#107: Cooperative Gaming with Amy Jo Kim

Amy Jo Kim joins Dirk and David to talk about cooperative gaming and the move away from zero-sum game mechanics. Social and online gaming have shown time and again that players want to cooperate and work together rather than kill each other and constantly compete. Amy Jo offers her experience and insight into what makes cooperative fun, and how designers can make it compelling.-------------------------------------------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Amy Jo Kim - @amyjokim, www.shufflebrain.com, www.mvpdesignhacks.com----------------Episode Outline 0:00:26 - The cooperative revolution 0:04:35 - Amy Jo’s background 0:13:14 - Zero-sum games 0:23:28 - Mobile and free to play 0:35:48 - Balancing feeling special and teamwork 0:54:43 - Powerful mechanics in co-op 0:57:10 - Steps for a new designer