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How to design your player journey map?

How to design your player journey map? (5-step checklist)A player journey map visualizes experiencesโ†ณ aligns gameplay, monetization & retention.Hereโ€™s how to design one for your game:1๏ธโƒฃ Define your mapโ€™s purposeโ€ข Focus on 1 goal: onboarding, retention, etc.โ€ข Set detail level, e.g., purchase journey.โ€ข Identify segment: casual, whales, etc.2๏ธโƒฃ Identify player personasโ€ข Casual: focus on easy access & discovery.โ€ข Influencers: reward w/ social recognition.โ€ข Spenders: highlight exclusive offers.3๏ธโƒฃ Analyze behaviors and touchpointsโ€ข Observe key systems: core, meta, etc.โ€ข Track streamers and community activity.โ€ข Check top items for awareness/purchases.4๏ธโƒฃ Map the player journey stagesโ€ข Awareness: Buzz from gameplay & socials.โ€ข Consideration: Reviews & personal offers.โ€ข Purchase: Easy checkout & seamless flow.โ€ข Usage: Impact on gameplay & recognition.5๏ธโƒฃ Validate and refine your mapโ€ข Test it with player actions and feedback.โ€ข Align it with KPIs like retention rates.โ€ข Keep evolving as the game grows.โ—Things […]

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Data Series: Say Games

If 144M+ downloads is not impressive, Say Games canshow off the variety of subgenres they are scaling. Only thing they are missing is a stronger live ops.Live ops that could change the IAP rates for them.Back to Say Games,We know My Perfect Hotel is doing REALLY good.We don't see similar IAP rates on other games.My guess is as good as yours, Ad Revenue is Skyrocketing and they are up to something big.One thing many publishers struggle with,Maintaining 120M+ downloads per year,Say Games knows how to scale a game.Do you think they can increase IAP?Or do they even need to?Time will tell.

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A lot of hype around AppLovin in eCommerce!

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒโ€™๐˜€ ๐—ฎ ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ต๐˜†๐—ฝ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—”๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—Ÿ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฒ๐—–๐—ผ๐—บ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ. If you think Applovin cracking e-commerce is the end game, you don't understand where the puck is going ๐Ÿ’๐Ÿ‘‡ While Meta continues to dominate budgets with at least 60%+ of spend, for top-spending brands AppLovin has equaled or overtaken heavyweights like Google (~10%), Amazon Ads (~5%), and TikTok (<3%) for a spot in the marketing mix. Some brands have achieved that level of spending scale in a short 2-8 weeks from onboarding, which is impressive, especially as they are already leapfrogging channels with multibillion-dollar ad businesses like TikTok, Amazon, and even Google.E-commerce brands are allegedly achieving higher spend and higher ROAS on Applovin than Meta right now. Since AppLovinโ€™s eCommerce ads network is still in closed beta, it will be interesting to monitor if thereโ€™s a consistent ability to maintain this. […]

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Solo Tournaments Guide

Solo Tournaments Guide Hereโ€™s how they work, based on the Playliner breakdown of Match Factory tournaments:๐Ÿญ. ๐—ค๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ง๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ธ โ€ข Players qualify by completing at least one level. โ€ข Inactive players are excluded, and everyone begins on equal ground. ๐Ÿฎ. ๐—ช๐—ถ๐—ป ๐— ๐˜‚๐—น๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ โ€ข Win a level on the first try? Your event token multiplier increases. โ€ข Fail? The multiplier resets, adding stakes to every move. ๐Ÿฏ. ๐—ฃ๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—š๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด โ€ข Players are grouped into pools of 30โ€“50, matched by activity or spending habits. โ€ข Bots may fill gaps, keeping the competition alive. ๐Ÿฐ. ๐—˜๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ง๐—ผ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜€ โ€ข Event tokens come from core gameplay: --- Completing levels --- Collecting special items โ€ข More tokens = higher leaderboard rankings. ๐Ÿฑ. ๐——๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป โ€ข Tournaments run for 1โ€“3 days, with a visible countdown timer to maintain urgency. ๐Ÿฒ. ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ๐˜€ โ€ข Tiered prizes motivate participation: --- Top 3: […]

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Smart Live-Ops Integration at Level Start/End

๐Ÿ’ก Smart Live-Ops Integration at Level Start/End! ๐Ÿ’ก Noticed a clever approach in some games recently: placing live-ops prompts at the start and end of levels to nudge players to join ongoing events. As live-ops continue to grow in importance, especially for titles aiming for long-term retention or hybrid monetization, this type of integration feels spot-on.๐ŸŽฏ Why I like it:- It subtly reminds players of events when theyโ€™re most engaged, without feeling intrusive.- Live-ops engagement can drive retention and monetization in ways that feel rewarding for the player.What are your thoughts on this tactic? Genius nudge or could it backfire?

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150.000+ Game Designers around the world!

๐Ÿ—บ 150.000+ Game Designers around the world!7 unique differences you should know about: They all do different things,To accomplish one thing!๐Ÿš€ Its like a construction project. You need different experts to design:Foundation,Landscape,Electrical,Exterior,Statics,Interior,Roof,etc.Each part is equally โ€˜โ€™importantโ€™โ€™and โ€˜โ€™MUSTโ€™โ€™ work together!Game design skills are similar,Different designers focus on different parts:โœฆ UX Designers,โœฆ Level Designers,โœฆ System Designers,โœฆ Combat Designers,โœฆ Narrative Designers,โœฆ Creative Art Designer,โœฆ Game Economy Designers.Each designerโ€™s job is unique.Together, they make the game work.Also, often we see โ€˜โ€™oneโ€™โ€™ title,That does it all, or connects them,Game Product ManagerProduct Director etc.

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How to make your game look stunning?

How to make your game look stunning? It comes down to six key fundamentals:1. ๐ŸŽฅ Camera A great camera is your starting point. โ€ข Pick the right angles and horizon line. โ€ข Highlight the most important gameplay elements. โ€ข Avoid awkward, disorienting views.2. โšซโšช Contrast Make important objects pop. โ€ข Bright and dark areas should balance for clarity. โ€ข Separate key objects from the background visually. โ€ข Use contrast to guide the playerโ€™s attention naturally.3. ๐ŸŽจ Composition Lead the playerโ€™s eye where it matters. โ€ข Add guiding lines to focus attention. โ€ข Follow the rule of thirds for balance. โ€ข Make every shot purposeful and easy to read.4. ๐Ÿ’ก Light Lighting is more than moodโ€”itโ€™s direction. โ€ข Highlight paths and objectives with light. โ€ข Use shadows and highlights for depth. โ€ข Dynamic lighting can boost immersion.5. ๐Ÿ•บ Animation Movement makes […]

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Riot can afford it??

Arguments justifying Arcane on the grounds that "Riot can afford it" are already lost. This framing positions Arcane as a cost center. Marketing heads are commonly called "Heads of Growth" because marketing isn't supposed to be a cost center; instead, it ought to be a profit center. It's a beautiful show (I loved it! Thank you for your subsidy!), and if Riot wants to spend $250M on IP narcissism, they can and should (they're also a private company), but that's different from justifying it within a cost-benefit framework.It's a common misconception that this framework requires easily observable evidence to be useful. Instead, it asks for higher rigor and a direct answer to "How could Arcane deliver over $250M of ROI relative to the best use of investment?" The higher the investment, the more intense the scrutiny level. Another way to […]

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My Industry Highlight?

People regularly ask me what my industry highlight is. Some might think it was the Luna Labs exit, Ironsource IPO, or launching 100โ€™s of games in my career but no. Itโ€™s not any of those, itโ€™s actually getting Mew in Pokemon TCGP after a month of grinding.

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Things TRUE Gamers don’t care about!

Things TRUE gamers don't care about: Some game developers learn these the hard wayโ€ฆDon't get me wrong,DLCs, customization etc., they are all great..But they are not what truly matters!Here are 5 key elements that shouldn't matter:1. Early Accessโ†ฑ Driven by mostly โ€˜โ€™Fear of Missing Outโ€™โ€™,โ†ฑ Most of these are just money grabbing.2. Micro-Transactionsโ†ฑ Pay extra on top of what you just paid,โ†ฑ Just to fast travel in game? No, thank you. 3. Release Dateโ†ฑ Buggy gameplay mechanics, rushed story,โ†ฑ Tons of technical issues, including login issues,โ†ฑ Because of profit promises for upper management?โ†ฑ We donโ€™t deserve this, we can wait. 4. Character Customizationโ†ฑ Sure, diversity is great, but tons of cosmetics,โ†ฑ Details on eye lid colors and eye lashes? Noโ€ฆ5. DLC Promiseโ†ฑ Why do I pay for a promise that should have,โ†ฑ Been in the original game in the first […]

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Royal Kingdom to Grow Match-3 GDP

๐—ฅ๐—ข๐—ฌ๐—”๐—Ÿ ๐—ž๐—œ๐—ก๐—š๐——๐—ข๐—  ๐—ง๐—ข ๐—š๐—ฅ๐—ข๐—ช ๐— ๐—”๐—ง๐—–๐—›๐Ÿฏ ๐—š๐——๐—ฃโ€ข Royal Kingdom launching Nov 22; today!โ€ข Royal Match has run away with it, but Candy Crush has grown over the long haul!โ€ข Some of its best quarters over the last two years.โ€ข Royal explosive growth didnโ€™t come at anyoneโ€™s expense; Bezos and Paul Graham are right.โ€ข ๐— ๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ฒ ๐—ฏ๐˜† ๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ, ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ.โ€ข Of the big threeโ€”Candy, Scapes, and Royalโ€”only Royal lacks the 2nd and 3rd+ spin-offs.โ€ข โ€œ2nd flagshipโ€ games do well, but that seems like the ceiling (Familyscape and additional Candy spin-offs struggled) ๐—ฃ๐—ข๐—ž๐—˜๐— ๐—ข๐—ก ๐—ฃ๐—ข๐—–๐—ž๐—˜๐—ง: ๐—ฆ๐—›๐—”๐—ฅ๐—ž๐—™๐—œ๐—ก ๐—ข๐—ฅ ๐—ฅ๐—จ๐—ก-๐—ฅ๐—”๐—ง๐—˜?โ€ข ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป: Downloads were falling fast last time we checked (steady revenue pulled: Nov 5; Updated: Nov 14)โ€ข ๐—จ.๐—ฆ. ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ป๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—น ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฒ๐—พ๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜‚๐—บ, ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ป, ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฎ ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿญ-๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜† $๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฐ ๐—ฅ๐—ฃ๐——, ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐˜† ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ป๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜. Actual UA reinvestment? With high RPD, should this be […]

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How does a Live Ops system work?

How does a Live Ops system work? Hereโ€™s a breakdown, based on the Playliner research:1. Offers ๐Ÿ’ฐ โ€ข Starter packs, season passes, and rolling deals. โ€ข Monetize player defeats and the desire to speed up progress.2. New content ๐ŸŽ‰ โ€ข Themed, seasonal, and late-game updates. โ€ข Keeps gameplay fresh and incentivizes players to explore further.3. Mini-games ๐ŸŽฎ โ€ข Fun additions like treasure hunts or Plinko. โ€ข Add variety and unlock new monetization opportunities.4. Win streaks ๐Ÿ”ฅ โ€ข Create FOMO and loss aversion. โ€ข Motivate players to extend sessions and chase bonuses.5. Task-based events โœ… โ€ข Daily quests, challenges, and milestone rewards. โ€ข Provide short- and long-term goals to keep players grinding.6. Tournaments ๐Ÿ† โ€ข Solo, team, and weekly competitions. โ€ข Heighten excitement, especially when competing with friends.7. Time-limited bonuses โณ โ€ข Extra lives, reduced costs, or double rewards. โ€ข Drive […]

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