Author profile
David Xicota
David is the CEO of Gamedonia, a platform that helps you design fun and successful games. You can follow him on Twitter @DavidXicota.
6 min read
#Live Ops
Create your Push Notification Strategy
Earlier, I covered why it’s important to send good push notifications to your users and how to do it. Now you know how to craft valuable messages for gamers, it’s time to take a step forward and learn about how important the underlying notification strategy really is. Maybe you’re wondering: Why bother with push notifications? The answer is threefold. Having a push messaging strategy helps: to make the game experience more fun, to add another element to the game analysis, and to help you monetize your game Anyone can implement a winning strategy for push messaging. It just takes knowledge of your business and time to experience. Following, I’ll lead you along a ten step journey that will empower your video game communication strategy. 1- Design for Mobile from the Start Mobile design is a changing environment, constantly adapting new...
6 min read
#Live Ops
Best Practices for Push Notifications in Mobile Games
Editor’s note: this is a guest post from David Xicota, former Co-Founder of Gamedonia, and current Studio Director of GSN Games. You can reach him on Twitter @davidxicota So, What’s the Right Way to Send Push Notifications? Sending messages via push has become a business standard in mobile games. “Hey! Your pets miss you.” To which I reply: “I don’t really care, don’t distract me with this messages again!” *push notifications=switched off* This kind of messaging can be annoying most of the time, but it doesn’t have to be like this. There are proper ways to send the kind of messages players are craving for. Now, do you know how to do it the right way? It’s way easier than you probably think. The techniques I’ll share are based on common sense. Ultimately, what you have to be able to...
4 min read
#Ads & Monetization
PvP Could Increase Your Game Revenue by 510%
The key to success and drawing revenue for any game is to be fun to play. Shocking huh? I’m sure you had already figured that out on your own. What you might not be entirely aware of is the importance engagement has over game revenue, and a simple way to improve it. A recent study by Kongregate reveals compelling data that shows that having a player vs player mode is a really powerful engagement tactic. Nothing beats human interaction when it comes to keep the players coming back for more. And more gameplay equals more chances of cashing in. Let’s break down the numbers of the study. I think you’ll be blown away! The more the merrier When players like the game and are engaged, they are closer to paying because they find value in doing so. We’re shown that...
6 min read
#Data & Analytics
Free to Play and Its Key Performance Indicators
David Xicota presents a glossary of the most relevant and common terms in the online games industry. They constitute the background of why it’s important to design games that engage with the players.