The Definitive Guide
to Player Experience

How the world’s best Gaming studios
think about Player Experience

Player 
Experience

The Definitive Guide to Player Experience

How the World’s Best Gaming Studios Think About Player Experience

Player 
Experience

From Players to “Superfans”

Publishers understand how to build great games. And while traditional thinking has been “build it and they will come,” new data suggests that the entire experience – the game, the support, and the community – is what activates a player towards true long-term fandom.

 
Arise Gaming has a strong pulse on the psychology of the modern player. Having worked for decades with many of the top gaming publishers in the world, we strive to bring fresh player perspectives to the forefront. In addition to amplifying the voice of the player, we strive to bring clarity and meaningful insights to those designing experiences for them.
 
So how are superfans created? Each of the four practices below are the jewels to a best-in-class Player Experience, while maximizing value to stakeholders.
Game quality & testing: 

Game quality & testing: 

Keeping the player “in flow” and moving forward through a fun, balanced, and reliable game.

Keeping the player “in flow” and moving forward through a fun, balanced, and reliable game.

Community engagement
& sentiment: 

Community engagement
& sentiment: 

Bringing like-minded players together inside of an ecosystem where they can express identity and forge meaningful relationships.

Bringing like-minded players together inside of an ecosystem where they can express identity and forge meaningful relationships.

Game engagement
and retention: 

Game engagement
and retention: 

Proactively engaging the player in ways that make them feel as though the game loves them back. Minimizing friction to secure positive outcomes.

Proactively engaging the player in ways that make them feel as though the game loves them back. Minimizing friction to secure positive outcomes.

Purchases and revenue: 

Purchases and revenue: 

Understanding the critical role of MVPs in the overall growth of the game.

Understanding the critical role of MVPs in the overall growth of the game.

With the foundation of these four pillars, we can create lasting superfans.

True or False

Player experience should be an integral part of the
entire game development life cycle?

TRUE

FALSE

Incorrect, it’s True. 

Sorry, player experience should be central to the thinking behind game design, testing, player support and community moderation.

You're Right, it’s True!

That’s right. Player experience should be central to the thinking behind game design, testing, player support and community moderation.

The modern definition of Player Experience

What is Player Experience? Most definitions only consider the gameplay, however much of the experience is influenced by community, support, and other touchpoints, therefore:

 

Player Experience is the aggregate perception of the player after engaging with the game, the community, and the studio’s support. Player Experience is the deciding factor in creating players, play, revenue, and reach.

 

The goal of Player Experience is loyalty. Our interviews and interactions with dozens of Gaming executives confirm this. Studios that get PX right have higher engagement, increased customer lifetime value and significantly extend the revenue window of a game. 

Player Experience: From cost center to profit center

 

It’s time for many studios to shift their mentality beyond the creation of games and focus on the total gaming experience. Jonathan Shroyer is Arise Gaming’s Chief PX Innovation Officer and a veteran of many top-tier gaming companies. As a pioneer in the Player Experience movement, Jonathan has this to say:

“Best-in-class gaming publishers spend about 3-4% of their gross revenue on Player Experience. This investment not only pays for itself 3x, it keeps players playing a game 5-7x longer.”

 


What does a player-centric publisher look like? The next section will explore the foundational elements of PX and provide specific steps to harness its power for yourself.

Why PX and why now?

 
The Gaming industry once thought itself immune to the rise of the experience economy. After all, the game in and of itself is an experience, one that could largely stand on its own. But times have changed dramatically. Player Experience is here to stay. To quote John Pompei, Senior Vice President at Arise Gaming:

“In Gaming, Player Experience is not only considered critical but also seen as a differentiator across the Gaming and entertainment industry. In today’s world, competition is abundant, and when people have choice, the experience they have with Brands can ultimately be their tipping point to favor one over another. We know gamers with great experiences will play more, and when they play more, they have a strong tendency to spend more. So, Gaming companies see the opportunity to turn their contact centers into profit centers as better experiences drive more spend.”

There are over 2.7 billion players out there. The demographic reach of the Gaming industry now encompasses every age and every type of player. The industry is growing like never before with over 250,000 games listed in the Apple store alone.

 

In this hyper-competitive market, how can any Gaming organization expect to earn player loyalty? A Player Experience focus is a great place to start.

 

This resource will take you into the minds of several of the most talented executives in the Gaming industry. The insights here will help you to create the type of experience that your players deserve, while simultaneously generating meaningful outcomes for your business.

 

So as Charles Martinet (voice of Mario) would say,

Next Section: Game Quality & Testing

Player 
Experience >

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