20142015

P4228429 Markus
Ltveit Game Analytics

HOW TO ACQUIRE, RETAIN AND MONETIZE USERS THROUGH

GAME ANALYTICS
P4228429 MARKUS LTVEIT
GAME PRACTICAL PROJECT
TEESIDE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF COMPUTING

P4228429 Markus Ltveit Game Analytics

What is Game Analytics?

Game Analytics is a process divided into 3 fundamental steps.
1.

Collecting Game Telemetry

Game Telemetry is raw data collected from the game. This can be the attributes of different objects in a
broad sense such as people, static objects, processes systems etc. The term is derived from the 19th
Century when the first data transmission circuits were developed. (Game Analytics, 2013) This can be
data such as a player dying, an item bought, time spent on level and so on.
2.

Converting Raw Data to Game Metrics

Game Metrics is taking the raw data stored in a database and converting it to interpretable measures such
as average time on level completion, and lifetime network value(LTNV) of a player .(Game Analytics,
2013)
3.

Analyzing Game Metrics to formulate plans of action

For example could the data collected show there is a surge of users leaving the game once they reach the
max level in an MMO. Does this mean there is a lack of post-game content? If so what content? Do we
need more raids? More social features? Using the data at hand to formulate a plan of action is the final
part of Game Analytics.

History of Game Analytics

Game Analytics is a field of study that has emerged in recent years, this due to a number of factors. With
the exponential growth of broadband access and data storage, it has become feasible to store a wide
variety of variables from a multimillion user applications. Taking inspiration from web design and other
software development the game industry has started realizing that monitoring the patterns of their users
can provide massive benefits. The rise of Game Analytics also came at an opportune time with the
increasing number of games employing the Free2Play business model abbreviated F2P that has a strong
focus on retaining and monetizing users.

That is not to say that user experience research (UX) did not exist until recently. UX has existed for many
years. The difference between UX now and then is the shift from only qualitative research to both
quantitative and qualitative research combined to get a more accurate picture of the games players.

P4228429 Markus Ltveit Game Analytics

Game Analytics for different stakeholders

Game Analytics does not exclusively focus on User Metrics, but also has applications outside of the users
in game development.

Programmers

Monitor game performance

Detailed logs on game crash

Overview of severity of bug and

how many users are affected

(Game Analytics, 2015)

Designers

Improving Game Flow

Addressing Balance Issues

Combined with Qualitive UX to

improve player satisfaction and
lessen frustration

(Game Analytics, 2013)

P4228429 Markus Ltveit Game Analytics

Marketing

For making infographics in advertisement

Monitoring monetization success

Gathering information on top level play to

communicate with players

(EEDAR, 2013)

Players and Third Party Sites

Using statistics to monitor performance and

improvement

Augmented gameplay experience

Comparison to peers

P4228429 Markus Ltveit Game Analytics

(Dotabuff, 2015)

P4228429 Markus Ltveit Game Analytics

Game Analytics in Acquisition

Game analytics can be used in acquisition to acquire new users as cheaply and effective as possible. By
tracking where your users come from both geographically and digitally it is possible to redirect the
marketing effort where it is most beneficial. By tracking variables such as the Cost Per Acquisition
(CPA/CPI) comparing it to the LTVN of the user you acquire to evaluate whether the current approach is
sustainable or not.

Game Analytics in Retention

By analyzing your target demographic and incorporating Game Metrics in the design process, it is
possible to increase both the long term and short-term
retention.

If your churn rate is higher than

your acquisition rate, it is a clear
sign of your game having severe
issues that makes players leave. To
investigate such issues one can log
On Exit Events (XED) and progress
stats of the players that leave to get
a good overview of what the player
was doing at the time of quitting
the game. Once a potential issue
has been found, it is up to the game
designer to improve the experience.
Whether the action that was taken
worked as intended can later be
studied through continued
monitoring of game metrics.

What appeals?
In 1996 Richard Bartle one of
the pioneers in the MMO
genre and the creator of the
Multi User Dungeon (MUD)
released a paper outlining 4
major player types. In order
to reach a broader audience it
is vital to incorporate
functions that appeal to all of
the groups.

(Caron, 2011)

P4228429 Markus Ltveit Game Analytics

Off course depending on the market you are aiming adaptions can be required.
Asia is an emerging market with China alone having more than 1.3 billion inhabitants in 2010 according
to the sixth national population census of the republic of china. Due to heavy regulations, though it is
required to have a Chinese publisher.
That is only the first hurdle. Asia as a
market have shown a significant
preference towards free games with
micro transactions compared to
traditional economical models such as
the retail and subscription model. Not to
mention the cultural differences that
needs to be taken into account as well.

(SmileGate, 2009)

Short Term Retention Mechanics

In order to keep users playing your game
you have to have a compelling game
mechanic and core loop centered around
this mechanic. A core loop is the sum of
actions that you do and what order they are
done in the game. They are the beating heart
of the game.

(Interaction Design Foundation , 2013)

2222013222013FoFoundation,2009)

Generally the natural exit point of the game

for players are after the reward has been
gained, but it is possible to have it at other
points such as after the action before a
reward is collected such as seen in a lot of
social games with turn or time based
gameplay.

Sessioning is important to get right because.

If a consumer is experiencing negative feelings as they consume your product even if it is caused by
overconsumption it will lead to negative associations with that product.

P4228429 Markus Ltveit Game Analytics

Creating a compelling Core Loop

1.
2.
3.

Create a compelling game mechanic that is fun/intense/interesting to play.

Have a good reward schedule to reward players extrinsically.
Motivation to come back or keep playing

In motivational psychology there is a concept

of reward schedules and how they can be
structured to increase the desired behavior
which in this case is getting the player to
keep playing.
1.

Fixed Ratio

Good to get a reliable reinforcement of the

player behavior making sure they do not get
discouraged by bad luck.
2.

Variable Reward Schedule

Can be extremely addicting due to the

mentality that the player might get an epic
loot next time. Must have a high enough
average that players dont quit when they get
a lackluster reinforcement. Same concept
used in collectible card games.
3.

(Wikispaces, 2015)

Increasing Variable Schedule

Allows for high retention but can be very hard to balance due to the increasing returns.

Return Triggers
1.

Appointment Triggers

Crops done growing at a certain time Farmville.

2.

Competitive Triggers

Leaderboards, ranking, features that foster competition.

3.

Social Commitment Triggers

Activities that depend more than 1 player such as in Draw Something by OMGPop

P4228429 Markus Ltveit Game Analytics

Long Term Retention

Create long term goals.

Sense of progression
o Leaderboards
o RPG Elements
o Ranks
Visualize what is attainable
through time.
o Showing what high
level players have.
Social Networks
o Guilds
o Helping friends
o Communication

(Anthony, 2013)

Game Analytics in Monetization

Most useful for games with long term monetization model such as Free2Play games with
microtransactions.

P4228429 Markus Ltveit Game Analytics

Conversion Rate and the First Purchase Deal

Up to 95% of users spend nothing on Free2Play games with a significant portion of revenue
coming from big spenders or so called Whales
By converting a user to a paying user chances are they will purchase again.
First purchase deals should give a good amount of content for a very cheap price.

(Anastasia, 2013)

P4228429 Markus Ltveit Game Analytics

Lifetime Network Value and Average Revenue Per User

LifetimeNetwork(LTNV) Value is the amount of revenue that can be expected from your average
user over the course of their playtime.
Goal is to have higher LTNV than CPA(Cost per acquisition)
By monitoring conversion rate from nonpaying to paying users as well as the Average Revenue
Per User (ARPU) and Average Revenue Per Paying user (ARPPU) its possible to track problems
with your monetization approach.

(Gree, 2012)

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P4228429 Markus Ltveit Game Analytics

Game Analytics Software and Implementation

2 main categories of Game Analytics.
1.

Game Analytics Software

Pros:

Good amount of
control
Offline functionality
1 time payment

Cons:

Expensive up front
Non automatic updates/installs

2.

(tableu, 2015)

Game Analytics Service

Pros:

Automatic updates, no installs

Cheaper
No compatibility issues

(Game Analytics, 2015)

Cons:

No offline functionality
Less control

Technical Implementation
First of you have to
record variables within
the game that you are
going to track.
Second step is to use the
API of the software or
service to send variables
over for processing.
Third step is sorting
throught he data to
begin analysis.

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P4228429 Markus Ltveit Game Analytics

Implementation from a Design Perspective

Before going through the technical aspect of the implementation it is important to decide what should be
tracked as an overload of variables does not only demand a lot of storage, but can also create information
overload for analysis making it hard to act on.
What to track

Standards variables such as Retention, ARPU, ARRPU, LTNV and Conversion rate
Variables specific to your game. (Time trial times, Damage done during match, Heatmap etc)
EED to monitor what appeals with your game
XED to monitor if your sessioning is working right
Start with as few as possible then expand

Analyzing Game Metrics

There are 3 keys step to analyzing game metrics
1.

Formulating a goal

When trying to analyze data that has been collected always keep in mind the purpose of the investigation.
Is it a descriptive analysis with focus on unveiling patterns in the data? Is it a classifying analysis that
aims to classify what users are most likely to become paying users? Are you trying to predict the future of
a function or the size of the player base? Is it the statistical outliers that are of interest? Or is it your
average player? These questions needs to be answered before moving on to step 2.
2.

Formulating a plan of action

What data algorithms will be used? Cluster Analysis? Supervised Learning? Once the relevant data has
been siphoned through and the data has been collected its time to move on to step 3.
3.

How to present the data

By combining variables and presenting them, together as one it is possible to gain more insight in to
player behavior. Instead of just logging the amount of deaths in a shooter, combining it with the amount
of kills for a K/D ratio gives more valuable insight into how the player is performing.

Complementary Qualitative Analysis

Game metrics can measure a lot about how players play the game, but have severe limitations to how
players feel about the game. Even if the player dies at a certain point repeatedly does not mean the player
is frustrated. The player might even think the challenge is fun! This is where Qualitative Analysis come in.

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P4228429 Markus Ltveit Game Analytics

By combining statistics with questionnaires, player

interviews, session recordings it is possible to get more
insight into what the players liked or did not like about
the game. Alternatively, more or advanced equipment
can be used such as electroencephalograph (EEG),
electromyography (EMG) or galvanic skin response
(GSR) recording systems to capture how the players are
feeling during any point during gameplay.

(VideoGameTesterHub, Unkown)

Does Game Analytics Replace Game Design?

The simple answer to this is no.
What Game Analytics can do for you:

Highlights Issues in Game Design, Code or Monetization approach

Gives detail overview of health of the game
Alter Game Design to appeal to as wide a audience as possible

What Game Analytics does not do:

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Fix issues, this is up to the designer/programmer or other relevant stakeholders to find a solution

P4228429 Markus Ltveit Game Analytics

Game Analytics is a strong tool, but the tool is only as good as those it is in the hands of. If the designer
misinterpret statistics or misjudge the solutions required for the problem the game will still suffer for it.

(Extra Credits, 2010)

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EEDAR(2013)Among mobile gamers,
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/among-mobile-gamers-males-arethe-whales-and-women-dont-pay-toplay/ (Accessed 14 January 2014)
El-Nasr,Magy. Seif Drachen, Anders.
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