t1k:designer:base:events

Field	Value
Module	`base`
Version	`1.13.2`
Effort	`medium`
Tools	—

Keywords: collab, event, event banner, event currency, event shop, limited-time, LTE, seasonal event, themed event

How to invoke

/t1k:designer:base:events

Game Events Design

When This Skill Triggers

Designing a limited-time event (LTE) from scratch
Designing event currency, event shop, or event milestones
Planning a seasonal event (Halloween, CNY, Holiday)
Designing a collaboration event (IP collab, crossover)
Monetizing an event (event banner, bundle, premium pass)
Writing event names or copy that doubles as marketing
Planning event art brief aligned to store screenshots

Decision Tree

Intent	Path
Design LTE structure end-to-end	LTE Architecture
Design event economy (currency, shop)	Event Economy
Plan event monetization	Event Monetization
Plan event marketing	Marketing Perspective
IP collab event	`references/event-design-templates.md` → Collab section
BPC case study reference	Case Study: BackpackCrawler
Anti-patterns reference	Anti-Patterns

LTE Architecture

Event Tiers

Tier	Duration	Systems
Minor	2-3 days	Daily quest variant
Standard	5-7 days	Event currency + shop
Major	14-21 days	Event pass + shop + banner
Season	60-90 days	Battle pass + ranking + LTE

Event Flow Checklist

Event name reads as marketing copy (evocative, memeable, searchable)
Entry hook playable within 2 min of login
Daily event quest yields visible event currency progress
Milestone track shows final exclusive reward upfront (FOMO anchor)
Shop refreshes mid-event for re-engagement
Countdown timer visible in final 24h
Post-event: exclusive rewards “retired” — visible but uncollectable

→ references/event-design-templates.md — event brief template, milestone track, collab checklist

Event Economy

Single event currency per event (multiple = drop in engagement)
Earn split: daily quest 40% / event mode drop 40% / login 20%
Earn rate: free player earns ~70% of shop over full event duration
Shop size: 6-10 items; 1 exclusive + 3-4 re-run items + 2-3 consumables
Mid-event refresh: swap 2-3 items at midpoint — announce on social
Currency expiry: 7-day grace period after event ends (urgency without punishment)

→ references/event-economy.md — earn rate tables, pricing formulas, currency flow model

Event Monetization

Revenue tier order:
  1. Event banner / limited-time gacha (highest)
  2. Event premium pass (paid track)
  3. Event bundle ($4.99-$9.99: exclusive cosmetic + 2× currency + booster)
  4. Premium bundle ($19.99-$29.99: same + extra cosmetic + banner pull)
  5. Currency top-up / accelerator

Banner pity: per-banner counter only — does NOT carry across banners
Reveal banner contents 48h before launch (community hype cycle)

→ references/event-monetization.md — bundle formulas, banner rates, pity tables

Marketing Perspective

Events are marketing. Every decision should be evaluated for shareability, pressability, UA leverage.

Event Name as Marketing Copy

Name must be evocative and searchable (players search for guides/leaks)
Test: “Would a TikTok thumbnail with just this name get clicks?”
Good: “Phantom Eclipse Festival”, “Crimson Harvest”, “Neon Carnival”
Avoid: “Spring Event 2026”, “Monthly Challenge”, “New Content”

D1/D7/D30 Impact

Major LTE: event-week D7 cohort typically 5-10% higher than non-event cohort
ARPDAU during major events: +25-50% vs baseline
Post-event LTV: event completers show 30-40% lower churn in following 30 days
Event creative outperforms evergreen UA ads by 1.5-3× CTR

Store Screenshots (Mandatory for Major Events)

Update screenshots 2 days before event launch (Apple review buffer)
Screenshot 1: event key art + name; Screenshot 2: exclusive cosmetic
Submit for Apple In-App Events slot (free editorial-adjacent placement)

→ references/event-marketing-playbook.md — press cycle, influencer brief, store checklist

Case Study: BackpackCrawler / Backpack Inu

Full detail: references/event-monetization.md §BPC + references/event-design-templates.md §BPC. Sources: Story.md §12, Systems.md §2.3-2.4 §3.3 §20, revenue-mix.json (locked 2026-04-29, Round 3 corrections 2026-05-02).

3 Monthly Major Events (12-week season)

Wk 4 — “The Annual Picnic”: cozy seasonal, exclusive Picnic Blanket cosmetic + 2× Seeds drop weekend
Wk 8 — “Black Friday Returns”: re-run vault, shop-bundle anchor, premium pass refresh tier
Wk 12 — “Quarterly Earnings”: 8-Act gauntlet (whole campaign back-to-back) + Mythic-tier reward drop

5 Rotating Weeklies

Take Your Pet to Work Day · Casual Friday · All-Hands Meeting · Pizza Party · Office Olympics — each ~15-25h prod, theme-tied to the workplace satire pillar; Wk 11 gets “Mochi’s Photo Album” mini-event (lore re-collection, dead-week mitigation).

Event Monetization (Tier 3 Heavy IAA stack)

Banner pity (per-banner, no carry): 1.6% featured rate displayed; soft pity at 70 pulls; hard pity at 90 pulls
Bundle attach to event: Standard $4.99 (4-5× value) → Premium $9.99 (6-8× value) → Whale $49.99 (10× banner pulls + cosmetics)
Event ARPDAU lift: target +25-50% vs $0.17-0.19 base case (realistic_base_corrected scenario)
D7 dual-threshold: target 20% / floor 18% — auto-revert kill-switch to Tier 2 if D7 < 18% any week

Cozy-IAA Compromise (Acknowledged)

Tier 3 ad density (interstitial 1/run + 3-banner placements + push pressure) erodes cozy perception 5-10% per soft-launch survey. Mitigations baked into every event: Frank-voice sponsor framing on every ad surface, dual-tier ad-free pass escape valve ($4.99 / $9.99), opt-in push only with anti-FOMO copy, hard exclusions on emotional moments (post-death, FTUE, Day-1).

Why This Matters for Event Design

Every event LTE in BPC inherits the cozy-pillar contract: event design must front-load Frank-voice sponsor framing and back-load the ad-free pass cross-sell. No event ships without a 1-question Pollfish cozy-perception survey at Wk 4 + Wk 8 (target ≥3.8/5; floor 3.4/5).

Recent Comparable Games — Event Design

→ Full per-game breakdown in references/event-design-templates.md §Benchmarks. Summary:

Royal Match — Propeller Rush: weekend tournament, +14.6% revenue lift, single-mechanic tournament structure (PocketGamer)
Survivor.io: bi-weekly events sustain $5-6M/mo at year 3; TikTok-driven UA + event creative outperforms evergreen 2-3× CTR (Gamesforum)
Genshin Impact — double-banner events: ~+30% revenue uplift on 6-week patch cycle; banner reveal 48h before launch is the press-cycle gold standard (Bittopup)
Marvel Snap — monthly seasons: first-Monday cadence + thematic cross-promo + season-pass anchor; predictable cadence = press-cycle-friendly (Marvel Snap Zone)
Brawl Stars — Brawl Pass + brawler drops: 6-8 week cadence + Brawl Talk reveal cycle (community hype 72h before launch)
Stumble Guys — IP collabs: monthly collab cadence (Avatar: TLA, My Hero Academia, PAC-MAN, NERF, Hot Wheels) — collab events outperform original IP events by 1.5-2× peak DAU (Scopely)

AppMagic 2025: midcore games run 20-40 events/month; industry grew 73→89 events/mo per game; seasonal peak is October (Halloween portfolio = ~9 concurrent events at top games). (AppMagic LiveOps 2025)

Anti-Patterns

#	Anti-Pattern	Problem	Fix
1	Generic event name	Not searchable, not shareable	Evocative name = marketing copy
2	Exclusive only via gacha	Regulatory risk; player hostility	Always provide a f2p grind path
3	No store screenshot update	Missed featuring opportunity	Update screenshots for every major event
4	Collab without legal clearance	IP dispute forces removal	Legal review before art production
5	Banner pity carries globally	Devalues future banners	Pity resets per-banner
6	Event shop static all event	No return visit hook	Mid-event item refresh

Cross-References

game-liveops — Cadence: how events fit into the monthly live-ops calendar
game-economy-design — Event currency earn rates, shop pricing
game-shop-offering — Event shop offering algorithms and pity mechanics
game-quest-design — Daily event quest structure, milestone reward hooks

Reference Files

File	Coverage
`references/event-design-templates.md`	Event brief template, milestone tracks, collab checklist
`references/event-economy.md`	Event currency earn rates, shop pricing, currency flow model
`references/event-monetization.md`	Banner design, bundle formulas, pity tables, revenue tiers
`references/event-marketing-playbook.md`	Press cycle, influencer brief, store screenshot checklist