- Wooga chief Henric Suuronen breaks down his "smart depth" design principle at GDC Europe 2011. The game loop is at the heart of social games and of paramount importance in retaining users and developing successful games. Speaking as part of the Social Games Summit at GDC Europe 2011, Wooga studio head Henric Suuronen shared some interesting insight into how developers can create engaging game loops in games that are meant to be social. Using practical examples from his previous titles as well as contemporary social games, Suuronen discusses the ins and outs of designing sustainable reward cycles and reminds developers to build games with "smart depth:" an extra layer of strategy on top of your core game loop that rewards players for making canny strategic decisions. It's an interesting talk, so we've gone ahead and embedded the free video of "Killer Game Loops in Social Games" above. You can also watch it here on the GDC Vault.

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