On the art&science of making games fun - with Josh Lu(VP&Commercial Leader, Blizzard Entertainment) - a podcast by Shamanth Rao

My guest today is one of the leading experts in the world on games and growth in games. He’s a man who who has helped launch & grow many many hit mobile games. He started his gaming career at Playdom, where he helped the game Social City get to 5 million installs in the first week of launch. He was the founding product manager at Scopely, where he helped grow the daily actives for Dice With Buddies 30x. Yes, you heard that right - 30x. Subsequently he moved to Zynga, where he served as the Franchise Lead and Head of Product for the whole Games With Friends portfolio. Right now he’s the VP & Commercial Leader at Blizzard Entertainment.  I had a chance to meet Josh when I was at Zynga not too long ago. I found him incredibly generous with his time and knowledge - and always eager to see people around him succeed. Today’s conversation is a master-class on games, and about what happens behind the scenes that makes games such enjoyable experiences. If you’ve wondered about why hundreds of millions of players love Candy Crush, Farmville or Words With Friends and spend many many hours on these games, this interview has some answers. We talk about the early days of social gaming, the elements that make games habit-forming experiences and how Josh thinks about making, growing and learning about games. We also talk about how the same elements that make for great games also make services like, say, Spotify compelling. I always learn so much every time I listen to Josh - and I’m thrilled for this conversation.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• The secret to unlocking virality of games as a growth product manager, even as the bar for sharing content on social platforms has gotten higher
• How Josh and his team found opportunities to improve upon an established game like Words With Friends 2
• How Words With Friends 2 was intentional about making it to the top of iTunes charts.
• How the concept of “core loop design” increases user retention for digital products 
• What sets the games that have survived the longest apart from others
• Josh’s strategy for gleaning research from new games without playing them all
• Why Josh says you need a “two-legged stool” on your team

Check out the full transcript and show notes here:
https://howthingsgrow.co/art-science-making-games-fun-with-josh-lu-vp-blizzard-entertainment/

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