Early User Retention Analytics. Aha-moment

What the talk is about

Konstantin Miroshnichenko draws on two years of work on an experimental project that combined slots and a city builder to show how to analyze early player retention. First, when the audiences of two genres barely overlap, you must pick the core mechanic and the metagame and rebuild the game loop. Second, the "aha moment" is found by looking at retention of cohorts that reached different funnel steps, and the metagame has to be gently pushed on players. Third, a new feature such as a fortune wheel is tested through its placement and its drop table, comparing retention of those who got each outcome. Fourth, day-2 retention was studied with discriminant analysis, and the fix was a single button for collecting all bonuses. He closes with advice for analysts: join the product early, read the GDD, and speak your colleagues' language. Useful for analysts and game designers.