Player Behavior reports and market data
649 documents·113 writers·7,946 charts and tables
Documents
PocketGamer.biz33 min
How can Gaming Help in Times of COVID-19? PG Connects Digital #2
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a rapid evolution in digital mental health support, leading to the strategic adaptation of therapeutic gaming platforms to address rising levels of trauma, anxiety, and social isolation among young people.
- Therapeutic gaming platforms provide a secure, anonymous environment for processing trauma and anxiety by integrating narrative therapy and creative expression.
- Developers have improved user engagement by removing traditional social features like avatars and video chat, which often exacerbate social anxiety in young adults.
- Operational success in digital mental health gaming requires strict adherence to COPPA and HIPAA compliance standards to ensure data privacy and clinical integrity.
PocketGamer.bizAug 2020
PocketGamer.biz30 min
Let’s Work Together! How to Improve Your Game With Your Players. Cooking Diary Case Study. PGCD #2
The primary objective of this analysis is to demonstrate how developers can improve mobile game performance and player retention through a data-driven, collaborative approach with their user base.
- Developers should prioritize empirical data over internal intuition by segmenting player cohorts based on behavior, spending habits, and progression to filter out feedback noise.
- MyTona’s case study on Cooking Diary demonstrates that integrating player feedback into the development lifecycle is essential for sustained growth and improved player retention.
- Effective game refinement requires a multi-faceted approach that combines quantitative analytics to identify weak spots with qualitative insights from playtests, reviews, and questionnaires.
PocketGamer.bizAug 2020
PocketGamer.biz30 min
Emergent Behaviour, Informal Currencies & Black Markets-How Trade Adds Value to Your Virtual Economy
The integration of trade systems into virtual economies serves as a powerful tool for enhancing player monetization, retention, and social engagement.
- Implementing trade mechanics in 'Party in My Dorm' resulted in a sustained 35% increase in average revenue per daily active user (ARPDAU).
- Integrating trade systems shifts player psychology from consumption to asset management, reducing purchase friction by framing virtual goods as long-term investments rather than sunk costs.
- Prioritizing social-first trade interfaces, such as embedding exchange directly into chat, fosters community trust and acts as a natural deterrent to fraud compared to automated auction houses.
PocketGamer.bizAug 2020
Extra Credits6 min
Shark Attack! Thursday at Noon - Variable Ratio & Interval Schedules - Extra Credits
Effective game design relies on the psychological principles of operant conditioning to maintain player engagement, specifically through the strategic application of variable ratio and variable interval reinforcement schedules.
- Variable ratio and variable interval reinforcement schedules are essential psychological tools for maintaining player engagement and preventing fatigue in game design.
- Variable ratio reinforcement involves fluctuating the quantity or quality of rewards to preserve the sense of discovery and prevent gameplay from becoming mundane.
- Variable interval reinforcement randomizes the timing of events or encounters to foster a constant state of tension and anticipation.
Extra CreditsJul 2020
PocketGamer.biz29 min
The Explosion of Adult Gaming PG Connects Digital #2
The adult gaming industry represents a significant, often overlooked segment of the broader digital entertainment market.
- Nutaku has scaled its adult-focused gaming platform to 50 million registered players as of 2019, maintaining a strong market presence in the United States and Europe.
- The platform serves as an alternative to mainstream storefronts like Steam and Google Play, specifically addressing the discoverability issues faced by independent developers in oversaturated markets where success rates are often below one percent.
- The business model integrates adult content into established, addictive gameplay loops—such as casual RPGs and clickers—to drive higher retention and monetization.
PocketGamer.bizJul 2020
Game Developers Conference32 min
How to Use Machine Learning, Live Telemetry Analysis, and Computer Vision to Manage Communities
Modern game development requires a fundamental shift toward integrating community management as a core design pillar rather than a reactive support function.
- Integrating in-game social features like chat systems can double player retention by providing a space for social interaction and peer-to-peer assistance without leaving the game environment.
- Successful game communities rely on 'social loops'—mechanisms where social notifications, such as clan messages or shared tactics, trigger further gameplay and engagement, mirroring the core game loop.
- Developers should implement lightweight replay systems that record event data rather than raw video, allowing for easier analysis and the automated generation of highlight reels for player sharing.
Game Developers ConferenceJul 2020
Game Dev Unchained64 min
Brain, UX & Design with Celia Hodent | Game Dev Unchained Episode 227
User experience design functions as a critical bridge between a developer’s intended vision and the actual perception of the player.
- UX design functions as a bridge between developer vision and player perception by applying cognitive science to mitigate subjective bias and ensure intuitive mechanics.
- Developers should foster intrinsic motivation by applying Self-Determination Theory, which focuses on satisfying the psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness.
- Immersive technologies like VR and AR require a shift away from traditional heads-up displays to address physiological mismatches between visual stimuli and the vestibular system that cause motion sickness.
Game Dev UnchainedJun 2020
Extra Credits9 min
Distant Socializing - Gaming in the Time of COVID - Extra Credits
The gaming industry experienced a significant surge in engagement and sales during the COVID-19 pandemic as individuals sought digital alternatives to traditional social interactions.
- The COVID-19 pandemic drove a significant surge in gaming engagement and sales as digital platforms became primary tools for maintaining emotional connections during periods of physical isolation.
- Nintendo Switch achieved record-breaking unit sales in the United States during the pandemic, fueled largely by the widespread popularity of accessible, family-friendly titles like Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
- Gaming platforms effectively bridge the gap between simple video communication and meaningful social interaction by facilitating collaborative, goal-oriented tasks.
Extra CreditsJun 2020
Game Developers Conference64 min
Games, Psychology, And UX With Celia Hodent
User experience in game development functions as a critical design mindset that prioritizes human cognitive limitations over developer convenience.
- Game UX is a design mindset that prioritizes human cognitive limitations—such as flaws in perception, attention, and memory—over developer convenience to reduce unnecessary friction.
- Developers often suffer from 'curse of knowledge' bias, leading them to incorrectly assume players will tolerate confusing mechanics that the developers themselves find intuitive.
- Effective player onboarding and clear affordances are essential to mitigate the forgetting curve and interference of procedural memory, which otherwise lead to increased player attrition.
Game Developers ConferenceJun 2020
Game Developers Conference67 min
Mastering Kombat: Designing Mortal Kombat 11's Empowering Tutorial Mode
Fighting games often suffer from high player dropout rates due to steep learning curves and exclusionary design.
- NetherRealm improved player retention in Mortal Kombat 11 by segmenting their audience into four categories—campaigners, dabblers, connoisseurs, and PvP players—and building a tiered tutorial roadmap that maps specific skills to each group's needs.
- To combat player frustration and drop-off, the studio moved away from a flat tutorial structure to a hierarchical system that allows for incremental rewards, such as premium currency and exclusive character gear, at the end of every lesson and category.
- The tutorial design utilizes 'Show and Tell' visual aids, such as freezing the game world and color-coding character meshes, to help players identify complex, time-sensitive situational mechanics that were previously difficult to recognize.
Game Developers ConferenceJun 2020
PocketGamer.biz52 min
Digital Media for Children - Keeping the Next Generation of Gamers Safe | PGC Digital #1
The regulatory landscape for children’s digital safety is currently defined by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in the United States, which mandates stringent requirements for data collection, parental consent, and content classification.
- Developers must conduct a case-by-case analysis to determine if content is child-directed under COPPA, as this classification legally mandates the disabling of behavioral tracking and personalized advertising.
- The shift toward shared liability between platforms and creators has caused a 50 percent average revenue decline for children’s channels on platforms like YouTube.
- App stores have restricted third-party software development kits, forcing developers to abandon standard analytics and advertising solutions that rely on user tracking.
PocketGamer.bizMay 2020
Extra Credits7 min
Optimal vs Fun - Designing for Different Playstyles - Extra Credits
The tension between optimal play and player-defined fun represents a fundamental challenge in game design.
- Game design must balance the tension between 'optimal play,' which prioritizes statistical success, and 'fun,' which focuses on subjective player preferences like role-playing or creativity.
- Forcing players into rigid, optimized builds to overcome late-game challenges diminishes player agency and can alienate those who prioritize thematic expression over raw efficiency.
- Effective design acknowledges that for many players, the process of crunching numbers and testing builds is a primary source of enjoyment rather than a chore.
Extra CreditsMay 2020