In its loosest sense, a ‘social game’ can count as any game that draws together a number of people. By this definition, the first ‘social game’ could be something from as far back as the Egypt of 3100 BC – the creation of the first board game, Senet. Alternatively, you might see 1974, and the launch of Dungeons and Dragons, as the true opening shot. By the 2000s, role-playing games were making the transition from the living rooms of feverish schoolboys to the hot cables of the internet, and the MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) was born. These highly visual fantasy extravaganzas pulled together dozens of players from around the globe, pitting them against one another across fierce battlefields, or forcing them to journey through vast landscapes, co-operating with other players to complete quests and rise through the ranks. Everquest was the first to make a big impact, as early as 1999. However, it was in 2004, with the launch of World of Warcraft, that MMORPGs became big news – and bigger business. Less game-like variations, like Second Life, would also grab the attention, and these titles would even create their own real-life markets, allowing in-game objects to switch hands in return for genuine cash.
Today, though, the genre of ‘social gaming’ is just as often associated with those titles played on social media sites, like Facebook. Early minor successes often revolved around building a virtual world, and managing farms were a regular subject – plant and harvest crops, feed animals and take them to market etc. The Rolls-Royce (or Massey Ferguson!) of farming simulations, and the first Facebook title to truly seize users’ attention, was Zynga’s Farmville in 2009. With its cute graphics and involving worldscape, this game had users playing for hours a night. It worked on a very clever advertising campaign that decorated your wall with regular posts commenting on your progress, encouraging or challenging you to better your friends and contacts. The never-ending volley of reminders brewed an irresistible mix of competition and co-operation, making it truly a gaming experience that you could share with everyone around you.
Many of the most popular Facebook games have been infuriatingly addictive puzzlers that keep users coming back for just one go, even as they actually intend to update their wall or contact a friend. The early browser game, Bejeweled, would force you to match tiles while fighting an increasingly frantic time limit. This style of gaming would go on to inspire multi-chapter Facebook series like Pet Rescue and Candy Crush. By May 2013, Candy Crush Saga had established itself as the most popular game in the world, overtaking even the sequel to Farmville, and the smartphone/tablet phenomenon that is Angry Birds.
Profit margins have been high on many of these games, and successful titles can acquire huge userbases in very little time. Frontierville, a twist on Farmville, took just 36 days to amass 20 million players. The hyper successful MMORPG, World of Warcraft, on the other hand, needed four years to rack up the same figures. The basic model offers a variety of ways of making money. Subtle advertising is one approach, but there are better routes to riches. Some games, like Mafia Wars, work as ‘Freemium’ titles. These programs are freely distributed, but the customers are encouraged to send in real money in order to buy add-ons, new levels, and other features. The non-existent entry cost means the games open themselves up to a lot of users. You only need a modest portion of those to become ‘super users’, spending oodles on in-game features, and you have a bulging bottom line. These titles may spread more and more to alternative technologies, like smartphones, tablets and Google Glass, but many of the concepts will remain.
Future games consoles, like the PS4, will have social gaming at their very core. The much-anticipated DriveClub racing game, for instance, will have teams of drivers working together in World of Warcraft-style Guilds. It won’t just be about who can drive more quickly, and every player will feel they have something to contribute individually, regardless of skill level. But DriveClub will also incorporate aspects of Facebook games, presenting you with constant tournaments and leaderboards, and inspiring you to keep improving by constantly telling you how all of your friends and your friends’ friends are getting on in the game. Indeed, the future games titles won’t really be games at all. They’ll be virtual communities, in which the game is merely the hook that brings like-minded users together for a good time.