Should we continue investing in our game? This is an essential and challenging question for all the game producers and publishers. Answering this question based on data is the most assured solution, but data analysis always has its own challenges such as: • What kind of data and what amount of data is valid for making decisions? • Which target audience and what kind of tests can give us insights? • Which version of our game is finalized enough to be tested? • How can we assign KPIs to our games? A successful game is consisted of three connected key parts: I. Attraction: Fun core game mechanics II. Engagement: Addictive core loop and meta game III. Monetization: Solid Monetization strategy For answering these questions, in Medrick Game Studio we have designed a chain of instructions: Step 1: Game Concept Step 2: Session Design Step 3: Prototype Step 4: Extended Prototype Step 5: Data Design Other topics that will be discussed are: • Soft launch proposes and attributes • Tests process • Iterations • User segmentation • PRM: Player Relationship Management • Tools

1. Game Of Data
Data Driven Game Design
Tehran Game Convention 2018
Masih Alagheband
BI Manager at “Medrick Game Studio”

2. Opening Disclaimers
2
 This is a data talk and it’s about F2P games.
 If you don’t like graphs, numbers, and formulas
you’re not going to like this talk.
 You can get slides from my linkedin:
linkedin.com/masihalagheband

3. Which game idea
will be successful?
Let’s analyse your problems…
3

4. Which core game-play
can satisfy most of our
target audience?
4

5. What’s the
Core Game-play?
Core game-play:
Management+attack/defence
Features:
Competition: -Leauge
Exploration: -Goblin camps
Collection: -M.M.
Socialization: -Clan
5

6. Main Gameplay: Waterfall
6
Core Gameplay; Features++: Agile
Requirements
Design
Development
Testing
Deployment
Risk
RiskRisk Risk

7. Why core gameplay is
important?
7

8. 8
1. We can establish our organic players as the
loyal players in our games and expanding
our core game-play.

9. 9
2. Core game-play’s attraction
is one of the main monetization
stratgies alongside meta game.
Day 1 Day 3 Day 7 Day 14 Day 30
22% 11% 9% 7% 4%
64% 53% 47% 42% 34%Clash Royale
Lords Mobile1
2

10. How can we analyze
core gameplay?
10

11. AcqusitionRetentionEngagementMonetization Funnle
11
Concept
Engagement
Retention
Launch Hit
LTV > CAC
Monetize
Strategy
Fake Launch Soft Launch
Pre
Production

12. Data Is
Coming…
12

13. Retention
Churn
FTUE
DAU
Session
0.
ARPU
ARPPU
ARPDAU
Convertion Rate
LTV
CAC
?

14. Gone in 60 Seconds !!!
1.
HOW TO KEEP NEW PLAYERS HAPPY IN F2P?

15. 3 Sesions x 3 Days
%who will Churn
15
30% 85%
60Secs 3Sessions 3Days 30Days 90Days
70%50%
Days
75
60
52
46
41 37 34 31 29
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
%Whowillchurn
# Sessions
3X3 Rule
The more session, less churn Sessions
10%
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9

16. Understanding Day1
Retention
First Time User Experience(FTUE) in your game Analysis
2.

17. 17
Day2
Retention
Is King !!!
Retention
20% 20.40% 20.60% 21.50% 21.70% 22.20% 23.20%
25%
Install Home Screen Start Tutorial Complete
Tutorial
First Leve Up Claim 1st
Reward
Start Mission
1
Compelete
Mission 1
%Day1 retention for players that reach each FTUE step
#Player Day n
Played tournament 500 35%
Level 5 & Didn’t
play tournament 300 30%
25%
31.00%
18.00%
Compelete
Mission 2
Upgrade
Character
Side Mission
%Day1 retention for cohorts post FTUE

18. Why day7 retention is just
as important as day1?
Players who pay later, pay more
3.

19. 19
Day2
▪ There are more payers on day 7 than on day 1
▪ People who pay later are more valuable
▪ Day 1 is a measure of FTUE, day 7 is a measure
of overall game enjoyment
You need a D7 retention rate
of at least 10%, with 10% of
these players being payers

20. 1M installs in 1Month
We are not just ‘buying’ single users.
Those users are people with their own social networks
4.
K= Number of Invites x Conversion Rate
K = 10 x 5% = 0.5

21. 21
Exclude organic growth, cross-promotion, paid installs and app store influence

22. Hunting whales
 Whales can spend $100 to $1000s
in their lifespam!(5% of Spenders)
 Whales can be anyone; but they may not even know
that they are whales!
5.

23. 23
ARPU= 2%(Paid Share) x $5 = $0.10

24. 24
Maximize the potential of
whales strategy:
 Focus on building better
long term engagement
 Creating rewarding
experience for all
spenders as an effective
strategy (PRM)
More Payments
More Whales

25. One-size-fits-all
approach just won’t work!
 Player Segmentation
 PRM: Player Relation Management
6.

26. 26
Determine which criteria you want to segment:
 Low day1 retention: on-boarding
 Retention on level3: analyze the health levels of
players entering the level
Create your segments with
measure of competency:
 Acquiring XP
 Competitive players
 Resource usage
 Purchase decisions
 Momentum
 Reward outcomes
 Collaboration
Red players are loosing lives and failing to complete missions
$ PRM $

27. Data
Validation
27

28. 27
 Users: only your target Audience
and your target market.
 Cohort size: 1K for engagement
and 3K for monetization
 Definitions: for example different
ways for retention calculation
 Event Structures: SDK integration
and event tracking
WORK WITH
RAW DATA

29. Add a “Game Analyst”
to yor team
29

30. Thanks!
Any questions?
You can find me at
▪ Linkedin.com/masih.alagheband
▪ M.alagheband@medrick.info
▪ Skype: masih.alagheband
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