Mastering Retention

This episode is a deep dive into the user experience (UX) strategies that make Royal Match not just a game, but a phenomenon in the mobile gaming world.

In this episode Tom Hammond and Neil Edwards dive into the intricacies of mobile game retention and monetization, using the popular game 'Royal Match' as a case study. They explore the psychological aspects of game design, focusing on how 'Royal Match' enhances player engagement and spending through clever level design, emotional connections, and strategic use of in-game events and challenges. The discussion highlights the importance of understanding player behavior and leveraging game mechanics to create a compelling and addictive gaming experience.

In this episode of the Mastering Retention podcast, host Tom Hammond welcomes Thiago Leite, a seasoned professional from InnoGames, known for their work on Forge of Empires. Thiago shares his journey from mechanical engineering to game design, offering unique insights into the world of LiveOps. The discussion delves into the nuances of player segmentation, the intricacies of designing engaging live operations, and the art of balancing player experiences in games like Forge of Empires and Elvenar. Thiago's expertise shines as he explains how to cater to diverse player profiles, from different age groups to varied gaming preferences, ensuring a captivating and personalized gaming experience. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the behind-the-scenes of game development, particularly in the realm of LiveOps and player engagement.

Tom Hammond from UserWise hosts a discussion with Anton Gorodesky and Dmitriy Byshonkov, from MyGames. They chat about the challenges and nuances of starting a game studio, raising funds, and navigating the gaming industry. Tom emphasizes the challenges aspiring entrepreneurs face in starting their own game studio, such as raising money and choosing the right game genre or platform. Anton and Dmitriy share their experiences in the gaming industry. Anton, the head of industry relations at MyGames, talks about his roles and the co-founding of Invest Game. Dmitriy, on the other hand, shares his journey from being a journalist to a game designer and then to business development at MyGames. The discussion touches upon the current state of the gaming market, noting a decline in investments compared to the boom in 2020 and 2021. They attribute this to market correction and the challenges of making hit games. Tom brings up the topic of choosing the right platform for game development, considering the various options available like mobile, PC, console, and user-generated content platforms. The importance of understanding the nuances of each platform and the team's expertise is emphasized. When discussing the ideal co-founding team for a game studio, the need for a tech person, a marketing person, a product person, and an administrative person is highlighted.

The world of game design is a complex landscape, filled with challenges and opportunities. One of the key aspects that often gets overlooked is the importance of user experience and monetization strategies. In this episode, Tom and Neil dive into these crucial elements and offer actionable insights to elevate your game development process.

Yael Yakomi, a mobile gaming expert, dives into the significance of personalization in mobile games. She emphasizes the enhanced gaming experience that personalization can offer and discusses the challenges and innovative solutions in implementing it. Yael also provides insights into future trends, including AI-driven personalization, and highlights how platforms like UserWise are revolutionizing the industry by empowering game creators to personalize content without developer support. 

Joakim Hoglund, Head of Studio at Fun Rock, shares insights on designing games for a target audience and the importance of understanding user needs. This episode doesn't disappoint. Tom and Joakim talk about: Designing games for a target audience and understanding player needs Challenges of creating games for a region you aren't familiar with Fun Rock's solution of hiring a team that understands the culture and audience Benefits and drawbacks of creating separate servers for different regions Role of player-driven decisions in game design Emphasis on the importance of localization and being immersed in the culture of the target audience when designing games

The Mastering Retention Podcast recently featured an episode discussing how Live Ops work in the context of Web 3 games. The guest speaker was Patrick Gorrell, the Chief Technology Officer of Splinterlands, which is a trading card game hosted on the blockchain. 

Tom Hammond interviews Meric Atesalp, Senior Product Manager at Pixelberry. They discuss game evaluation, ways to evaluate new games, and how to determine if a game will perform well. Meric also talks about his role as a product manager, the skills and competencies that are necessary to become a good game product manager, and what he learned from his experience in the gaming industry. They also discuss mechanics that he has found in other games that could solve problems in his own game, and how mini-games can help bring down user acquisition costs and provide daily engagement to the user. 

In the latest episode of the Mastering Retention Podcast, Neb Mitrikeski, a veteran game designer and product manager, talks about his journey into game design, from making super casual games to working on complex game economies. He also discusses the Ketchup mechanic problem in RPG and hero collector games and how games can address it. Plus, he shares insights on bucketing systems and bucketing user progression over time.

In the latest episode of the Mastering Retention Podcast, user experience expert Neil Edwards discusses the brilliant user experience design of Marvel Snap. Edwards is the co-founder and head of UX at a full-service design studio in the video game space.Marvel Snap's core gameplay is described as phenomenal, not just as an engaging, emotional, and compelling experience as a player but also as a brilliant product. Edwards notes that the game's core has the potential to make live ops easier or harder based on its design.

This week's guest is Alvaro Duarte, VP Casual Games at Voodoo. In this episode, Alvaro reveals Voodoo's business model, unique approach to game development, and the screening process for Voodoo's games. Voodoo has a unique approach to game development, releasing games that are in a "sooner state of product" and then iterating on them after they are live. The screening process for Voodoo's games is rigorous, and they look at gameplay, retention metrics, CPI, and ROAS targets, among other things.

In this episode of the Mastering Retention Podcast, host Tom Hammond speaks with Antanina Livingston, a product manager and liveops extraordinaire! Antanina shares her insights on how to approach feature and event planning, the importance of understanding player needs, and how to manage burnout in the liveops team. She also discusses the challenges of managing burnout and the importance of understanding different cultures and languages in the gaming industry. Highlights: Antanina Livingston shares insights on how to approach feature and event planning, the importance of understanding player needs, and how to manage burnout. (0:20) Livingston talks about her background in business and how she transitioned to the gaming industry. (3:44) The importance of understanding different cultures and languages in the gaming industry is discussed. (8:47) Livingston shares her thoughts on how to approach feature planning and event planning in a way that maintains player retention. (13:07) The challenges of managing burnout in the live ops team are addressed. (19:13) "Retention is one of those metrics that's really hard to influence...you need to create something that would be interesting to players to come back." (14:59)

In this podcast, Tom Hammond, CEO at UserWise, and Sam Abbott, Head of Monetization at Rec Room, discuss how player segmentation can lead to stronger monetization in mobile games. They delve into the importance of understanding individual segments and creating tailored games that appeal to those segments. They also explore how to break down player behavior and analyze actions within the game to better understand and serve different segments."You can't just look at the average. You really need to look at each individual segment and figure out where that segment is finding value in the game." - Sam Abbott (Timestamp: 6:17)"It's not enough just to appeal to a certain segment. You actually have to have a game that is tailored to that segment." - Sam Abbott (Timestamp: 11:03)"In terms of how we think about segmentation, it's really about breaking down player behavior by the actions that they're taking within the game." - Sam Abbott (Timestamp: 14:54)

In this episode of the Mastering Retention podcast, Dafna shares how LiveOps teams focus on events and promotions to engage players, drive retention, and monetize games. Successful LiveOps events are those that balance the core gameplay loop of a game while introducing new features, challenges, and rewards to keep players interested. She also highlights the importance of understanding player behavior, segmentation, and time zones in planning LiveOps events, and the need to balance creativity with return on investment.

On today's episode we're gonna talk about the great world of LiveOps. Join Oscar Clark as we dive into the three must-haves for games as services: capturing data, configurations, and selling. The meaning of Games as a Service from his perspective. The difference between LiveOps and Games as a Service. The first step to starting a LiveOps campaign. Games as a Service and LiveOps as promises to players. Tips for capturing data. Tools for configuring oversight. Principles for selling free-to-play games. What does a LiveOps team look like?

On this week's episode of Mastering Retention, Tom is joined by Bakyt Aidaralieva (Head of Player Experience at Rovio) to discuss the many different types of tools and platforms used in the gaming industry, which tools are better than others, the importance of player feedback, and so much more! Here are your cheat codes:0:59 How did Bakyt Aidaralieva get into the video game industry?8:29 What tools and platforms are needed to run a game as a service?12:23 Lessons learned from seeking player feedback.16:03 Discord can be a useful tool.19:55 CRM's in the gaming world & effective CRM tools.24:33 Player and customer support.26:52 The importance of player feedback & Identifying helpful player feedback.32:35 Server back end tools.35:05 LiveOps tools.41:21 Analytics tools.43:28 Best way to segment players.46:06 How to keep more players around longer.

Founders of game studios who have "been there and done that" share their top secrets and tricks on how to start your own game studio.

On this week's episode of Mastering Retention, Tom is joined by Jesse Kroon (Game Designer at Product Madness) and Stanislav Minasov (VP of Product at AppMagic) to talk about the process of creating a new game. The guys have a detailed discussion about where to look for inspiration, how to flesh out a game concept, what all goes into making certain decisions about your game, intellectual property, and so much more! Here are your cheat codes:0:46 How did Jesse Kroon and Stanislav Minasov get into the video game industry?4:12 How to conceptualize a new game idea.10:17 Deciding which genre your game should be.14:44 What you gain from talking to existing players.19:01 Repurposing an existing game concept.24:35 Finding inspiration in other types of games.32:45 Intellectual Property.44:21 How to keep more players around longer.

Creating a game is only half the battle - getting others to download and share your game is vital to the long term success of your game and/or studio. Acquiring users through marketing campaigns and engaging advertisements is no simple task. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Janos Perei (Head of Growth at Voodoo) about many different forms of advertisements and marketing campaigns, their complexity, the importance of making marketing the foundation of your studio, and how UA should work hand-in-hand with LiveOps.Here are your cheat codes:0:42 How did Janos Perei get into the video game industry?2:25 How to think about ad performance.7:32 Ad efficiency.9:54 Integrated UA Funnel.12:38 Gameplay ads.16:04 Misleading ads.19:30 How not to waste ad impressions.25:43 Multi-touch attribution.27:54 UA and Marketing should be your foundation.31:58 Failing to engage users.33:47 How to get users to recommend your game to a friend.39:30 How to keep more players around longer.

The group discusses what a game economy is, and how it can be used to drive player engagement and content discovery in a game. They use a midcourt RPG game as an example to illustrate their points.The conversation is about designing a game economy. The different aspects that should be considered include the currencies, the transaction systems, and the overall strategy. Scarcity can also be a factor in the economy.▬ Contents of this video ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬0:00:00​ Introductions0:05:25​ What is a game economy? 0:17:39​ What makes an economy fun? 0:28:04​ Pre-Production Boosts1:01:50​ Player's viewpoints1:10:38​ Broken game economy1:41:10​ Scaling currency▬ Quotes ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬10:35​ “Essentially, the game economy it's the entire management of value of the game. That includes scarcity, desire, time required to obtained things.” – Javier Barnes 13:30​ “The holy grail of monetization design is you want your player to spend money on your game and be so stoked by they who experience that they feel great about it and they want to tell their friends.” – Kaitlin Kincaid 1:02:50​ “It's important to contrast the survey, which is the player's perceptions, with in game activities, which is more of a hard data.” – Kaitlin Kincaid1:32:04​ “Never underestimate the value of using LiveOps to test economy in general” – Hadrian Semroud▬ Highlights ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬What I would advise is trying to keep the range of prices kind of relatively stable through the course of the game and make that even in the late game, a purchase of $10 can still make sense because you're following another strategy or something in order not to kill or to move away those players.At the end of the game, higher ranges of prices are going to be more valuable for the monetization. But if you have a dolphin that can only spend $10 per month, and then once you are three months in the game, what you're asking is not $10.And one of those things that we're using is having the player unlock better bundles as they progress through the game. So if you want if you want the $5 bundle for 2 million resources, you can get that at level five.Is there a way to appropriately do that? Such that as players progress and things are more expensive in the game the price of currency kind of keeps on par with that.So being able to change the price of things again, usually through live events, through some sort of special offer, can allow you to monetize the entire price demand curve and really optimize the amount of money you can get out of the same amount of work producing that hero, that asset in the first place.

This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Erez Baron (CEO & Co-Founder at Muuula Games) in detail about all that went into launching Muuula Games. The guys also discuss segmented pricing within your game, dive deep into the world of Brain Games, and so much more.Here are your cheat codes:0:40 How Erez Baron got into the video game industry.4:45 Segmented Pricing.18:28 The origins and future of Muuula Games21:01 Brain Games31:28 The process of starting a game studio.34:30 What to look for in a Co-Founder.42:01 Differentiating Product and Dev.46:36 Building a great team.51:26 How to keep more players around longer.

You do not have to reinvent the wheel in order to create a beloved and successful game. Sometimes tweaking an existing formula or feature can be enough to make your game stand out. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Patrick McGrath (Founder at Stealth Mode) about innovating within a genre, making slight changes to your game, launching a game from scratch, and so much more! Here are your cheat codes:0:45 How did Patrick McGrath get into the video game industry?8:09 Launching a new product from scratch.10:28 How to figure out what to build.16:55 Player immersion.29:02 Innovating within an existing genre.34:24 Iterating within an existing game.40:21 Solving issue within your game with research.44:28 Userwise53:45 How to keep more players around longer.

In-app purchases are the main way most games make their money, so getting players to not only continue playing your game, but continue purchasing items within your game is hugely important. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Haider CW (Director of Economy at Scopely) about how to fine tune your game economy to fit your game and audience, the importance of proper economy maintenance, and so much more!Here are your cheat codes:0:35 How did Haider CW get into the video game industry?1:37 What does a Director of Economy technically do?2:38 Economy maintenance for an existing game.7:07 Building relationships between rewards.13:27 The best way to segment players.19:03 Session motivation22:02 Progression curve in collection RPG23:52 Mitigating mistakes in economy design31:40 Fine tuning game economies33:22 Different economies for different types of players35:14 Looter-Shooter Economies39:59 Maintaining player spending.43:43 Economy for City Builders49:14 How to keep more players around longer.

This week on Mastering Retention, Tom is joined by former recruiter, Matt Hood (Game Lead at Carry1st) to talk about what tips and tricks he has learned about the video game industry from his time as a recruiter. Tom and Matt also speak in great detail on the state of live operations and the future of feature development. All of that and so much more packed into this week's episode of Mastering Retention. Here are your cheat codes:0:30 How did Matt Hood get into the video game industry?2:50 Lessons from being a recruiter.5:16 Having a vision.7:45 Talent Pooling.10:37 Connecting with people.12:37 Defining Live Operations.13:51 The importance of live operations.15:25 When should you start thinking about live operations?18:04 Feature Development.19:50 What is a Config?27:20 What are indicators your game is a success or a failure?30:30 Building a better version of an existing game.36:11 Replicating big moments in your game.42:28 Collection based feature.46:45 How to keep more players around longer.

Whether you are promoting your game or advertising in your game, optimal ads and ad placement is key. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Mobile Ad Monetization Expert, Yael Takomi (Mobile Gaming at Facebook) about setting realistic expectations for new users, segmented ad placement, the use of analytics in ad placement, and so much more!Here are your cheat codes:0:45 How did Yael Takomi get into the video game industry?4:06 How does a player become a user?5:45 How to tell the story of your game.9:55 Setting honest expectations for new users.15:56 Marketing with monetization - with product.20:31 Where to start with ad monetization. 26:15 Segmented ad placement.28:31 Ad placement gone wrong.30:30 Ad placement done correctly.34:08 You never want to lose a paying customer39:33 Ad placements based on player sessions.45:22 Using analytics to decide ad placements.51:17 How to keep more players around longer.

This week's installment of Mastering Retention is a special one, as Tom celebrates the 100th episode with the help of Yosi Tal (Senior Product Manager at Papaya Gaming). The two of them commit the entire episode to the topic of retention. They discuss features and emotions that drive retention, segmentation, player progression goals, maximizing the first time player experience and so much more! Here are your cheat codes:1:19 How did Yosi Tal get into the video game industry?5:37 The pillars of retention strategy7:45 Player progression goals10:47 Playing for status 12:15 Long term retention through social features14:42 Social obligation20:10 Personalization24:14 No-brainer features26:31 Feelings drive retention28:31 First time player experience32:17 Reward calendars34:47 Personalized player experience37:45 When to change things for a player39:36 Is segmentation a full-time job?41:14 Segmentation mistakes44:00 How to keep more players around longer.

Almost everyone in the video game industry dreams of launching their own game studio, but not everyone realizes what all that encompasses. This week on “Mastering Retention”, Tom speaks with Andrey Korotkov (CEO at Zillion Whales) about how to come up with creative ideas, how to launch a game studio, what to look for in potential co-founders, and the process of having your company acquired. Here are your cheat codes:0:45 How did Andrey Korotkov get into the video game industry?11:34 Mushroom Wars.16:42 How to start a game studio from scratch.24:21 Building your own game engine30:46 What to look for in co-founders.33:20 The acquisition process39:36 How to come up with a new game idea.46:13 How to keep more players around longer.

As the video game industry continues to emphasize additional content and liveOps, it is time to stop thinking of video games as products and more like services. This week on the Mastering Retention Podcast, Tom is joined by Fred Lepont (Head of Product at Ultracine Studios) to discuss player motivations, segmentation, and LiveOps. Here are your cheat codes:0:46 How did Fred Lepont get into the video game industry?9:44 Defining LiveOps.12:16 The importance of developer input.15:10 Games as a service.21:14 Discovering player motivations.27:12 How to think about segmentation.40:02 Prioritizing LiveOps51:05 How to keep more players around longer.

There has been lots of speculation that blockchain games are the future of gaming, but what does that future look like? And more specifically, what does the future of blockchain gaming look like? This week on the Mastering Retention Podcast, Daniel Paez (Director of Monetization and Game Economy at Worldspark Studios) joins Tom to try and get to the bottom of these questions. The two of them dive deep into the world of blockchain gaming and all the things that it encompasses. Here are your cheat codes:0:35 How did Daniel Paez get into the video game industry?5:57 Are blockchain games the future of gaming?11:23 Monetization and game economy within blockchain games.14:28 1st Generation blockchain games and why they failed.16:48 Traditional game economies vs blockchain game economies.21:28 The future of blockchain LiveOps and monetization.35:20 The flow of money within blockchain gaming.44:51 Building games with the community.48:01 How to keep more players around longer.

Pixion, a new video game company, is on a mission to build a new category of competitive games called Lunchtime ESports. The genre aims to allow everyone to be competitive and play at their own pace. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Kam Punia (Founder and CEO at Pixion Games) about his team's ambitious goals, high standards and vision for the future. Here are your cheat codes: 0:43 How did Kam Punia get into the video game industry?7:54 The founding of Pixion Games.12:15 Lunchtime ESports16:33 The Pixion Standard.19:30 Pixion's game creation process.22:44 Boosting an underperforming game's metrics.28:11 Escaping Soft Launch Hell.33:32 Playtest Cloud.35:08 Your Business Vision should Adapt.38:16 Web343:32 “Fableborne.”48:30 The Game Loop.52:24 How to keep more players around longer.

Creating a successful and beloved video game is a tall task. It is even more of a challenge to create a successful and beloved children's video game. This week on the Mastering Retention Podcast, Tom speaks with Luis Cascante (Former Franchise Director at Star Stable) about designing video games for younger audiences and all the challenges that come with it.Here are your cheat codes:0:50 How did Luis Cascante get into the video game industry?7:32 Creating Games for Children.23:13 In-app-purchasing in children's games.30:08 Designing a new game for children.37:24 Experimenting with new video game ideas for a younger audience.39:08 User Acquisition in children's games.42:48 Subscriptions 50:12 How to keep more players around longer.

Most games require compelling live ops and multiple ways in which to make money - casino games are no different. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Dafna Ben Onn (Director of Monetization at SciPlay) about the different challenges that face casino games, managing a live ops calendar, player segmentation, monetizing casino games, and much more!Here are your cheat codes:1:10 How did Dafna Ben Onn get into the video game industry?5:12 What is it like to work at SciPlay?7:42 Defining Player Ops.9:57 Scheduling Content.13:47 Who helps to plan a content calendar?16:06 Scheduling content based on user habits & behaviors.21:29 How Casino games make money.28:23 Improving Segmentation36:08 A good first step for introducing Live Ops.36:42 Truly understand what you need to solve, before trying to solve it.39:44 Figuring out what players value.42:36 Rewards and currency within casino games.45:18 How to keep more players around longer.

A game is only successful if you attract users and continually provide them with reasons to keep playing. In order to keep your fanbase happy and eager to play, you must be able to understand their wants and goals, and you need to know their behaviors and habits. While players will often be very eager to share their critiques, you can learn more about what a player wants through data and proper segmentation. This week on the Mastering Retention Podcast, Tom speaks with Max Mozgovoy (Director of CRM & Analytics at SegmentValue) about customer relationship management and proper user segmentation. Here are your cheat codes:1:32 How did Max Mozgovoy get into the video game industry?4:49 The importance of Customer Relationship Management.7:01 CRM within the gaming industry.10:33 How to build and maintain a good relationship with your players.12:48 Tracking User Interactions to understand them better.14:37 Segmentation23:18 Using segmentation to group users based on their ad tolerance. 28:15 Segmentation based on potential30:24 Customer Lifecycle Management 38:02 Identifying User Goals44:45 CRM Systems48:03 Increasing engagement through understanding players behaviors.55:03 How to keep more players around longer.

Creating and sustaining a great user experience is a surefire way to lengthen your game's shelf life. There are many different ways to go about creating or improving a game's user experience. It can be as simple as choosing an art style, or it can be as complex as using data to identify weaknesses in your game. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Abhay Ramakrishnan (Product Manager at DECA) about all the different ways to go about creating a user experience that retains players and drives revenue. Here are your cheat codes: 1:25 How did Abhay Ramakrishnan get into the video game industry?3:05 The DECA Difference5:47 Sustainable LiveOps events.8:35 Art style can impact your game's sustainability.10:27 Ways to activate your game's community.14:57 Weighing new features against quality-of-life features.18:19 When done correctly, can segmentation create a better player experience?27:04 How to use Data to create a better player experience?32:45 Will users pay more if the user experience is great?39:49 LiveOps systems and tech.41:16 Selecting A Community Managers 45:02 Design Pillars51:10 How to keep more players around longer.

Whether you are building a team from scratch or adding on to an existing team, having common goals and values can have a massive positive effect on your company and its products. This week on Mastering Retention, Martina Gianfreda (Co-CEO at Whatwapp) walks Tom through the process of building a co-founding team and sustaining your company's success through shared core values.Here are your cheat codes:1:01 How did Martina Gianfreda get into the video game industry?4:40 What to look for in a co-founding team?11:48 Process for coming up with a new game idea.16:50 How can your game transcend international boundaries?27:25 How has marketing changed over the last few years?30:33 Ideal Head of Growth candidate.33:44 Pay Performance Marketing38:50 Building a games team.43:24 Hiring based on shared core values.45:32 Pre-employment skill-based testing.47:21 Programmers50:48 How to keep more players around longer.

The role of a product manager can vary widely depending on what industry he/she is in, and even then, companies within the same industry often define that role differently. Regardless of how a product manager role is defined, it requires someone that can balance the “Big Picture” and the small details. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Stav Klauzner (Head of Product at SciPlay) about the balancing act of being a product manager and loosely defines what the ideal video game product manager should look like. Here are your cheat codes:0:52 How did Stav Klauzner get into the video game industry?2:43 Segmentation over Personalization.5:45 Defining your segments.9:21 First-Time-Player Experience.12:12 How to be a better product manager.15:20 Balancing the big picture and the small details as a product manager.18:14 Feature Prioritization.23:38 How do you measure the success of a games campaign?26:16 Turning a game into a gaming business.28:45 How often should a product manager listen to player feedback?32:17 Social Obligation Mechanics36:23 Monetization Tools.47:59 The ideal product manager.50:58 How to keep more players around longer.

There are many different ways to go about creating a video game, but two of the main methodologies are Lean and Agile. The lean methodology puts an emphasis on reducing waste by recycling content, and managing workflow, whereas in Agile, teams emphasize small batch sizes to deliver results quickly. This week on “Mastering Retention” Ruby Urlings (Director, Production at GSN Games) speaks with Tom about these methods, their respective benefits, and so much more!Here are your cheat codes:1:20 How did Ruby Urlings get into the video game industry?5:30 In-office vs remote game companies.7:27 Game Production Methodologies.10:38 Defining the Agile methodology.13:24 Defining the Lean methodology.15:42 The perfect Match-3 levels.21:10 Sprint Completion Rate vs Velocity.26:46 Using Agile and Lean together.27:42 Content Reusability.30:05 Using Agile in the early stages of development.33:56 Biggest mistakes Ruby has made with Agile or Lean.35:30 Ways to make your team more efficient.37:03 Learning every side of the business can be very helpful.40:07 Processes for juggling many different tasks.49:32 What roles are most important to creating a game?51:01 How to keep more players around longer.

Thousands of games are made each year, and very few go on to have great success. Despite their success, these games are rarely sitting atop the charts years down the road. Creating a successful game is hard, but maintaining that game's success and daily active users is beyond difficult. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Jonathan Durr (Studio Director & Co-Founder at Foxbear Games) about long term content treadmills, what metrics are useful when trying to maintain a game for years, consulting with your game's most fanatical users, and feature development. Here are your cheat codes:1:17 How did Jonathan Durr get into the video game industry?3:57 How to approach new game ideas5:31 Deciding what features to implement in Marvel Strike Force 8:06 Tracking Regularity Data*10:05 Catering to different groups of “regulars”13:58 Time or money15:44 Increasing your games longevity20:09 Long term content treadmill24:33 How to maintain your game's LiveOps for years28:50 Limiting burnout31:13 Consulting with die hard fans about new content and features.38:19 Balancing content for experienced users and new users.45:22 Feature Development 50:03 How to keep more players around longer.

Creating a new video game is a long and strenuous process, but that process is nothing compared to launching your very own game studio. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Lior Hadashian (CTO & Co-Founder at Gavra Games) about the importance of being a data-driven game studio, when to double down on a good idea, keeping your games fresh, and what all needs to be considered when selecting your co-founder.Here are your cheat codes:1:10 How did Lior Hadashian get into the video game industry?4:23 Angel Investing9:34 Coming up with new game ideas.16:49 Creating Cross Platform Games18:44 Live Ops20:32 Double down on an existing hit game or create a new game all together?22:19 The process of developing your next game.24:04 Finding your niche.26:39 Timeline for creating a fully finished game.29:34 Early Access Games31:34 Data Driven Games35:20 Useful Analytics39:59 Improving your game with accurate data.41:43 Keeping your game fresh with new content.44:35 What all goes into selecting your co-founder49:59 How to keep more players around longer.

Creating an awesome game is meaningless if it does not attract enough users. Acquiring new users can oftentimes require a bigger marketing budget and a great deal of patience. Not every game studio or game company sees the value in spending money on marketing their game, but it is one of the most successful and efficient ways to increase your daily active users and your games longevity. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Angus Lovitt (CEO at Ramp), about optimizing your marketing budget, moving your game through the soft launch phase, and all the “homework” that should be done before making your marketing plans. Here are your cheat codes:1:00 How did Angus Lovitt get into the video game industry?9:42 The Origins of Ramp and what services they provide.20:11 What was the UA environment like when King Launched Candy Crush?25:09 Finding the optimal marketing budget. 30:31 Studio leaders need to do their homework.35:10 Getting out of “Soft Launch Hell”41:01 Validating your game ideas.45:21 The challenges facing UA and how to overcome them.1:02:16 When a creative has reached its end.

Online streaming has completely changed video games. Game designers and marketers alike have had to adapt to this tectonic shift in the video game landscape. Streaming has become a very effective way to market and sell games. Studios are now implementing streaming into the very design of their game to drive user acquisition. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Joanna Haslam (Design Director at Snap Finger Click) about how to properly utilize streaming within your game, influencer marketing, and so much more!Here are your cheat codes:0:59 How did Joanna Haslam get into the video game industry?2:38 Designing games with a background as a developer.8:03 Limitations within your game can lead to better creative outlets.15:25 The origins of Snap Finger Click19:25 How to use Twitch effectively.23:59 Streaming single player games on Twitch.27:37 Incentivizing streaming.33:18 Designing your game for streaming.37:40 Twitch Interactivity.41:25 Influencer Marketing. 44:13 Helping streamers find your game.52:09 How to keep more players around longer.

Each user will engage differently with your game. How they play the game and/or how much they spend on the game will vary widely from player to player. In the same way a company would market their game differently for different target audiences, companies should segment their analytics to find the best possible ways to monetize their game. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Sam Abbott (Head of Monetization at Rec Room) about how to use player segmented data to help increase in-game purchasing, and overall user engagement. Here are your cheat codes: 0:46 How did Sam Abbott get into the video game industry?2:38 What is “Rec Room”?3:34 How does Rec Room differ from Roblox?4:40 System Design5:56 Play-to-win game mechanics.12:43 Accounting for the different player budgets.16:26 How to find a user's budget.23:02 Balancing monetization and player experience.27:23 Role of analytics in identifying in-game activity.31:57 How to know if your game economy is flawed.35:17 Player Segmentation.47:00 Best ways to segment players.49:12 The future of monetization.55:20 How to keep more players around longer.

You are not supposed to judge a book - or a video game - by its cover, but that is easier said than done - especially when covers can be very misleading. People often make snap judgments about things based on how it was first presented to them. These judgments can last a long time and negatively impact your product. When creating or marketing your game, one must ensure that the copy for and design of your game entices potential users and properly sets the user's expectations. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Itamar Cohen (CEO at Game Boost) about how to provide your game's target audience a reason to play your game and a reason to pay for additional features and content.Here are your cheat codes:1:09 How did Itamar Cohen get started in the video game industry?10:10 The importance of copywriting.13:32 Enhancing your games advertisements and offers with good copywriting.17:01 Test your copy.19:38 It is always a good idea to incorporate live ops into your game.21:53 Best way to create new events and new content.24:10 Designing content and events for specific groups of players.26:26 Segmentation.31:03 Live Ops difficulty design.35:50 Push Notifications

Web browser games are often an afterthought when thinking about the video game landscape, but with the internet being more accessible than ever, the odds of having some degree of familiarity with web games are high. Despite the perception that web games maintain a relatively low profile, there is a large market for these types of games and lots of money to be made. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Valentin Simion (Senior Game Producer & Product Owner at SOFTGAMES) about catering to specific audiences, integrating social features into a game, and the profitability of modern day web gaming.Here are your cheat codes:1:34 How did Valentin Simion get started in the videogame industry?6:42 What is the typical target audience for web games?9:07 Where are web games predominantly found and/or played?10:58 Starting a modern day web gaming company.17:11 A good process for coming up with a new web game.22:13 Surveying target audience before creating a game.23:59 Good survey questions and processes to avoid biased results.27:36 Is there value in open-ended survey questions?30:39 Live ops within web games.32:39 Content expectations for web games.34:06 A live ops event that flopped.36:30 Driving a game's community with a facebook group.37:46 User generated content.40:47 How to make a game like “Solitaire” social?47:17 There are many different ways to monetize web games.50:46 How to keep more players around longer.

Today's video game market is completely saturated with games seemingly offering the same experience. Ironing out and perfecting the small details of your game design can go a long way in helping it stand out from the competition. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Amir Dori (Lecturer for Game Design at Mentor College & Head of Game Design at SciPlay) about building and managing casual game studios, using game design as a way to attract a larger audience, and his unique journey through the world of education and game design.Here are your cheat codes:1:34 How did Amir Dori get started in the videogame industry?20:56 Building and managing casual game studios at SciPlay.26:43 The differences in game design between casual games and educational games. 33:07 Live Ops in educational games.36:34 Creating a new game that stands out in today's saturated market.40:32 Marketing analysis.46:18 Expanding your games audience.54:24 Getting to the core of match 3 games.56:36 The functionality of a match 3 board. 59:38 How to keep more players around longer.

Creating a video game from scratch requires a lot of manpower and specialized talent. Being able to work effectively and efficiently as a team is key to creating a game that is both enjoyable for users and financially beneficial for your studio/company. In addition to helping teams work together seamlessly to coordinate and execute tasks, product managers serve many different roles depending on the industry or company. Since there are so many differing opinions on what exactly a product manager's role looks like, oftentimes they do not receive the recognition they deserve. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Maria Gilles (Product Manager at Hutch) about the importance of product managers, finding the right product manager for your company, what their role should look like, and so much more.Here are your cheat codes: 1:38 How did Maria Gilles get started in the videogame industry?4:04 Defining Product Managers*6:09 How many product managers should be working on a game?8:18 How can a game director and product manager work together most efficiently?10:40 Traits to look for in product managers.12:37 Balancing the big picture and the small details as a product manager.*16:01 Passion is key for a product manager.*20:17 When to hire a product manager.*22:16 Hiring a product manager.24:50 Mapping out live content.30:11 Making a game enjoyable and financially beneficial.34:22 A game's difficulty can have an impact on retention.38:27 Features and content drives monetization.42:44 Finding the right product manager.44:58 Setting the live ops cadence.48:48 Be thoughtful when running tests.53:22 How to keep more players around longer.

When you think about video games, your first thought is likely not about the business and financial side of things, but the video game business, like all other major industries, puts a large emphasis on money. No matter what the status of your game company is, money is at the center of all your current needs and future goals. During the infancy of starting and growing a game studio, you are constantly looking for funding to help take you to the next level. Then once your financial needs are met, your focus shifts to generating revenue. This week on Mastering Retention, Annina Salven (CFO at Next Games) joins Tom to talk about creative ways to draw in investors, increasing revenue, and tips for meeting and exceeding your studio's goals.Here are your cheat codes:- 1:45 How did Annina Salven get into the video game industry?- 7:03 Setting your game studio up for future financial success.- 12:09 Visualizing your goals helps you achieve them.- 18:17 Next Games process for vetting concepts and ideas.- 21:01 Bootstrapping a mobile games company.- 24:50 What drives financial investment for game companies?- 29:38 User acquisition funding in mobile gaming.- 37:34 How to ensure liquidity.- 41:25 Alternative ways to acquire users.- 49:39 How to keep more players around for longer.

Staying ahead of the curve and budding trends is of paramount importance in the modern landscape of the video game industry. Smart companies and CEO's identify these trends in their early stages and experiment with them, which oftentimes leads to adopting them. This week on Mastering Retention, one of those CEO's, Oliver Jones (Co-Founder & CEO at Bombay Play), speaks with Tom about a budding new trend that his company has recently adopted, and the intricacies of building and running a game studio. 0:38 How did Oliver Jones get into the video game business?12:08 The founding of Bombay Play and the types of games they make.20:51 How big is Bombay Play and how is the work force distributed?22:39 Live Ops at Bombay Play.26:01 Does Bombay Play have any plans to go international?27:22 A radical way to develop and launch a new game idea.32:56 Where did “The Brain Trust” originate from?35:01 Do instant games allow for deeper concept testing?36:40 Art can enhance your game, but it cannot make your game a great one on its own.39:24 Gathering and using player feedback.43:34 How to hire talented and like-minded people.47:32 How to keep more people around for longer.

What makes a game special is not the graphics, the gameplay, or the plot … it's the people that work tirelessly behind the scenes. Having the right people in place at your studio is the difference between a smash-hit game and a forgotten one. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Kunal Mordekar (COO at YOOZOO Games) about finding the right people, the hiring process, and how important good workplace relationships are for sustained success in the video game industry. Here are your cheat codes:- 0:57 How did Kunal Mordekar get into the video game industry?- 4:19 The difficulties of finding and vetting potential employees.- 9:42 When and how to test potential hires during the interview process.- 14:08 What tests have been successful in identifying game programmers?- 17:01 How to properly test candidates for a more artistic or creative role.- 19:06 How to set expectations for new hires if you anticipate your new start-up changing its mission and/or goals.- 22:00 What is a producer and what does a producer do?- 28:13 A successful producer knows their team members.- 31:22 How to mitigate production delays.- 33:42 Properly rolling out your game.- 41:48 Testing a new feature before rolling it out to everyone.- 47:05 How to keep more people around for longer.

Some games are intended to be played over the course of several months, sometimes even years. These games demand new and exciting content - such as new quests - in order to keep players coming back. Designing, testing, and implementing these new quests into your game requires lots of creativity and brain power that often goes unnoticed. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with former World of Warcraft game designer, Kurt Sparkuhl (Lead Mobile Game Designer at Amazon Games), about the quest design process and making the switch from working on massive MMO's to working on mobile gaming.0:41 How did Kurt Sparkuhl get into the video game industry?4:44 Does being a Quality Assurance Analyst make you a better game designer?9:08 How to figure out what your next expansion will be.12:54 Designing a game to be fun for all types of players.16:13 Is there a certain moment players become hooked on your game?22:05 Quest Design.28:03 Deciding what is interesting and creative.31:04 Catering to specific types of players.33:13 Daily Quests.39:22 How To Test Quests.426 The differences and similarities between mobile game design and MMO design.47:35 Does session length play a role in game design?51:04 How to keep more players around longer.