The Keys to Game Success: FTUE, Live-ops and Community

Written by Game Trendsetter Maci, 18 December 2024

“To those who share my memories and dreams of gaming: create even more successful games.”

My first gaming memory is of playing Super Mario Bros 3, a game developed by Nintendo. The game console I received for Christmas seemed more like a gift for my dad than for me. His passion for gaming was clear as he stayed up all night trying to conquer World 8 in Super Mario Bros 3.

Back then, gaming console was very different from today. Remarkably, there was no save function in the game. To see the ending, you had to keep the console powered on the entire time. My dad, determined to experience the game’s conclusion, stayed awake all night, tirelessly working through the levels without the luxury of saving his progress.

This love for gaming that I witnessed from my parents eventually inspired me to pursue a career in the gaming industry.

In high school, my desire to create games took me to the electronics market with a friend, where I purchased RPG Maker 95. While I enjoyed playing games, but I found the process of creating them to be quite challenging. Starting from scratch without a plan, trying to create imaginary continents and maps, made it apparent that this wasn’t the right approach to game development.

I didn’t become a game developer myself, but I now support indie developers who share my dreams and help them create successful games.

Many game developers I meet may have embarked on their journey with similar experiences to mine. However, simply having a great concept, exceptional development skills, or outstanding artistic talent isn’t enough to create a successful game.

The true joy of gaming comes from providing players with an experience they enjoy and want to return to the next day. Games that achieve high retention rates share common features. By analyzing games made using our product BACKND that have remained popular over time, we can identify some common characteristics.

Game development is as challenging as the creative process, and predicting success can be difficult. Nonetheless, popular games share certain traits. High-retention games offer players consistently engaging experiences that keep them in the game world.

First, FTUE and user-friendly interfaces are crucial. Games should offer environments where new players can easily adapt and enjoy their experience. This convenience generates initial interest and motivates players to continue playing.

Second, a variety of content and frequent updates — known as live operations — are essential for maintaining player interest. Players stay engaged through new challenges and experiences. Developers must introduce new content and features regularly to keep players invested.

Examples of successful live operations include games that release weekly or seasonal events, introduce exclusive skins, or add limited-time game modes. For instance, RPGs like Genshin Impact ensure high engagement by launching new quests, characters, and festivals tied to real-world seasons.

To execute live operations effectively, certain features are indispensable. These include content scheduling tools, real-time analytics to track player behavior, and robust server infrastructure that supports seamless updates. Automated testing for new features and rollback capabilities for potential issues also help ensure that updates don’t disrupt the player experience. In the event of unexpected problems, having rollback capabilities in place is crucial. Of course, building a stable system to prevent such issues remains fundamental to ensuring a positive player experience. These features play a vital role in minimizing the negative impact on the player experience caused by any potential disruptions.

Third, the importance of community and social interaction should not be underestimated. These might be the most important factors. Enabling players to compete and collaborate turns the game into a social space. This creates an environment where players want to play the game for a long time and enjoy it with friends.

For example, in Capybara Go, guild systems play a pivotal role in fostering collaboration and competition. Guild members work together to defeat shared guild monsters, with rewards distributed based on the completion of these challenges. Individual contributions to the monster’s defeat are displayed on a leaderboard, encouraging healthy competition within the guild.

Additionally, players can donate resources to their guild to earn guild coins. These coins can be used to purchase exclusive items that are unavailable in the regular in-game shop, further incentivizing players to actively engage with their guild community.

With the help of SaaS solutions, even solo developers or small teams without a server developer can integrate server functionality into their games. These tools provide pre-built services such as leaderboards, matchmaking, real-time chat, and cloud saves, which are crucial for creating engaging multiplayer experiences or implementing live operations.

Not only do these solutions save time, but they also reduce costs by eliminating the need to build infrastructure from scratch. For teams with server development expertise, SaaS can complement in-house capabilities, streamlining workflows and allowing developers to focus more on game design and player engagement.

In a future opportunity, I hope to explore ways to improve D1 retention in games in the blog.

By leveraging these three commonalities of successful games, games can become cherished by players for years to come. I encourage everyone venturing into game development to strive for success!

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