I’ve focused on the Retention Layer in video games, but we are also seeing it emerge in board games. Beasts of Balance is a hybrid digital/ physical game. The physical game is a “balance things on top...

Robert Cialdini is professor of Marketing and professor of Psychology at Arizona State University. That is a dangerous combination. In 1985, Cialdini published Influence, in which he identified six principles that all compliance professionals—by which he means...

The Pyramid and the other tools that I introduce in this book improve both product and service games. They are much more important for service games. Imagine two different scenarios: Maria has heard good things about Generic...

Whether you call it the FTUE, initial experience or onboarding, the first experience a player has with your game is a crucial part of your retention, particularly in a F2P game. If the game is paid, players...

I dislike words that confuse instead of clarify. Alpha and beta tests are two such words. In the days of boxed product development, or the release of online games on PC, the terms had clear meanings Alpha...

When creating items for players to purchase, developers sometimes refer to vanity items. These are typically cosmetic changes to the player’s character or personal space in the game that have no impact on gameplay. Team Fortress 2’s...