1. Smartifying the game December 2014 Iñaki Puigdollers Sabin
Game data Point
Strata London 2017
December 2014

2. It worked for us, will work for you!
EARLY VIDEOADS
SMART OFFERS
DYNAMIC BALANCING
Cost
1 DS + 3 days
Impact
+20% Revenue
Cost
1 DS + 3 days
Impact
+20% Lifetime value
Cost
2 DS + 4 days
Impact
+26% Retention

3. 3. Product vs Analytics features
Travel Plan
About us
2. Why are we here today?
4. What we did at SP
3. Product vs Analytics features

4. 3. Product vs Analytics features
Travel Plan
About us
2. Why are we here today?
4. What we did at SP
3. Product vs Analytics features

5. This is me Game Data Scientist @Dragon City
Previously, Data Scientist at Schibsted central offices
Quite diverse background, but mainly mathematics
Passionate about data & gamer to the bone!

6. This is me I don’t do Data Magic! Game Data Scientist @Dragon City
Previously, Data Scientist at Schibsted central offices
Quite diverse background, but mainly mathematics
Passionate about data & gamer to the bone!
I don’t do Data Magic!

7. Amazing People!

8. This is where I work How many People knows about Social Point?
How many people knows about T2 owing Social Point?

9. 3. Product vs Analytics features
Travel Plan
About us
2. Why are we here today?
4. What we did at SP
3. Product vs Analytics features

10. Invest in Analytics, Save Money!
Analytics Features
Few Resources
High Impact
What I mean is save time + money

11. Customer Lifecycle Marketing
Analytics Features are anything that tailors the game to the individual using data
CRM
Intelligent Offers
ANALYTICS FEATURES
Must:
Change the game
Increase important KPIs using data not content
Tailor the game to individual/group of players
Dynamic pricing
Predictive Analytics
Customer marketing
(in the game)
Customer Lifecycle Marketing
Analytics features also called data products, an example is the movie recommendations Netflix do to the users or items recommendation of Amazon

12. 3. Product vs Analytics features
Travel Plan
About us
2. Why are we here today?
4. What we did at SP
3. Product vs Analytics features

13. Product features are rigid and complex
One size fits all
different individuals have different interests/flavors
Long definition time
A segment of the userbase may dislike it
Revenue is uncertain
Complex features
Lots of people involved
Feedback loops
Lots of potential bugs
Cost is high
Time to market is high
Example of product feature: fingerprint passcode introduced in iPhone 6

14. Based on well-known solutions
Analytics features are personalized and cheaper
ANALYTICS
FEATURES
Tailored for each user
Based on data
Methodology to define the dataset
Content is suitable for each user
More likely to convert
Based on well-known solutions
1 Data Scientist + 2/3 days = 1 MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
Low cost
Fast MVP

15. Invest in Analytics, Save Money!
Product Features
Analytics Features
6 People
1 Mobile Developer
1 Backend Developer
1 Producer
1 QA
1 Artist
1 (Game) Designer
2 People
1 Data Scientist
1 QA
Minimum team involved
Time to market
Variable
Depends on feedback loops
2/3 days
Scope
The whole User base
Each individual User

16. GREAT GAMES AND GREAT BUSINESS
“Smart” games make more money
PRODUCT FEATURES +
ANALYTICS FEATURES
GREAT GAMES AND GREAT BUSINESS
COST/INVESTMENT = HIGH
REVENUE UPLIFT = POSITIVE BUT UNCERTAIN
COST/INVESTMENT = LOW
REVENUE UPLIFT = POSITIVE AND LIKELY TO BE 10-30%
Every game has this
Not every game has this
Analytics features are competitive advantage today in gaming industry

17. 3. Product vs Analytics features
Travel Plan
About us
2. Why are we here today?
4. What we did at SP
3. Product vs Analytics features

18. Time to unlock the feature
Increase revenue by Unlocking Videoads
earlier in the game
Old World
Time to unlock the feature
Make VAds Available
NGU
Explain what are rewarded Videoads
Old World is a product feature

19. Increase revenue by Unlocking Videoads earlier in the game
Old World
Time to unlock the feature
Make VAds Available
NGU
Predictas Payer?
New World
Shortly after register No
Make VAds Available
NGU
Explain what are rewarded Videoads
Old World is a product feature
Yes
Make VAds Available
Time to unlock the feature

20. +20% Uplift in Videoads Revenue
2 people and 3 days increased Videoads
revenue by 20%
COST
IMPACT
3 Days of development
+20% Uplift in Videoads Revenue
1 Data Scientist
No cannibalisation with IAP (In-App Purchases)
1 Person (content creation)
3 days + 2 people

21. Some days after the last purchase
Increase re-conversion with Smart Offers
Yes
Predict if pay again?
Does he/she pay again?
Payer does a purchase
Yes
Payer No
Some days after the last purchase No

22. +20% Uplift Payers’ LTV (LifeTime Value)
2 people and 3 days increased Payers’ LTV by 20%
COST
IMPACT
3 Days of development
1 Data Scientist
+20% Uplift Payers’ LTV (LifeTime Value)
1 Person (content creation)
3 days + 2 people

23. Increase retention with dynamic difficulty balancing
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
Identify players with
low skill
Assess how many of those are frustrated by the difficulty of the game
Increase the chances of finding health potions in the game
Model 1: Logistic regression for low skilled players
Model 2: Logistic regression for churn probability

24. +26% Uplift in FDR (Following Day Retention)
3 people and 4 days increased Retention by 26%
COST
IMPACT
2 Days of development (each model)
2 Data Scientist
+26% Uplift in FDR (Following Day Retention)
1 Person (content creation)
4 days + 3 people

25. It worked for us, will work for you!
EARLY VIDEOADS
SMART OFFERS
DYNAMIC BALANCING
Cost
1 DS + 3 days
Impact
+20% Revenue
Cost
1 DS + 3 days
Impact
+20% Lifetime value
Cost
2 DS + 4 days
Impact
+26% Retention