Mastering Retention

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 Investing

9:34 Coming up with new game ideas.

16:49 Creating Cross Platform Games

18:44 Live Ops

20:32 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 Games

31:34 Data Driven Games

35:20 Useful Analytics

39:59 Improving your game with accurate data.

41:43 Keeping your game fresh with new content.

44:35 What all goes into selecting your co-founder

49:59 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 Click

19:25 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 Design

5:56 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.