GUEST BLOG: The Science of Listening.

Unlike many other sectors, we are awash with data in the games industry. Through this data publishers and developers can see what players like, what they don’t like and how they want to experience games. But are you really listening?

 Mark Robinson

With thousands of free to play games now on the market, understanding exactly who is playing your game, how they like to play it and how best to engage them forms an integral part in developing profitable games. The art of successful monetisation lies in something we call the Science of Listening. Listening to your players and using that data to create the right messaging strategy is a true science that many publishers and developers are yet to master.

The Science of Listening allows us to highlight players who are frustrated and intervene with them to improve their experience through tailored hints and tips or resource gifts.  It also allows us to understand playing styles so players get appropriate offers to encourage them to monetise; for example, aggressive players getting weapons and ammo offers, strategic players getting boosters. Ultimately it is about personalising the game experience based on player behaviours so that we move away from the one-size-fits all mentality and improve the game environment for all players.

The key is to treat players as unique and to not look at the mass as an amorphous lump, which is where analytics can help publishers and developers cater for these different player types.

This player-centric approach is a massive opportunity for publishers ensuring

good returns on their investment in the game. Understanding key segments of

actual players avoids the reliance on focus groups and testers to optimise the

game design.

The Science of Listening is about combining analytics technology with human expertise to analyse player performance in real-time, using advanced data mining and predictive modelling to segment and act on various different player behaviours simultaneously. By using analytics to segment players into different groups, you can then develop a messaging strategy which is relevant for each group.

However, it is worthwhile understanding the theory behind the science as effective analysis of behaviours combined with appropriate and timely message

interventions, equals the potential to dramatically improve a game’s retention

and monetisation metrics and can generate revenue uplifts in the range 20-40%.

Players are trying to tell us what type of gaming experience they want; and now

publishers and developers have the ability to listen and to create more responsive and engaging games.

This blog was written by Mark Robinson, COO and co-founder of predictive analytics specialist GamesAnalytics, will be presenting on ‘Using Segmentation to Really Understand Your Players’ at F2P Summit on 10 October in London.