Types of Games
In 2022, NYT has 8 mini-games in the Games section - mostly word and number puzzles, such as a variation of Sudoku or Mahjong.
In February 2022, the publication bought the word game Wordle for a seven-figure sum, the value of which was not disclosed by the NYT. This means that the game was bought for at least $1 million.
Wordle is a game in which you have to guess a five-letter word in six tries. Josh Wardle launched the game in October 2021, after which it quickly became popular - 90 people played it a day in October, and several million in February 2022.
In the publication, the games are separated into a separate block - NYT Games. The first online crossword appeared back in 2009 in the Apple Store, and on Google Play in 2016. In 2017, the newspaper created a game development team, The Times Games Expansion Team. According to the publication, their games were played more than 500 million times in 2021, and in December the number of subscriptions to NYT Games reached 1 million.
Purpose of Games for a News Outlet
According to the New York Times, games are part of its strategy to increase newspaper subscriptions. This tactic aligns with NYT's historical use of crosswords during World War II to divert readers from wartime news.
As per analytical company Twipe, even in 2022, only 55% of the audience is interested in news, while the remaining 45% is attracted to other content.
Since 2011, NYT introduced a paid subscription for its online version, emphasizing the importance of convincing readers to subscribe. By 2025, the newspaper aims to increase subscriptions to 10 million, with games playing a significant role.
Results
NYT owns various entertainment services, including NYT Games, online culinary book NYT Cooking, consumer product review site Wirecutter, sports news site The Athletic, and news podcast Audm.
Surprisingly, journalism contributes only 45% of new subscriptions in Q4 2021, with the remaining 55% coming from games, NYT Cooking, Wirecutter, and Audm.
In 2022, over 1 million people subscribed to NYT Games. Throughout 2021, these games were played 500 million times, according to NYT.
Technology Behind Wordle
An interesting detail - when searching through Google with the query “Wordle”, the Google logo changes to an animation in the style of the game itself
Wordle is created in Javascript using web components.
Web Components are a set of technologies that allow you to create reusable elements with their functionality distributed separately from the rest of the code. These components can be reused many times in other applications.
Code reuse is cool. Previously, this was difficult due to custom markup structures. The problem is the HTML and the associated styling and scripting that sometimes had to be written to render the UI controls. Overusing UI elements can turn your page into a mess - be careful.
Web Components solve these problems. They consist of three technologies:
1. Custom elements;
Shadow DOM;
HTML template.
These technologies can be used together to create universal, custom elements with encapsulated functionality. The elements can be used almost anywhere without any problems for the code.
We assume that the mechanics of choosing a random word in the game works on the Math.random() method, which generates a random number and uses the number to select a word from the list.
Math.random() is part of the JavaScript API. This is a function that returns random numbers. The range of numbers is values from 0 inclusive to 1, while 0 can return, but 1 cannot.
Games Created by ROKY
ROKY developed browser games for entertainment and client engagement. Two notable games are "Дед в отрыве" and its sequel.
"Дед в отрыве": Developed before New Year 2018, this game involves guiding Santa Claus on a roof, avoiding obstacles and collecting gifts. The more gifts collected before a crash, the better the score.
"Дед в отрыве 2": A sequel where Santa Claus goes to a disco, and players must press arrow keys to make correct dance moves within a limited time.
Both games were created using classic technologies: JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, and each was developed and released in about a week.