Your game feature is underperforming. How can you turn the tide with data-driven solutions?

To enhance an underperforming game feature, begin with comprehensive data analysis. Gather detailed gameplay metrics to discern player interactions with the feature. Identify patterns, such as where players disengage, time invested in the feature, and user review sentiments. These insights will reveal friction points or elements that fail to captivate. Armed with this data, strategically refine or revamp the feature as needed. Additionally, consider the architecture of data collection tools during the design phase. Implementing robust analytics tools from the outset ensures continuous feedback and facilitates iterative improvement based on player behavior and preferences.

Analyze gameplay data to see how players interact. Look for drop-off points, time spent, and user reviews. Combine this with community feedback to pinpoint where players struggle. Data & insights = informed decisions to optimize the feature.

Data collecting is crucial, specially to understand disengagement, points of friction, player frustration and time spent in different sections of the game. Try to not overwhelm your project with data collection, since it starts to contribute less and be more time consuming for the analysts. Create a learned lessons documentation about the insights from the collected data and the player preferences and behavior. Address those lessons to improve your game features and create a more organic gameplay.

A common mistake teams make when integrating data into their decision-making process is collecting too much data. You only need enough data to gain specific insights that lead to actionable decisions. Over-collecting data can make insights inaccessible to most of the team, defeating the purpose and hindering effective decision-making.

Surveys, forums & social media (Discord, Facebook) are goldmines for feedback. Use them to understand what players enjoy/dislike about a feature. This feedback, combined with data, fuels smart improvements and strengthens your community.

Player feedback is a game-changer when it comes to refining features. It not only shows us what needs improvement but also gives us a peek into what players love. For instance, Riot Games does a great job by constantly engaging with their community through surveys and forums, which has led to some fantastic updates for League of Legends. Regularly chatting with our players can make them feel like they’re part of the journey, boosting loyalty. @Nikolai - how do you make sure player feedback shapes your development cycle?

Most games developers tend to inform their community about upcoming changes, creating a feeling of anticipation and even participation for the new features, helping to create security and hype from players side, since they already know most of the changes that are on the way. In the other hand, there are the "big surprises" from developers part, where things can get really bad for the game and its player base, since they weren't expecting that major feature or change to the gameplay or mechanics. It's a better practice to inform the players in advance with some hints or parts of the upcoming updates to reduce frictions or massive disappointment, which can lead to bad ratings, reviews and even players just leaving the game.

One approach to this is to analyze if the game already has some monetization strategies working, maybe in form of other currencies, shop, skins, DLC, loot boxes, etc. If it has one or more areas working, you can start from there to understand what is making the players spend real money on that area and why, what do they seek by doing that, what do they accomplish in the game? Next, study objectively what the new feature is bringing on to the table, and why are the players ignoring it, maybe is offering something they don't want? It's too complicated or boring to play? It's something unrelated to the core of the game? It's too expensive and its game value too low? Write down conclusions and learned lessons for the future.

Being “data driven” is typically something to avoid. You don’t want to be forced to make decisions solely based on statistics. Instead, aim to be “data informed.” Use data insights to support and inform your decisions rather than relying on them as the sole source of truth. This approach allows for a more balanced and nuanced decision-making process.

Data is always important, but don't forget your public is human and allow them to express themselves as part of the game development, contributing with opinions and ideas. Use both your collected data and reviews or opinions in player forums and social media to really understand what they are expecting from the new features and what makes them like the game right now.