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I don't understand how that works, since each user has a different number of friends. Does the number of parts for each buildable vary from person to person? Or
by ufo 11y ago
I don't understand how that works, since each user has a different number of friends. Does the number of parts for each buildable vary from person to person? Or did they just make the number of parts be slightly higher than what the average user would have available?
- Maro 11y agoI've never played a Zynga game so I'm just guessing. I think this is about (probability of getting an item) = (probability of getting the item for free in a drop) * (1 + (probability of a user gifting an item to a friend) * (average number of friends)). So for the late items, they pushed down (probability of getting the item for free in a drop), so you were unlikely to get it in a drop or as a gift from a friend.
- Jare 11y agoIf the typical person has 5 friends actively playing, and there are 5 different parts, the chances that a person can get one piece from each friend is 3%? There were also limits on the amount of times that players can help friends daily; it encourages a tit-for-tat dynamic of helping only those who help you. But without built-in tools to track this (mark fav friends, etc), there was always some tension about who "deserves" your help, and players would not spend all their help options right away so they could save some to give back to helpers later in the day, etc... All of these simple mechanics (or lack thereof) interact to create additional scarcity in a very natural, subtle and organic way. And all of it guided, adjusted and optimized via metrics and A/B tests. (different games worked differently and evolved over time, the above is not meant to be a precise and exhaustive description)
- Ensorceled 11y agoIt depends on the game, but for some of the games the "cost" is indeed maximized per player for optimal "in game" purchases.