Category

Game Deconstructions

19 min read
#Game Deconstructions

If Vainglory Doesnโ€™t Make it, No One Will

In short: Vainglory is without a doubt the best MOBA that has been made for touch screen devices. Itโ€™s a giant fish in a very small pond that is the MOBA category on touchscreen devices. If the pond grows into an ocean, itโ€™s only because of this game. Super Evil Megacorpโ€™s (SEM) Vainglory is easily the most hyped mobile game of 2014 โ€“ and for a very good reason. Vainglory delivers a true multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) with unseen graphics and a game engine that can run this piece of art at a massive worldwide scale on touchscreens. Vainglory is MOBA on mobile, not MOBA for mobile. It stays true to the genre with a large enough map, multi-dimensional champions, complex item strategies and long game sessions. In fact, the only casual part about this game is that itโ€™s...
clash-of-clans-monetization
7 min read
#Ads & Monetization

Soft Touches on Clash of Clans Monetization

Iโ€™ve met a lot of fellow free-to-play-game developers recently and talking about games always eventually turns to monetization. Talking about monetization inevitably turns to the big successes in the market, including Clash of Clans. I love Clashโ€™s monetization design, as itโ€™s very simple to understand from the playerโ€™s perspective. It doesnโ€™t enforce payment at any point and itโ€™s extremely clever in some of the subtle details that I think are driving the urge to spend money. Here are a few of the details I canโ€™t remember reading about and which people sometimes donโ€™t think are as obvious as I thought they were: First purchase value proposition Every single player Iโ€™ve talked to, purchases an additional builder as the first purchase. Builders are a massively constrained resource in the game and vital for the game pacing once youโ€™ve built the first...
4 min read
#Game Deconstructions

Zombies Donโ€™t Touch Me: Runner Under the Microscope

The reviews saga continues with Yaniv Nizan's analysis of Zombies Don't Touch Me.
5 min read
#Ads & Monetization

Monetizing Puzzle Games: Box It Game Review

Yaniv Nizan talks about the monetisation model of his latest favourite puzzle game.
5 min read
#Game Deconstructions

3 Things Mobile Game Developers Can Learn From Candy Crush

Candy Crush Saga is not only a game of addiction, but one which also constantly has a lot of life lessons to teach game developers everywhere. Kelly Clay, Digital Communications Strategist at HasOffers, points out some of the teachings you shouldn't miss in Candy Crush.
7 min read
#Game Deconstructions

Flying Monkey Interactive on Strangelings

What can possibly be the connection between GameAnalytics and genetics? Read our interview with Flying Monkey Interactive, one of our most successful customers, to find out .
6 min read
#Game Deconstructions

Whitaker Trebella on Pivvot

Minimalist yet intense, Pivvot was listed as one of the top 100 apps in over 140 countries and even managed to reach second rank in the US app store. We thus decided to catch up with its creator, Whitaker Trebella, to chat about the challenges of indie game development and how GameAnalytics helped him understand Pivvot better after launch.
Custom segments
13 min read
#Game Deconstructions

How Puzzle & Dragons Does it

In this post Michail analyses the mixed success of Puzzle & Dragons, Japan's top grossing free-to-play mobile game, on the Oriental and American market.
10 min read
#Data & Analytics

How Criminal Case drives growth

Criminal Case is one of the best Facebook games in terms of growth. In this case study Michail Katkoff explains how a hidden object game can drive growth through rounded game mechanics.
10 min read
#ASO

A Guide to the Top Grossing Games on the AppStore (Part 3)

In Part Three of the article we reach a well deserved conclusion upon the Top Grossing Games in the App store, as well as reveal which is the final dominating game type.
9 min read
#ASO

A Guide to the Top Grossing Games on the AppStore (Part 2)

In Part Two of the article we delve deeper into the top grossing chart, only to find out that gambling, quite an old "sport", dominates the mobile app world as it does with everything else.
8 min read
#Game Deconstructions

Behind the Success of Hay Day

In this guest post, Michail Katkoff combines his game analytics wisdom with the hands-on experience of Timur Haussila, Product Lead at Supercell, to tell you the story of the studio's game Hay Day, from the very first idea to launch. Read on to see the results of this uncanny balet of ideas.
Custom segments
12 min read
#Ads & Monetization

How Rage of Bahamut Monetizes

This third post from Michail Katkoff, game analytics expert and friend of GameAnalytics, puts the spotlight on Rage of Bahmut - a game of contrasts. Michail explains how this game can effectively monetize players, while otherwise being bland, annoying and lacking polish.