Game Design Skills on LinkedIn: Check out the newest guide Alexander Brazie put together on player… (2024)

Through my own journey of trial and error, I've discovered several strategies that can help you minimize player loss, and I've compiled them into a guide.Keeping players happy and invested in your game is a constant challenge with many nuances and landmines.Some methods might work well in one scenario but would just frustrate and fracture the community in another, so it’s important to tailor your approach.While no retention strategy or marketing campaign can substitute making the game more fun, these insights will provide a starting point to build upon.For the TL:DR folks: 1. The ideal player retention strategy for any game is the one that maximizes players’ engagement and fulfillment while minimizing the extra developmental resources required.2. Be careful not to accidentally create something addictive (especially since some of the players might be children.) 3. Make sure your in-game purchases have gameplay-based alternatives. If the grind for rewards is overly time-consuming, it essentially becomes a rigged game. 4. Storytelling has been humanity’s chief form of entertainment for longer than anyone can remember. ↳Final Fantasy 7’s legacy isn’t built thanks to its graphics, mechanics, or any famously challenging sections; it’s the story and characters. 5. Create long-term goals to ensure players always have something to anticipate↳You can introduce PvP mode after players have finished the main game and need a greater challenge.6. Use cumulative recharge rewards to incentivize the most loyal players to hit lifetime goals↳This strategy works especially well in games that have been out for a while, have tons of content, or are built around PvP competition.7. Mix in alternative game modes to add variety and experiment with new ideas↳Some of the biggest names in the industry started out as side attractions. LoL is a spinoff of DOTA which began as a custom Warcraft III map. Counter-Strike was originally a Half-Life mod.↳Many games use alternative modes to help players take a break from the more serious main progression, except they’ll spend their break time inside your game.8. Implement seasonal content to provide regular updates, beta test new features and mechanics, and keep players engaged with leaderboards and new challenges.↳For games with little endgame content or that can’t simply release narrative updates, it’s one of the best options for player retention9. Build commitment with daily gameplay, login, and idle rewards↳Adding idle systems to existing games can also help increase player retention by further rewarding players for the time they’re already spending in-game.↳Then there’s the opposite approach: disincentivize idleness. 10. Entice players with collectible Gacha content↳ Genshin Impact offers containers that can grant upgrade items or new characters, each with unique abilities and rarity.You can find the full guide in the comments.👇

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My thoughts about Inflexion Games Nightingale. I have been very excited for this universe and game and after playing a fair amount of it here are my initial thoughts. Pros: - Amazing universe concept and potential- Early stage launch marketing was very thorough and efective, stream drops, twitch items, hype viral content, great advertising etc...- Maybe the best use of UE5 engine so far - The game is beautiful!- Crafting system is in depth (Not the building system)Cons: - The fantasy of the game does not translate past the core character Puck--(CONT) Game is using too many generic unreal engine assets such as Generic spider / scorpion / Hippo / boar / wolf etc... this takes away from the "light fantasy" feel- This is a single player game with the option to play together, there is no real feeling of threat to the player at all- Product marketing post-launch is very sparce and definitly not thought out enough- Gameplay loop is too slow to get into for casual players- Forces players that want to build into exploring, meaning they cant get to the part of the game they want to play for 30 - 40hrs- Item level and blueprint system and UI is not smoothly designed for natural growth- Gate/portal system is a big letdown which is sad because that was something I was very interested in but you can not theme the gates enough. Overall summary. Great launch. Needs some more active marketing and events that keep people coming back after the 20 - 30hrs mark. Needs a better quest system, UI, and improvements to gameplay loop especially for the “builder” archetypal player. Needs big improvements to the “Fantasy” feel to the game”. From a marketing perspective, I would have the development team working on more in-game events and unique bosses especially at the early item levels (10-20hrs of gameplay) that can appear creating opportunities for shareable moments. Add in a series of unique and awesome items or rare drops that allow users to have something to hunt for. Support and promotion of creators that are building guides for crafting to show users what the potential of the system has and encourages them to get over the slow gameplay loop. A clan/guild system including unique bonuses for clans (Such as shareable blueprints) as well as unique skins for them to work towards together. It would be interesting to hear others' experiences with the game. What made you excited, and what do you like / dislike about it? Game launches and ongoing game promotion are incredibly difficult in the modern gaming landscape. What would you love to see developers do to improve retention rates?

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Mistakes Made by 99% of Game Developers1. Not communicating with their audience. Imagine spending a ton of time creating a game, but forgetting about the most important aspect – those who will play it. It's like preparing a meal without asking who likes what food.2. Not acknowledging mistakes. Sound familiar? You work on a project, believe it’s the next big hit, but there are no players. You think: "Just give it time, it will work out." But time passes, and the situation doesn’t change. Acknowledging mistakes isn’t a loss; it’s a chance to quickly pivot and fix the situation.3. Skipping testing. Many skip this stage, thinking everything is fine as it is. It’s like launching a rocket without a preliminary test – risky and can turn into a fiasco.4. Poor planning. This is when deadlines are looming, and the game is still under development. Good planning is like a map in the hands of an adventurer: without it, it’s easy to get lost.5. Intrusive monetization. When players feel forced to spend money at every turn, it’s off-putting. Monetization should be unobtrusive and harmonize with the gameplay, so players are happy to purchase, not feeling cheated.6. Excessive ambition. Planning is good, but overloading the game with a bunch of unfinished features is a path to failure. It’s better to do a few elements well than to try to cover too much and fail.7. Lack of a promotion strategy. You’ve made a game and... that’s it. No one knows about it. Promoting a game is like a movie trailer: it should intrigue and attract attention. Without a good marketing strategy, even the coolest game risks going unnoticed.💡 This list is far from exhaustive; what would you add? Be sure to write your opinion.💥 A special thank you to those illuminating the gaming industry on LinkedIn. Each of you deserves a warm acknowledgment for your contributions:To Ninel (Gryuner) Anderson, CEO at Devoted Studios, for your dedication and innovative approach to game development. Your leadership and vision are truly inspiring.To Joshua Kanatt, Founder & CEO at GAMERS TAG, for your passion and commitment to creating a community for gamers. Your efforts in bringing gamers together are commendable.To Abhimanyu Kumar, Co-founder at Naavik, for your insightful analysis and reports on the gaming industry. Your work provides valuable information and trends that help shape the industry.And to Saad Khan, Founder & CEO at Gamers Hub Media Events, for your exceptional work in organizing gaming events that bring the community closer. Your dedication to creating platforms for gamers to connect and share is truly appreciated.Thank you all for your significant contributions to the gaming world. Your efforts do not go unnoticed and are greatly appreciated by many.

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I recently came across a very interesting article by GamesIndustry.Biz (link at the end) about PlayStation industry veterans Shuhei Yoshida and Greg Rice's recent talk at Develop Brighton, in which they discussed «the secrets behind what makes a great game».Their talk revolved around the idea that excellence in game development now demands to go beyond just mastering art style and gameplay mechanics, but also grasping emotional engagement 🤗 Greg Rice evoked the dangers of simply chasing trends and not staying ahead of the market curve: "A lot of people in this industry are chasing fads and ideas that have shown success, and when you're doing that oftentimes you're already behind."This issue could be tackled by conducting thorough market research and communicating with the public early on.Both speakers emphasized that knowing your audience and actively seeking their feedback during and after development is not just beneficial—it's essential. For Yoshida, it all starts with having a clear vision of your game; he specifically talked about what he learned from working with Fumito Ueda (the director and lead designer of Shadow of the Colossus, one of my favourite games ever). He mentioned the importance of adequately conveying a "clear vision" of the game within your team and to your public for a smooth development process and knowing where you are going, thus allowing a seamless iterative process and optimizing the communication with your potential player base.At GameRebellion, we've seen firsthand how having a clear vision helps you figure out your audience early enough, and how continuously engaging with potential players can dramatically shape a game's success. Yoshida emphasized the critical importance of starting the marketing process early on: "A lot of indies are self-publishing so they need to handle their marketing beats, their promotion, but they're leaving that till late in the game"One of his main points is the lack of playtesting and iterating based on feedback from players who are not directly involved in the project "During any game's development, you should be showing your game to your friends and family, bringing your game to events, and watching people play—people who don't understand the game as you do" he shared. For him, this process is fundamental in refining a game and ensuring it resonates with its potential audience.💡 By incorporating player feedback through playtests and maintaining a clear vision for your game, you can create games that are technically spot-on and connected to your public.Don't wait until the final stages to involve your potential players. Start early, iterate, and let your players help guide your development journey!Link to the article: https://lnkd.in/ejTkaHi6👉 Let me know what you think about it!#GameDevelopment #Playtesting #Gaming #IndieDev #GameMarketing #GameIndustry

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Honeyland Launches Play-to-Airdrop Campaign 🐝Dive into the world of Honeyland where mobile gaming meets web3. Here's what you need to know:🏆 Play-to-Airdrop Campaign: Join the buzz with Honeyland's play-to-airdrop campaign for their Honey token ($HXD). Manage and grow your own bee colony to earn points multipliers and climb the leaderboards opening in May.🍯 Limited-Time Bonuses: Until May 9th, enjoy bonus points and multipliers by playing and referring friends during the 'multipliers period'. From May 10th to 31st, compete for the top spot on the leaderboard.🎮 Casual & Strategic Gameplay: Honeyland offers casual-friendly missions with strategic depth. Whether you're a casual gamer or a strategist, there's something for everyone.🌟 How to Participate: Reach level 7 in-game, become a 'Certified Beekeeper' through a facial scan, and refer a friend to be eligible for rewards. Earn bonus points by leveling up, claiming cNFTs, buying $HXD tokens, and more.🔗 More Details GAM3S.GG https://lnkd.in/eGjVAMnmCc ★ Justin Barr amd Corey Wright 🔥

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During the past weekend, I came across the recently released game "Sea of Conquest". After 2 days of studying the game mechanics, I concluded that it is one of the greatest scams in terms of monetization in the past 15 years. It is quite surprising that Apple and Google allowed it on the market. In terms of manipulation and deceit, this game can confidently compete with the most sophisticated ways to sell a subscription to a user. This game is way ahead of everyone. Let me explain why. One of the main values in the game at the moment is shells of different qualities, which can be used to obtain heroes for your ships and artifacts for these heroes. What's the scam? The scam is that the player is led to believe that they can get the hero they need. In reality, it's just a slim chance. The chance of getting a hero for the first time is only 1%. For subsequent hero upgrades, this chance is less than 1/14%. And for upgrading a hero by 1 level, it's already 1/200%. A logical question arises - what happens to the shells that result in unwanted items and hero elements? It's simple - they will be exchanged for coins, with which you can buy new shells at a rate of about 1/5. Their value tends towards zero. The same goes for artifacts for heroes. It's simply epic. The player doesn't acquire value; they only acquire the illusion that they can obtain that value. It's the first time I've encountered a game where they sell just air - illusions - for insane amounts of money.The monetization of this game is fundamentally built on mistakes and misleading the player. They show him a ship, but in reality he is not buying a ship, but rather elements of a ship, for which the player will receive value of uncertain quality. They show a picture of a hero in the in-game purchase ads, but it will not be the hero. In short, a very ugly trend towards players. And a reasonable question arises, "Could they really do that?" Will all games now start turning into such a scheme of deceiving players?But maybe I am too old-fashioned and professional deformation regarding the attitude of Google and Apple platforms are making themselves known, that the requirements for the design of InApp purchases should clearly state what the user is purchasing. Or maybe platforms have actually changed their opinion and now you can sell air and illusions. But there is something good in this game. The sea is just perfect )) Probably one of the most beautiful ones I've seen on mobile platforms recently.

Hello there, Today, I wrote an article about how challenges keep players engaged in games. It's the first part of a series about the Player Experience Needs System from Immersyve. This study has been pivotal in how I see marketing and product management for video games.Maximizing player satisfaction and engagement involves more than an optimal challenge. It's about showcasing mastery, providing support, and ensuring positive feedback.In marketing, highlight end-game content as a mastery goal and integrate challenges like weekly tasks to keep your players in. Always show various paths to mastery—weapons type in FPS, deck strategies, RPG builds—to engage players.Stay tuned for more insights on leveraging autonomy in the next article!https://lnkd.in/gdWqYEUg

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Couldn’t agree more with this. Importance of a clear vision, play testing & player feedback in game Dev process. Understanding the player base and if possible co designing with player feedback.

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Exploring "Fallout Fully Featured" with Martin TomsThe Fallout series is a beloved game franchise known for its open-world exploration, unique storylines, and engaging gameplay. In the YouTube video "Fallout Fully Featured," Martin Toms takes viewers on an exciting journey through the game, showcasing his expertise and love for the series.Video Overview"Fallout Fully Featured" is a comprehensive look at the game, led by Martin Toms, a skilled player with a deep understanding of Fallout. The video covers a variety of aspects, including the game's major features, challenges, and quests. Martin's commentary is engaging and informative, making the video enjoyable for both seasoned Fallout players and newcomers.Deep Dive into FalloutIn the video, Martin highlights some of the most intriguing aspects of Fallout, such as its expansive world and complex storylines. He navigates through challenging quests and offers insights into the game's lore and characters. His attention to detail and strategic approach to gameplay provide viewers with a fresh perspective on the game.Modifications and EnhancementsOne of the standout features of the video is Martin's use of mods and enhancements. These modifications add depth and excitement to the gameplay, allowing for unique experiences and new challenges. Martin carefully selects mods that complement the game, providing viewers with innovative and captivating content.Pro Player InsightsMartin Toms' expertise shines through in the video as he shares tips and strategies for tackling different aspects of the game. His in-depth knowledge of Fallout helps viewers understand how to approach the game more effectively. Key moments in the video showcase Martin's skill and passion for the game.Conclusion"Fallout Fully Featured" is a must-watch video for anyone interested in the Fallout series. Martin Toms' engaging commentary and expert gameplay offer a comprehensive look at the game. If you haven't already, be sure to check out the video and subscribe to Martin's channel for more gaming content!