How to Create Breakthrough Worldwide Hits, with Amy Jo Kim

In this episode: Jordan sits down with Amy Jo Kim, a game designer, community architect, and innovation coach, named by Fortune as one of the “Top 10 Influential Women in Games.” Amy Jo has contributed to hit games like The Sims, Rock Band, Ultima Online, and Covet Fashion, and has worked on non-gaming products such as eBay, Netflix, and NYTimes.com. She is also the author of “Community Building on the Web” (2000) and “Game Thinking” (2018). Amy Jo dives deep into her concept of “Superfans” and explains why they are critical to achieving market success. She discusses her approach to creating innovative products, how to find superfans early, and how this methodology can scale projects to achieve global success.Topics covered:What are “Super Fans” and why they are critical to getting a “beachhead” in the marketWhy the “Fast Follow” method limits growth potentialHow to quickly find and engage with Superfans to grow your productHow to create innovative projects that scale in a BIG way Amy Jo’s Superfan Challenge: A free challenge designed to help teams identify their superfans For more game industry tips:Learn more about Jordan & Bright BlackListen on iTunes | Spotify (Support the show and leave a review)Visit www.playmakerspodcast.com for the full blog post and more! Episode Timestamps: 02:58 Introduction to Amy Jo Kim and her journey in the gaming industry 06:26 Combining game design with innovation across industries 07:44 The power of Superfans: engaging early adopters to drive product success 12:12 Avoiding the “Fast Follow” strategy: learning from copycat games 16:14 Testing your core game loop with superfans and early adopters 20:07 The role of Superfans in evolving game design 22:06 Why tuning the core loop is essential for success 25:38 The connection between the core loop and player journey 28:22 Using Superfan techniques to build a community 34:43 Identifying superfans in casual games  38:31 Join Amy Jo Kim’s Superfan ChallengeResources & media mentioned in this episode: Connect with Amy Jo Kim:Amy Jo on LinkedInAmy Jo on TwitterTake Amy Jo’s FREE challenge: Superfan ChallengeCheck out Game Thinking: GameThinking.ioAmy Jo's Podcast: Getting2AlphaBooks by Amy Jo Kim:Game Thinking: Innovate Smarter &...