就开始测试，看玩家的反馈。
When I first started making games, I always wanted to make a game extremely polished before releasing it to the market. However, innovative ideas might not need to be so refined; they just need a strong concept. After developing that concept thoroughly, start testing and observe player feedback.

Rex Ng：我同意睡神飞的看法。因为我们做的是发行，能看到很多失败与成功的数据。我认为一款游戏中，留存是最难提高的，如果你看到你的游戏留存不好，就不要想太多了。接下来要思考的问题，就是研发另一款游戏还是将这款游戏带去另一个国家了。所以游戏要快一点公测，快一点拿数据，然后根据数据决定是继续研发，还是转做别的游戏。
I agree with what Long Yufeng mentioned. Since we are in the publishing field, we get to see a lot of data on both failures and successes. In my opinion, retention is the hardest to improve in a game. If you notice that your game's retention isn't good, don't dwell on it too much. The next question to consider is whether to develop another game or take this game to another country. So, games should be tested quickly, data should be collected rapidly, and decisions should be made based on the data about whether to continue development or shift to a different game.

余泳峰：我给一些制作游戏方面的点吧。我们公司在做游戏的时候，并不是在电脑前不停画东西、敲代码。我们会做很多的纸面设计原型，把游戏的概念做成已经可以用纸、笔玩的游戏，然后让同事们一起体验，投票决定哪一个比较有趣，哪一个比较稳妥。但有了好的玩法之后，也要有好的商业模型，即游戏收费如何设计。
Yu Yongfeng: Let me give some points about game development. When our company creates games, it's not just about sitting in front of a computer drawing or coding. We create numerous paper-based design prototypes, turning the game concept into something that can be played with pen and paper. Then, we let colleagues experience it together and vote on which one is more interesting or safer. But once we have a good gameplay idea, we also need a good business model – how the game's monetization will be designed.

分享结束后，五位嘉宾接受了现场媒体的提问，内容整理如下：
After the sharing session, the five guests answered questions from the media present. Here's a summary of their responses:

**您提到的成功要素的门槛有多高？现在国内有多少团队能达到这个标准？
How high is the threshold for the success factors you mentioned? How many teams in China can meet that standard?**

金雯怡：回想米哈游的发家史，它标配其实非常低——一共就3个完全没有工作经验的大学生。当时无论从业经验还是技术累积也好，都是没有的。在那时候我们也比较幸运，入行比较早。这几年相应的门槛还是比当年要高一些的。但是垂直品类的机会一直都还在。
Jin Wenyi: Looking back at miHoYo's history, the entry bar was actually very low—just three college students with no work experience at all. At that time, there was no industry experience or technical expertise. Back then, we were also quite fortunate to enter the industry early. Over the past few years, the corresponding threshold has risen a bit compared to those days. But opportunities in specific vertical categories have always existed.

最近几年如果你还关注中国二次元的研发商，就会发现它的数量多了很多。而且我们发现这样的趋势不仅在中国有，而是全球都有。举一个最简单的例子，美国每年最大的二次元动漫展叫Anime Expo，它往年的人数在过去很长一段时间都维持在10万上下。但是最近三年你会发现它从10万，一下子涨到了16万左右。国内市场经过了像《崩坏》系列、《阴阳师》等产品洗刷之后，已经没有人认为二次元是一个挣不到钱的市场了，而在海外，它还是处于一个比较新兴的状态，机会还是很多。
If you've been following two-dimensional Chinese developers over the past few years, you'll notice that their numbers have increased significantly. And this trend is not just in China but globally as well. For a simple example, Anime Expo, the largest annual two-dimensional convention in the US, used to have attendance of around 100,000 for a long time. However, in the past three years, it suddenly increased to around 160,000. After products like the *Honkai* series and *Onmyoji* washed away the notion that two-dimensional can't make money in the domestic market, overseas, it's still in a relatively emerging state, offering plenty of opportunities.

**一款运营多年的游戏可能会遭遇玩家热度递减的问题，但如果用加入新内容的方式来挽留玩家，又会造成入门门槛变高，这种情况怎么权衡？
For a game that has been operating for several years, it might experience a decline in player interest. But if you use the approach of adding new content to retain players, it might raise the entry threshold. How do you balance this situation?**

金雯怡：我们的游戏已经在国服上线两年了，大量玩法同时展现给玩家，有时的确会让新手玩家感觉到迷茫。于是我们最近做了一件事情叫主线重置。就是当萌新进入这款游戏的时候，并不是所有的功能都会一下子开放，而是把整个故事线，整个崩坏的世界一点点展现在你面前。把故事线的节点，开放功能的节点，重新慢慢地铺出去，这样对于萌新玩家来说，他们的上手门槛以及复杂度可能都会下降，体验也会比较好一点。同时我们也将整个场景的展示做了品质提升，希望崩坏3的美术表现一直在随着时间而不断的进步。
Jin Wenyi: Our game has been live in the domestic market for two years now, with numerous gameplay elements presented to players simultaneously. Sometimes, this can make new players feel overwhelmed. Therefore, we recently did something called a "mainline reset." When newcomers enter the game, not all features are immediately available. Instead, we gradually unfold the entire storyline and the world of *Honkai* bit by bit. We open up story nodes and feature nodes, slowly revealing them. This way, for new players, the learning curve and complexity might decrease, resulting in a better experience. Additionally, we've upgraded the quality of the entire scene presentation, hoping that the artistic representation of *Honkai Impact 3rd* continues to improve over time.

**做二次元是因为你们的喜好，还是市场的方向？
Is your focus on two-dimensional due to personal preferences or market trends?**

金雯怡：首先我们的创始人们就是二次元的忠实粉丝，公司早期也因为这样一种文化，聚集了一群喜欢这类游戏、这类风格的人，大家都希望为二次元的同好们创造出喜欢的内容。我们之前说我们注重和玩家沟通，那么谁是最早的核心玩家？我们的开发者们本身就是，他们可以作为玩家为游戏提出各种各样的意见。另外我认为我们的运气也比较好，米哈游起来的时间点，正好也是国内二次元发展较快的时间。
Jin Wenyi: Firstly, our founders are faithful fans of the second dimension. In the early days of the company, because of this cultural affinity, we gathered a group of people who liked this type of game and style. Everyone wanted to create content that the second dimension enthusiasts would enjoy. We mentioned that we value communication with players, so who are the earliest core players? It's our developers themselves, who can provide various opinions as players to improve the game. Moreover, I believe we were lucky. The time miHoYo emerged was just when the second dimension was growing rapidly in China.

我们在幸运地取得了第一步成功之后，也会用更多战略上的视角看待这件事情，即未来的机会在哪里。我们既要做我们初心喜欢的东西，同时也要发现下一片蓝海，所以我们会积极寻找两者之间的结合点。现在我们发现出海，其实就是一个比较合适的选择。
After successfully taking the first step, we would also approach this from a strategic perspective, looking at where the future opportunities lie. We want to create what we originally love while discovering the next blue ocean. So, we actively seek points of integration between the two. Currently, we see that going global is a suitable choice.

**有没有指标可以让你们察觉一款游戏会成功或是失败？
Are there any metrics that indicate to you whether a game will be successful or not?**

Ethan Collins：我心中只有两个指标，第一个是留存率——我们看三个点，就是第二天，第七天和第三十天的留存率。我们会看它和理想中的留存率差距有多大，如果差距很大，那这款游戏基本上是救不活了。第二个是转化率，就是一百个玩这款游戏的玩家中，会有多少人付费。市场上的数据告诉我们，如果一款游戏的付费率能够超过每两百人中有一人付费，那就是比较成功的。
I have only two metrics in mind. The first one is retention rate - we look at three points: the second day, the seventh day, and the thirtieth day's retention rates. We see how far off they are from the ideal retention rate. If the difference is significant, then the game is likely beyond saving. The second metric is conversion rate, which is how many out of a hundred players of the game will make a payment. Market data tells us that if a game's payment rate can exceed one payment for every two hundred players, then it's considered relatively successful.