Why Understanding User Behavior Impacts Game Success

Video games are powerful. They awaken our true selves, which can shape gameplay in unique ways. Adventurous players might explore vast terrains for hidden Easter eggs. More competitive players seek to defeat opponents. Understanding player motivations is crucial for developers. Through user behavior, you can identify which game aspects are performing well and which need some work.

This vital component of game development allows for quicker solutions to in-game issues. In this article, we’ll explore the fundamentals of user behavior and how to leverage it to enhance your game.

What is user behavior in games?

Generally, user behavior is how people use products, such as apps and websites. In gaming, it refers to what features users engage with the most. How long are they playing for? What areas of the game are they struggling with?

Key areas of user behavior in games include player patterns, progression, retention, player movement, and player satisfaction.

Why is user behavior in games important?

It doesn’t take long to realize that analyzing user behavior in games is essential. Here are some key reasons why:

• Personalized gameplay experiences: With 71% of consumers (in gaming and beyond) expecting personalized interactions, it’s super important to understand unique player preferences. This knowledge helps segment users based on playing and spending patterns, allowing you to customize experiences with tailored content suggestions, in-game rewards, and offers.
• Retention strategies: Player behavior helps to pinpoint ways to improve user retention and lifetime value (LTV), and reduce churn.
• Identifying blind spots: Analyzing user behavior uncovers why a player left their game. Identifies root causes of problems, and develops better-informed solutions.
• Optimizing level complexity: Pinpoint where players are struggling and how to adjust difficulty levels to optimize engagement.
• Enhancing revenue streams: Revenue-based behavior (like unlocking features and buying coins) also contributes to optimizing monetization.
• Predictive analytics: Leveraging player behavior findings helps to forecast future player expectations.

To better understand user behavior, let’s dive deeper into what keeps them coming back. This includes their motivations, behavior types, and preferred game mechanics.

Player motivation

If you want to develop a captivating game, you need to understand why people want to play games in the first place. Various motives for gaming include competition, socializing, escapism, and more.

Most player motives are either:

• Intrinsic: Motivating players to complete tasks simply for the fun of it, boosting happiness and self-esteem. 
• Extrinsic: Driving the player to complete a task for some kind of reward or punishment. 

User behavior personas in games

According to game researcher Richard Bartle, there are four main player types based on unique motivations: achievers, explorers, socializers, and killers.

Player type	Motivation	Key interests	Behavior traits	Game stimuli
Achievers	Progressing and mastering a game	Points, levels, milestones	Goal-focused, success-driven, task-oriented	Completing missions, unlocking rewards
Explorers	Curious to discover	Game lore, environments, mechanics	Interested in game mechanics, unlocking secrets	Finding Easter eggs, experimenting, exploring environments
Socializers	Teamwork and relationships	Multiplayer, chat	Collaboration, communication, interaction	Playing multiplayer games, joining game chats and guilds
Killers	Competition and dominating	PvP, high scores, leaderboards	Competitive, determined to win and outperform others	Climbing leaderboards, winning battles

How game mechanics influence user behavior

Game mechanics can contribute to player motivation in various ways. We’ve grouped the most popular mechanics into three distinctive categories: motivational, explorational, and competitive mechanics.

Motivational mechanics

Mechanics aimed to engage players by promoting achievement and progress:

• Achievement: Players are motivated if they’re regularly earning rewards, reaching milestones, and leveling up.
• Progression: With features like experience points and skill trees, players want to continuously improve in the game.
• Status: Players can be motivated to reach a high game status by receiving rewards like badges and titles. 

Explorational mechanics

Mechanics for more adventurous players looking for immersive user experiences:

• Ownership: The more agency and control a player has, the more invested they’ll be in a game. Features like player housing, customization, and collecting items help to promote ownership.
• Collection: Explorer personas want to navigate the environment to discover in-game items like artifacts, weapons, and cosmetics.
• Epic meaning: Players need the game they’re playing to have a purpose. Making the game’s story and goals more meaningful is key.

Competitive and social mechanics

Mechanics that promote healthy competition among players:

• Blissful productivity: Making repetitive tasks enjoyable through resource management and crafting.
• Appointment: Creating urgency to play regularly with timed events and daily quests. 
• Envy: Leaderboards boost game competition, pushing players to play for longer to rank higher.

So far, we have dived into what drives player behavior. But what about the ways that developers can measure these abstract metrics? Let’s find out.

Types of user behavior analysis

Here are some ways to analyze player behavior, each contributing to a game’s success.

Player segmentation

Categorizing players based on preferences and choices is integral to analyzing player behavior. This helps game developers create game content and events that cater to specific user groups. Player segmentation paves the way for higher player engagement and satisfaction.

Churn analysis 

With an average of 68.3% of mobile game players churning on day one, it’s crucial to identify players who might be at risk of leaving your game. Churn analysis effectively monitors in-game behavior to identify possible drop-off points. Pinpointing these problems makes it easier to implement better-informed retention strategies. These include custom incentives and tailored content.

A/B testing

Testing two versions of a game can show which one produces more positive player behavior. Analyzing many user interfaces and in-game features are examples of A/B testing your player base’s behavior and preferences.

Monetization analysis 

Analyzing in-game purchases makes it easier to understand what players like spending money on. These insights improve monetization strategies, increasing game revenue in the process.

Each method provides unique insights into the player’s journey. With each type of analysis, developers can draw valuable data and insights. 

Data collected from user behavior gaming analytics

Let’s shed some light on the most common types of data collected in player behavior analytics.

Player feedback

Gathering honest user feedback helps developers understand what players like and don’t like about their game. Game studios often supply various channels for players to provide feedback (forums, social media, support, surveys, etc.). Developers can extract the most prevalent opinions to optimize the game accordingly.

User demographics

Understanding each user’s demographic is key to personalizing the player experience. Collecting player ages, genders, and locations produces valuable insights for tailoring the gaming experience to various audiences.

Game telemetry

This aspect of gaming behavior analysis focuses on in-game actions and interactions. Common examples include clicks, movements, decisions, and keystrokes. Observing in-game actions helps to conclude how players engage with the game.

User behavior: The secret sauce to growing your game

It’s no good just developing a game that you think might be fun for your user base. Understanding player behavior adds another sophisticated layer to game development. 

User behavior directs not just how a game is made, but also how it’s optimized for better performance and a long-term, enjoyable experience. Keep a close eye on how players interact with your game, and you’ll be able to keep them coming back for more.