“JK was my manager for close to 3 years while I was the General Manager of Words With Friends at Zynga. He joined at a rather difficult time when we were suffering from low morale, high attrition and some executive thrash. JK got to work quickly. He identified the priorities, laid out key decisions we had to make and communicated clearly and honestly with the broad team. From then on we executed extremely well and had one of the most successful stretches in the history of Words With Friends. I learned a ton from JK. He has a unique mixture of strengths. He is an expert across game design and UX while being an extremely sharp business leader. He is widely respected across the gaming industry with a history of success. I would be delighted to have the chance to work with him again.”
About
Contributions
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What are the most effective ways to evaluate game design success beyond sales and revenue?
3 things: Retention, retention, and retention. - D1, D7, D30, and eventually D365 and beyond. - Then, the D7/D1, and the D30/D7. I.e., the shape of that retention curve. - Then, new user retention compared to continuing user retention. - And any other way of looking at retention that's helpful. Retention will be the leading indicator of all the other success factors to come (or not).
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What are common conflicts in game design and how can you resolve them?
GDD’s are helpful for maintaining the plan-of-record, but make sure your game design is expressed, understood, and communicated in terms of core loops. The game’s inner most core loop is critical. Once this is playable and validated as fun and rewarding, a GDD can help you expand from there to outer loops. If the core isn’t working, no amount of features on top of it will help it.
Activity
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Great article on CNN about our latest game coming to the NYT Games app. All my gratitude to the hard working and creative team for this exciting…
Great article on CNN about our latest game coming to the NYT Games app. All my gratitude to the hard working and creative team for this exciting…
Shared by Jonathan Knight
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The highlight of our week 👉Getting a shout-out from Jonathan Knight, Head of Games at The New York Times 🙌 Jonathan was recently a guest on the…
The highlight of our week 👉Getting a shout-out from Jonathan Knight, Head of Games at The New York Times 🙌 Jonathan was recently a guest on the…
Liked by Jonathan Knight
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Sending our congratulations to the NYT Games team as they brought home an Apple Design Award in the Delight and Fun Category. It was amazing working…
Sending our congratulations to the NYT Games team as they brought home an Apple Design Award in the Delight and Fun Category. It was amazing working…
Liked by Jonathan Knight
Experience & Education
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The New York Times
View Jonathan’s full experience
See their title, tenure and more.
or
Projects
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Wordle Acquisition and Integration
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See projectIn 2022, the New York Times acquired the internet sensation Wordle, created by Josh Wardle, and integrated the game into its portfolio of digital puzzle games at NYTimes.com, and into the NYT Games app.
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DC Legends
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Harry Potter Wizards Unite
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New Words With Friends
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CastleVille Legends
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See projectLong ago, this realm fell under a dark wizard's curse. Covered by gloom, the heroes of the land were trapped in crystal prisons. Only you have the power to free them and build a thriving new Kingdom. Accept the challenge and restore the Legendary Lands! (for iOS and Android)
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FarmVille 2: Country Escape
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FarmVille. Anywhere. Any time.
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ChefVille
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Master the Art of Cooking With Your Friends. ChefVille is a next-generation restaurant management social game. Built in the SF headquarters of Zynga, ChefVille launched in August 2012 and quickly became the largest game on facebook as measured in daily unique players.
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Dante's Inferno
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The Simpsons Game
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The Sims 2
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The sequel to the best selling PC game of all time, The Sims 2 exceeded the success of the original, spawning years of expansion packs, console ports, and web content. Will Wright's The Sims has continued to be one of the most loved franchises in gaming history.
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Honors & Awards
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2024 Apple Design Award: Fun & Delight
Apple
Through a compelling mix of titles, NYT Games has redesigned its navigation and expanded its gaming catalog. New titles like Connections are calibrated for maximum replay value, with elegant design and ease of use that result in an experience that encourages everyone to join in on the fun.
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2022 ADWEEK 50
Adweek
Adweek 50 Celebrates the Most Indispensable in the Industry.
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Webby Award
International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences
Technical Achievement for Harry Potter Wizards Unite
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Zynga Spirit Award Winner
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BAFTA Nomination
BAFTA
The Simpsons Game nominated for Best Story and Character
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AIAS Award - Best Simulation
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
for The Sims Superstar
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AIAS Award - Best Simulation
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
for The Sims Unleashed
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