Boring website? Step on up to the Heyzap (YC W09) Social Games Bar

#1

Post by immad » Tue, Apr 20, 2010, 9:11 PM UTC

Boring website? Step on up to the Heyzap (YC W09) Social Games Bar
games.venturebeat.com

Re: Boring website? Step on up to the Heyzap (YC W09) Social Games Bar

#2

Post by vtail » Tue, Apr 20, 2010, 9:39 PM UTC

What a strange idea! "My website is boring, so I'll add something to distract people from my content to make it less so?" Seriously?

How is it different from just opening a game in another browser window, and why would users keep coming to my website to play the game instead of some centralized location?

Re: Boring website? Step on up to the Heyzap (YC W09) Social Games Bar

#3

Post by teej » Tue, Apr 20, 2010, 9:43 PM UTC

vtail wrote: post #2

What a strange idea! "My website is boring, so I'll add something to distract people from my content to make it less so?" Seriously? How is it different from just opening a game in another browser window, and why would users keep coming to my website to play the game instead of some centralized location?

Hey, it worked for Facebook :P

Re: Boring website? Step on up to the Heyzap (YC W09) Social Games Bar

#4

Post by axod » Tue, Apr 20, 2010, 9:48 PM UTC

I think it's cool to have a widget that you can embed within your website, just like you embed a youtube video... but it looks like with heyzap, when they play a game, it lightboxes and obscures your website - they may as well have been redirected to heyzap to play it.

Do heyzap do a small game widget that sits within the page?

Re: Boring website? Step on up to the Heyzap (YC W09) Social Games Bar

#5

Post by pstevensza » Tue, Apr 20, 2010, 9:56 PM UTC

vtail wrote: post #2

What a strange idea! "My website is boring, so I'll add something to distract people from my content to make it less so?" Seriously? How is it different from just opening a game in another browser window, and why would users keep coming to my website to play the game instead of some centralized location?

Bit of a head scratcher for content owners as you point out. It would however make a nice bullet point for considering a web site: if you're considering HeyZap, you have a problem.

Re: Boring website? Step on up to the Heyzap (YC W09) Social Games Bar

#6

Post by vtail » Tue, Apr 20, 2010, 9:59 PM UTC

teej wrote: post #3

vtail wrote: post #2

What a strange idea! "My website is boring, so I'll add something to distract people from my content to make it less so?" Seriously? How is it different from just opening a game in another browser window, and why would users keep coming to my website to play the game instead of some centralized location?

Hey, it worked for Facebook :P

True, but what worked for Facebook/Zynga will not necessarily work for Joe's homepage/Heyzap.

Facebook is a destination for people to socialize and sometimes play with their friends, so games there are complementary goods.

Most other sites (news, personal finance, technical documentation etc) have different objectives, and it's not clear why games will be complementary.

Re: Boring website? Step on up to the Heyzap (YC W09) Social Games Bar

#7

Post by pavel_lishin » Tue, Apr 20, 2010, 10:04 PM UTC

pstevensza wrote: post #5

vtail wrote: post #2

What a strange idea! "My website is boring, so I'll add something to distract people from my content to make it less so?" Seriously? How is it different from just opening a game in another browser window, and why would users keep coming to my website to play the game instead of some centralized location?

Bit of a head scratcher for content owners as you point out. It would however make a nice bullet point for considering a web site: if you're considering HeyZap, you have a problem.

Unless you're running a casual forum, in which case it could be another thing for people to discuss and compete about.

Re: Boring website? Step on up to the Heyzap (YC W09) Social Games Bar

#8

Post by immad » Tue, Apr 20, 2010, 10:06 PM UTC

axod wrote: post #4

I think it's cool to have a widget that you can embed within your website, just like you embed a youtube video... but it looks like with heyzap, when they play a game, it lightboxes and obscures your website - they may as well have been redirected to heyzap to play it. Do heyzap do a small game widget that sits within the page?

Yes we do in various sizes:

http://www.heyzap.com/publishers/get_started

The lighbox only happens when the user is in the middle of the game, which we thought was reasonable to avoid them clicking out by mistake and ruining the game. Happy to hear other alternatives.

Re: Boring website? Step on up to the Heyzap (YC W09) Social Games Bar

#9

Post by immad » Tue, Apr 20, 2010, 10:08 PM UTC

vtail wrote: post #2

What a strange idea! "My website is boring, so I'll add something to distract people from my content to make it less so?" Seriously? How is it different from just opening a game in another browser window, and why would users keep coming to my website to play the game instead of some centralized location?

A lot of websites are out there for people to Socialize, interact with content and have fun on (outside Facebook.com). Those are the main target audience for embedding Games.

The user does not leave the website, can leave the games when they want and return to the site. Makes the experience similar to Youtube embed of videos.

Re: Boring website? Step on up to the Heyzap (YC W09) Social Games Bar

#10

Post by loganfrederick » Tue, Apr 20, 2010, 10:24 PM UTC

vtail wrote: post #2

What a strange idea! "My website is boring, so I'll add something to distract people from my content to make it less so?" Seriously? How is it different from just opening a game in another browser window, and why would users keep coming to my website to play the game instead of some centralized location?

An alternative view (which I got from listening from watching an interview with of the founders) is that HeyZap is more akin to "what comics were for newspapers". That is, online social games could be ubiquitous with the online experience the way comics are in newspapers.

HeyZap seems to be providing additional tools and platforms for enhancing the online games experience while being increasingly less intrusive on the experience of enjoying the content (why flip between tabs and sites when you can pop up or close a bar at the bottom like GChat?)