How can game mechanics be designed to meet business goals?

The first thing is to choose a segment of customers to target, which will determine the type of game you make. Also, check the market for the available competition and market players. Try not to compete against them directly if you do not have enough resources. Aside from high-level research, a more important thing to consider is the game concept. Games that could have breakthrough usually have some stellar components, usually one of the following few: gameplay, art/ animation, music, storyline, characters, VA or developers. The most important factor is undoubtedly gameplay, from short-term to long-term. Try to tailor the end product so that it can delight both new and long-time players for a longstanding/ repeatable game product.

User segmentation is an important concept. It is very easy to think of 'the players' as monolithic, when almost always there are significantly different sub-groups with different play patterns and spending habits. You can most easily identify these sub-groups using metrics and data analysis, but when your project hasn't launched yet you may have to look at existing comparable products or make an educated guess at the different types of players your game is likely to attract. Hard data is much better than guessing, so as soon as you can, start measuring what makes the most sense to learn about your different types of players to help improve your game for them.

We take the example of online games(Honkai Star Rail, Genshin Impact etc) which depend on Microtransactions for its monetary gain. What kind of microtransactions relate to the player(skins or augments) in general. As human beings we often like to surprised, by some reward or risk to that matter. So we see the rise of gacha type online games(soft-Gamble) on the rise. So a balancing in-game free currency and real currency is to be the prime object for this type online game

The main element is understanding the audience's expectations, skill levels, and interests allows designers to create a game that not only attracts but also captivates the target demographic, ultimately contributing to the game's overall appeal and success in the market.

One thing to remember to do research on your target audience and understand how to better their user experience. Make sure that it aligns with your/your employer's company's business goals. If it is your own studio then always abide by your own goals and how they will need to be connected!

Game features (and game mechanics, too) should be always connected to a business goal (it could be a KPI or a lower level metric). For example: You might consider a PVP weekly competition as something that you think "your players will enjoy". If this is the case, it's needed to check the following metrics: - % of players who signs up for the competition. - % of player who compete (spent X amount of time competing) Once it's validated the players are actually using the feature, then some changes are expected in other metrics: - increase in session length and number of sessions. - increase in D3-D7 retention. - increase in conversion (and ARPPU). Only if you see such changes, you can assume your players actually enjoy the competition.

Business goals are the final outcome, often revenue but sometimes more intermediate goals like monthly active users or average revenue per user. Key Performance Indicators are ways to measure progress toward goals. The number of players who open the in-game shop might be an indicator to watch for the goal of achieving an increase in revenue. Ideally it is best to find leading indicators that are directly actionable, such as the frequency of new content releases so that you have clear actions you can take in order to reach your goals.

In a way, designing a good game is fundamentally connected to business goals. After all a game needs to be good to sell. However, the way a game sells itself is important to consider. What is the main monetization system? Is it a free-to-play game where characters are at the forefront and you want to sell skins for the characters? What aspect of the game do you want to sell and need to sell? Making a clear objective will make it easier both to design mechanics benefitting and accomplishing business goals.

Business Goal: build a tower with your team. Objective: kids works along with their team to build the tallest tower using provided materials, promoting collaboration. Game: 1. Each team have 2-3 members. 2. Each team builds a tower within a time limits. 3. Emphasise equal contribution from all team members. 4. Measure and compare tower height. Learning: - Teaches teamwork and communication. - highlights the importance of collaboration. - encourages achieving goal though effective teamworks.

It's crucial to understand how changes in the game will affect key metrics, like first-day retention. Improving the first impression through UI can be a good start. An effective mathematical model will track behavioral changes and their impact on the product

Generally you will likely have a genre that determines the majority of your mechanics. If you're making a mobile match-3 game, vs. a console FPS, a lot of the mechanics are decided already. You only need around 10-20% differentiation. Using a few unique mechanics or just a unique IP can often be enough to set your game apart, allowing you to lower the business risk by sticking to proven features for most of the game, and only then worrying about maximizing the quality of the experience.

Game designers should play a lot, developing their taste and understanding of game mechanics. This avoids situations where separately liked elements don’t work effectively together, as in Joey's example from 'Friends.

A/B testing is one of the most surefire ways to determine the results of a specific change. This can often be hard to pull off though, and takes a significant amount of resources to collect a large enough dataset to measure very small but statistically significant changes that can't be written off to random variation between test groups. When you're first implementing your mechanics this probably isn't something you want to worry about. First get everything working and then come back and iterate on it later. The only time to stop and backtrack at initial implementation is when something really isn't working at all, but that can usually be avoided by building a vertical slice prototype before committing to your mechanics.

Constantly iterating game mechanics with fine-tuning, fighting entropy, and adapting one game for different audiences is necessary. This technical approach promotes product flexibility.

Always be receptive to decluttering, particularly when it comes to elements diverging from core loops. If feedback signals that a cool or innovative mechanic is just adding confusion without adding value; don't hesitate to edit, trim or remove it in order to enhance gameplay. ?

A deep understanding of the product is essential to effectively use feedback from players or playtests. Comparing benchmark behavior with actual helps in iteration and optimization.

How much to iterate depends on how close to your goals you are. Small change, small result. Big change, big result. This is to say that if you're trying to 2x or more your numbers, you are probably going to have to do more than make a few small tweaks. If you're already doing really well and just need a little improvement, don't go making huge sweeping changes that might turn out worse than where you started.

Some examples of game mechanics that can be used for different business goals are: 1. Social proof: using elements such as ratings, reviews, testimonials, leaderboards, badges, and achievements to influence the behavior and decisions of the players based on the actions and opinions of others. 2. User experience: using elements such as tutorials, hints, tips, guides, and help to make the game easy to learn and use, and to reduce frustration and confusion. 3. Gamification: using elements such as points, levels, quests, rewards, and progress bars to motivate the players and provide them with a sense of accomplishment and growth.