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#Guides
Marketing Your Indie Game On A Zero-Dollar Budget
Why Marketing Your Game is Essential Most indie games are not profitable. There are plenty of great games that come out all the time, and as you know, making great games is not enough to sell them. It’s true for all kinds of creations and products. You can rarely rely on what you make to grab attention. In the crowded game market, your first problem is to reach out to people. To prove them that your work is worth their time and attention. That is why you must communicate in smart and innovative ways. I insist: it is necessary. See, I’m a creator, just like you. I already built an indie game studio with a talented engineer, and we didn’t make it. And a fair part of that was due to my lack of interest for communication. Since then, I...
#Ads & Monetization
Rewarded Video: Retention Impact in Match-3 Games
Editor’s note: the following article is a guest post from Yaniv Nizan, co-founder and CEO of Monetization Measurement Platform, Soomla. The original report is available to download here: video ads retention study in mobile games (PDF). The Purpose of this Study Rewarded video ads can have a positive or negative impact on retention – depending who you ask. This is an unbiased 3rd party study to answer this question for Match-3 games. Test Setup – Data Collection and User Selection to Groups This study aggregates data from 6 Match-3 mobile games. All the data in this test was collected by the SOOMLA TRACEBACK platform coming mainly from: Client side SDK installed in the tested games Ad-network reporting APIs – mainly used as a source of data validation The selection of users to groups was done differently in each test: Test 1 – refers...
#GameAnalytics Updates
How We Built GameAnalytics (An Interview)
Editor’s note: A few weeks ago, GameAnalytics turned 5 years old. What better way to commemorate this landmark than by interviewing our senior frontend developer and SDK team lead, Nikolaj Pedersen. Nikolaj has been with us from the beginning and his work has been essential in the development of the tool that you know and use today. ? Q. Nikolaj, you’re GA’s longest standing employee. How did it all begin? The idea behind GameAnalytics originally came from a Danish game company (now called Cape Copenhagen). Back in 2010, they created an internal analytics tool and met with our founder, Morten Wulff. Morten had previously founded a tracking company called TraceWorks and together they discussed the idea of building an analytics tool available for all game developers. However, Cape Copenhagen decided not to pursue analytics and instead chose to focus 100%...
#Game Design
iMessage Games: New Opportunities for 2017
It’s an exciting time when a platform or feature creates new opportunities with which you can make games. As a developer, being first to market can prove lucrative as there is much lower competition. However, this doesn’t come without risks; if the platform fails then your game and the investment you’ve made is wasted. The iMessage platform is simple to develop on and uses Xcode as the main tool to create projects. When compared to new technologies such as VR or AR (which both require much larger investments in learning and development), iMessage provides a less risky opportunity for new games. At Pocket Gamer Connects 2017 in London, I presented some of the data that we’ve been observing from the latest iMessage apps. I took the time to read up on the protocols and the implementation as well as downloading...
#Game Deconstructions
Our Top 10 Mobile Games That You (Probably) Haven’t Already Played
Now that 2016 has officially (and mercifully) been declared over, we thought we’d kick off the New Year with something more uplifting: a look back at some of the best, but less conspicuous games from last year. [bctt tweet=”? The Top 10 Mobile Games That You (Probably) Haven’t Already Played #IndieGame #MobileGame” username=”GameAnalytics”] Many of these games released in the latter half of 2016. They’re true hidden gems and if you haven’t already played them, we’d highly recommend you check them out. Without further ado, let’s begin the countdown of our top 10 mobile games. 10. Touchdown Hero Developed by Cherrypick Games ? Download for iOS ? Download for Android Score big, become a Touchdown Hero and recreate the Madden’s of yesteryear on your phone in this birds-eye infinite running retrogame. The movement is fluid (simply drag from left to...
#Game Design
How To Make An iMessage Game (And Why)
What’s the deal with iMessage games? With iOS 10, developers are now creating games that are directly integrated with iMessage. This seamless, inherently social play style is viral by nature with built-in engagement and retention mechanics. If you’re not already building for the iMessage App Store, it’s a channel to watch. In this post we’re going to start by outlining the technical setup for such a game. We’ll then explore how you can make the most of this relative new kid on the block, with comments from some thought-leaders to help answer the question: what makes a great game for iMessage? Click here to skip the technical part. [bctt tweet=”iMessage Apps ✉? Create, Design & Release a Successful iMessage Game! #imessage #app #gamedev” username=”GameAnalytics”] How to create an iMessage game iMessage Apps allow users to engage with your content without having...
#Data & Analytics
A Deep Dive into Funnel Reporting for Games
Funnels are a way of visualizing and measuring how your players move through a sequence of events, or ‘steps’. A well-configured funnel gives insight into which of these steps lose the most players, whether your paths to conversion are optimized, and whether your players are progressing through your game as intended. The aim of this post is to give you all the insights you need to make the most of GameAnalytics funnels. We’re going to start with some background and cover the basic concepts, before ‘diving deep’ into some of the more advanced practices to help supercharge your setup, including how to create and track custom events. Plan your custom events with this free tool… We’ve also created a worksheet for you to use for inspiration when creating your custom event IDs. View it in Google Sheets here (click ‘file’ > ‘make a copy’...
#Ads & Monetization
10 Monetization Tips for Mobile Games in 2017
Speak to anyone in the mobile gaming industry and the topic of conversation will always turn to one thing: monetization. Who can blame them? Statista predict that mobile games will generate $40.6 billion in revenue by the end of 2017. That’s more than double Facebook’s 2015 revenue. Not a number to sneer at. Perhaps more noteworthy is that – as of January 2016 – this revenue was generated by less than 1.9% of the overall player base, showing a 0.4% increase from the same study in 2014, according to a report by the mobile marketing automation platform, Swrve. Mobile gamers are spending more Their study aggregates data from over 10 million purchasing players – from the minnows, to the dolphins, and the whales. Interestingly, at just 0.19% of the demographic the “whales” account for a whopping 48% of the total revenue....
#Data & Analytics
6 Game Analytics Questions: Answered by Data Scientists
Top 6 GameAnalytics questions: Can I use the same pair of keys for all platforms I am targeting? What common KPIs should I track using design events? I have sent events but I cannot see them in the tool. Where are they? I’ve setup IAP validation but all my monetization data is still invalid. Why? Can I automate the data export feature? Why did my funnel report fail to process? If none of the above concern you – good stuff. Maybe check out our recently updated post: how to increase your game revenue by 510% 😀 1. Can I use the same pair of keys for all of the platforms that I am targeting? Short answer: This is possible but we don’t recommend it. Long answer: We suggest that all users create a unique game entity for every platform that they target....
#Data & Analytics
The power of benchmarking in your game
Benchmarks allow you to determine how well your game is performing compared to similar titles on the app store, without requiring any changes to your code. This knowledge can help you make decisions and focus your development on improving game metrics and making a better game. Your core KPIs are the central metrics that we benchmark. KPIs are particularly important as they are usually simplified numbers which quickly inform you about the health of your game. Retention, for instance, is a measure of addictiveness or stickiness, as people come back and play your game again the next day. ARPU is a measure of monetization and pricing. High ARPUs require good game design in presentation and purchase so that a user understands the benefit and value of their purchase. Let’s take a deeper look at how you can use the Benchmarking feature from GameAnalytics in your game today. Understanding Benchmark...
#Data & Analytics
5 most common mistakes of data analysts
This is a guest post by Peter Fodor, the founder of AppAgent, a service for mobile developers who are launching a game or app but need help with marketing and user acquisition. Did you know that there are 1,736,111 Likes on Instagram; 284,722 shared snaps on Snapchat; and 590,278 swipes on Tinder every minute of every day? The growth in the usage of mobile apps and games has created a mountain of data. Millions of users generate significant traces of their behaviour – all of which has value. Crunching the numbers are the legions of data analysts whose skills are increasingly in demand. The need to find meaningful connections from this data is increasingly putting pressure on these analysts, whose insights and conclusions can affect billion-dollar businesses. Eating numbers for breakfast Historically analysts were people with a narrow expertise in...
#Data & Analytics
8 ways of spotting and fixing the reasons why players are leaving your game
The following article is based on a previous one we published on the GameAnalytics blog: 16 reasons players are leaving your game, which you can find here, written by Nathan Lovato. This article has been trending on our blog, and it’s a hot topic among developers who are looking to optimize their user experience. Considering this, we’ve thought to complement Nathan’s piece with examples of how you’d use analytics to spot and fix the problems listed. Share the post with this ready-to-go tweet 🙂 To make sense of it all, we’ll follow a similar structure to what Nathan used: listing the reason and the way you can investigate it through the use of analytics. Note our numbering will differ as we won’t be discussing all the reasons. If you didn’t get a chance to read the 16 reasons…, do so now –...
#Data & Analytics
Chinese Gamers: in-game behaviour of players from China
During the last few years, the Chinese market has become a massive opportunity for game developers. There are 550 million active smartphones and tablets in the country, and every one of them has an average of 5 games installed. The key questions to answer, therefore, are about the players: How do Chinese players compare to players from the rest of the world? What do they prefer to play? How committed are they to a game? How many games do they usually play? We set about answering these questions and more from a data-driven standpoint, and analysed the data in the GameAnalytics network by comparing Chinese players’ in-game behaviour to that of players from the rest of the world. So what are the results? Here’s a teaser. What we found is that Chinese players in our network are: Less likely to...
#Editor's pick
Game data pipeline: Building vs buying
As a large number of studios, publishers, and game developers are heavily relying on data to guide their decisions, they need to decide between building or buying. But which one is more efficient? To assist you in understanding the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), we broke down the following key considerations: Setup requirements Cost calculation Team needs and recruitment
#Editor's pick
Mobile gaming benchmarks for Q1 2024
Uncover the industry’s performance with Q1 2024 benchmarks. Explore key metrics like retention rates and session engagement to benchmark your games against industry standards. What’s inside? Retention benchmarks for casual, classic, and mid-core games Session length benchmarks for games launched in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia Session count benchmarks across 15 game genres
#Editor's pick
Grow your revenue with Xsolla Web Shop for Mobile Games
“Xsolla anticipated this seismic shift earlier this year, when we launched multiple products that are being actively used by some of the world’s largest game companies to increase profit and build closer relationships with their mobile and pc players. We’ve now combined these products and learnings into an elegant new solution called Xsolla Web Shop for Mobile Games,” said Chris Hewish, President of Xsolla. Through Xsolla Web Shop for Mobile Games, developers can expect significant revenue growth and can reach new players in new geographies previously unavailable to them. This solution solves many challenges developers face; such as discoverability, declining profit margins, lack of control over the user experience, access to localized payment methods, cross game marketing, more efficient user acquisition, effective collaboration with creators and influencers, and much more. Three industry-changing announcements make this opportunity more timely than ever:...
#Editor's pick
2023 Roblox report: Behind the data with GameAnalytics
Download a comprehensive report of Roblox player behavior and game performance based on GameAnalytics data from 2023. This report highlights critical benchmarks and insights to help Roblox creators optimize their games. What’s inside? Devices analysis Players’ daily session frequency Average revenue spent per user Session length and count benchmarks Retention benchmarks Revenue benchmarks
#Editor's pick
The Game Developer’s Handbook to Mastering Data Solutions
Data is the key to success in the ever-evolving landscape of game development. Explore this guide to transform your data into insights using our turn-key data solutions. What’s inside? Our comprehensive guide explores cost-saving strategies and real-world applications for advanced use cases. Learn how to seamlessly integrate data sources, unlock detailed player insights with Player Warehouse, access real-time data with Raw Export, and ensure data privacy compliance.
#Case study
Developing a #1 VR MMO: Ramen VR’s Journey with GameAnalytics
Discover how Ramen VR used data-driven game development to launch "Zenith: The Last City", which became the #1 bestselling game all major VR platforms—including Meta Quest/Rift, Steam and PlayStation VR.
#Editor's pick
Using AI to Supercharge Your Game Art Design
Discover how tweaking AI tool settings can help you generate varied art styles, produce better concepts, and speed up the process from prototype to final design. With AI on your team, creating unique game art has never been easier or faster.
#Editor's pick
Event Design & Tracking Guide for GameAnalytics
Learn how to create an adaptable tracking plan, enabling you to unlock richer insights and maximize the value of your data within GameAnalytics.
#Editor's pick
How studios use DataSuite to find hit games
Learn how successful publishers evaluate hundreds of games per month, to find the next hit game.
#Editor's pick
Among Us VR dev talks about how to create immersive worlds
VR is all about immersion. It’s about allowing players to lose themselves in more than just a game, but a new world. You have to build VR experiences the right way to make this happen. This goal is always top-of-mind for Schell Games. In this interview, we spoke to Schell Games’ Vice President of Product, Charlie Amis, to learn their story. “For VR, you want to make the player feel like they’re actually in the world you’ve created. This isn’t as true or a high priority in PC and console games. If people start to lose that sense of presence and immersion, then a lot of the reason they put the headset on is hurt. They want to go to another world or be someone new. So you need to help them feel like they’re really there and really that...
#Editor's pick
GameAnalytics H1 Update: New Product Improvements!
It’s been a busy time since February, when the largest update in GameAnalytics history was launched. Read on for more information about what’s changed recently, and new functionality coming to the platform very soon.
#Case study
How TapNation uses DataSuite to increase the LTV of 19 hit games by 50% in only 6 months
Smashing obstacles with Giant Rush While they’ve seen huge improvements using DataSuite across their portfolio, one game stands out in particular: Giant Rush. (And not just because the character is huge.) The title has now reached over 140 million downloads. And, through a series of A/B tests and insights from the data they collected, they’ve been able to increase the LTV by a whopping 200% over six months for this specific title. “It’s because we A/B test every day,” Philippe Grazina from TapNation says. “We ask questions like: When are players leaving the game? For example, the boss in Giant Rush. If we spot that they’re leaving at the same point every time, we know we need to make a change. Small details like that really help.” Through these granular insights, TapNation can iterate and improve on their game step...
#Editor's pick
How to Build a Data Warehouse for Games from Scratch
Over our last couple of blogs around data warehouses, we’ve explained how they let you analyze data from across your portfolio and look at what insights you can gather from them. Now, we’ll dive into how to build a data warehouse. What steps do you need to take and what resources will you need? To figure this out, we’ve rounded up the costs, steps, and tools we think you’ll need to get started. Please note, that we haven’t included the cost of running an engineering department (which you’ll need), which can end up being a lot of $$$. What do I need to get started? Before you start, you’ll need to ensure you have the right people. You’ll likely need a software or data engineer, and perhaps an architect or DevOps engineer. You’ll also need to budget for tools like...