Designing Match-3 Games Jason Kapalka, Chief Creative Officer, PopCap Games

1. How to stand out »There are hundreds and hundreds of match 3 games out now. »If you just want to pump out an unexceptional clone, probably a genre like Hidden Object offers a better chance of success. »A match-3 game needs to have some exceptional selling points to survive.

Innovate on mechanics »Do something different with the core gameplay. »Examples include Jewel Quest, Chuzzle, Bejeweled Twist.

Leverage a known brand »This is an option if you already have a well-known franchise like Bejeweled, Jewel Quest, Big Kahuna Reef, etc. »Alternately, if you have access to another brand, either from a successful game or an outside franchise, this can help get attention.

Find a new platform »Get out of the "red ocean" of downloadable PC games and find a platform with fewer match-3s. »Iphone? DS? PSP? Facebook or Myspace? Consoles? Flash? MMOs?

2. Evolving Match-3 »The simplicity of Match 3 games pushes many developers towards ever more complex variants. »Sometimes this works, as with Puzzle Quest… »And sometimes it doesn’t.

Combine Genres »This is a popular technique right now, with games like 4 Elements, Saqqarah, Fishdom, etc, combining match-3 with hidden object and other game types. »Risky… they can be seen as greater than the sum of their parts, or as a disconnected set of game fragments.

Multiple modes of play »You can make up tons of variants easily enough… but which are actually fun? »Beware if you can't pick a single 'main' or primary gameplay style. It probably means that all the modes are weak. »Always have a main game mode, the one that new players always start with.

New platform limitations »New platforms will often require radical interface or control changes. »This can render a game unplayable… »OR it can be an opportunity to reshape a game so that it fits the new platform perfectly. For instance, Bejeweled worked very well on the iPhone.

3. Devil in the details »Match-3 games, more so than any other casual genre, are all about the feedback… making every move feel fun and cool. »In the same way that an FPS game needs a good "feel" to its guns, a match-3 needs a good feel to its basic mechanic.

Fine-tune the interface »Is the board too big to easily select a piece? »Are the pieces hard to tell apart? »Do effects and graphics overwhelm the basic functionality?

Audio/visual Feedback »You must give satisfying feedback after each and every move!

Problems with genre mixups »Combining match-3 with another genre, say RPGs (Puzzle Quest) or simulation (Fishdom) is a tricky business, if they are closely integrated. »Both parts have to work well. If either is weak, the whole thing collapses. Anthology games, that collect many smaller games without a single main mode, are tough to pull off. »If you have many unintegrated genres in your game, be careful that there is still one main one. A Hidden Object game that has a bunch of post- level minigames is still a Hidden Object game.

Keep It Simple »Don't get carried away with powerups and upgrades… it’s easy to keep adding stuff. »Remember the core of a match-3 game is usually very simple. »Don't lose the basic charm with overcomplication!

Example: Bejeweled Blitz

Bejeweled Blitz lessons… »On Facebook, the Bejeweled brand was new and stood out. »Evolution: put a one-minute limit on the game, to suit facebook users limited attention. »Details: speed bonuses and multiplier gems kept the game feeling fresh and replayable.

The End! »Thanks and good luck!