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Blogs

Tadhg Kelly's Blog   Expert Blogs

Tadhg is the chief creative officer of Simple Lifeforms, a social games company. He is a keen advocate of social games as a new evolution in games and game players, and a noted blogger and article writer to that effect.

Expert Blogs

Be Authentic  Featured Blogs
Posted by Tadhg Kelly on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 04:08:00 EST in
The old PR-driven way of spreading marketing stories doesn't work so well any more. Authenticity (or being true, in plain speaking) is the new PR.
Read More... | 3 Comments

Ethical Design: Are Most Social Games Just Virtual Slot Machines?  Featured Blogs
Posted by Tadhg Kelly on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 08:08:00 EST in Game Design
With many social games essentially being games that play themselves, has the social game industry created a compulsive rather than addictive game format, and if so what should be done about that?
Read More... | 15 Comments

The Coming Facebook Games Price War  Featured Blogs
Posted by Tadhg Kelly on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:57:00 EST in
We may well see increased competition in Facebook games soon to counter significant changes in the platform that will dampen down some of the easier viral channels. One potential result is a kind of price war.
Read More... | 11 Comments

Players Are For Life, Not Just For Christmas  Featured Blogs
Posted by Tadhg Kelly on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 08:31:00 EST in
The mistake that most game makers are making today is failing to build a compelling story. Not a game story, a marketing story.
Read More... | 9 Comments

Zynga and the End of the Beginning  Featured Blogs
Posted by Tadhg Kelly on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 07:45:00 EST in
This week, Zynga lifted $180m in investment and seem set to conquer social gaming for ever. In this article I argue that the Zynga model has some serious problems on its horizon and is in real danger of falling behind the times.
Read More... | 21 Comments

Better to be Sexy than Worthy.  Featured Blogs
Posted by Tadhg Kelly on Fri, 27 Nov 2009 01:52:00 EST in
Most game developers want a hit, but they are too worried about whether they are "worthy" enough to let themselves make one. "Worthy" is how you spend millions of dollars being boring. Forget worthiness. Time to get "sexy" instead.
Read More... | 20 Comments

[More Tadhg Kelly Blogs]   

Tadhg Kelly's Comments

Comment In: The Coming Facebook Games Price War [Blog - 01/22/2010 - 10:57]

I think Playfish are ahead ...

I think Playfish are ahead of you on that one Damien. They have 'Playfish Cash' in all of their games I think .

Comment In: Ubisoft Plans Constant Online Authentication For PC Games [News - 01/26/2010 - 06:59]

I get the linear logic ...

I get the linear logic that drives this kind of thinking. It is understandable balance-sheet stuff. The thing is that it's also limiting marketing channels, so it's a bit of an own-goal. Ubi might make slightly more money in the short term although no doubt the service side of running ...

Comment In: Ethical Design: Are Most Social Games Just Virtual Slot Machines? [Blog - 01/26/2010 - 08:08]

Hi Eric, I think the ...

Hi Eric, I think the core tenet of my response to your thought Isn't every game to some extent feeding compulsive behaviour is this: No.

Comment In: Players Are For Life, Not Just For Christmas [Blog - 01/21/2010 - 08:31]

Textbook example of what I ...

Textbook example of what I mean Ed. Tricks to con people onto mailing lists and the like never work.

Comment In: Zynga and the End of the Beginning [Blog - 12/18/2009 - 07:45]

Thanks Kai. On the 'mass ...

Thanks Kai. On the 'mass market' point, the point is rather that viral/niche markets and mass market don't co-exist too well as concepts. That veterans will end up splitting off into dozens or hundreds of niches with strong successes in each rather than fighting over a decreasingly influential or valuable ...

Comment In: Opinion: When Is A Game 'Not A Game?' [News - 01/07/2010 - 09:02]

I don't think level of ...

I don't think level of interactivity defines 'game' versus 'not game'. What separates them is formal goals, abstract constraints and challenge to overcome physical, mental, skil-based, social, etc .

[More Tadhg Kelly Comments]