IamA Game Analyst with 7+ years of experience in making games better AMA!

Have you ever seen a game that was so bad that was so bad that you couldn't possibly fix it?

You mean like whatever EA creates?

haha - never said that :) It also depends what you consider to be a 'good game' or a 'bad game'. Why do people usually think that the game is bad? Some would because the game didn't meet their expectations - there are usually AAA-hits on top of the lists of the worst games of the year. Some would think the game is bad because it aggressively pushes players to pay (you might be talking about that in particular). If you ask me - I'd say that a bad game is a game that's not fun to play :)

For sure, there are too many of those :) Unfortunately, I can't call out any names as they'd probably be offended. But they do exist and fortunately don't live long :)

I am curious about your career path. How did you get to where you are?

I have degrees in Economics and Mathematics. I used to work as a business analyst at the consulting companies, led various projects for banks and the government. Then I started working at Xsolla which deals with payments in games. Moving my career to the gaming industry was really great, as I didn't have to dress up and wear suits to work :D After Xsolla, I had worked at the large MMO 'Tanki Online', and then started working for devtodev - a full-cycle analytics platform for game developers - where I've been working ever since ;)

If you had any contribution to the making of Tanki Online then I love you, you have helped build one of my fondest childhood memories

yes, I did! love you too <3

So you lucked into gaming with no background in gaming... son of a bitch!

Careful there! How come I don't have any background in gaming? I'm playing basically all the time :D

Can you summarise the major key points that you generally see devs lack in ?

I think that (1) devs usually underestimate the importance the first session and First Time User Experience (FTUE). And they are very important and very often you can fix the first session fast without spending too much time and money, and it leads to the significant change of the audience and therefore your revenue. I also think that (2) some devs don't set any specific targets for games. Players must always know what to do at any given point of time (short-term goal), why they need to do that (mid-term goal) and what they are doing at all (long-term goal). A game, its interface, its script must always remind about that. There's also a problem when (3) developers misbalance difficulty, fun and monetization. Balancing them is a very sensitive subject, and you really need a lot of experience and/or have A/B tests that might not to answer all of the questions as well. Hope it does look like a summary :)

What do you think went wrong with Destiny 2?

Do you find FarCry 5 sufficient enough? I have finished the campaign but after that there is really nothing to do.

What's your favourite game from the last 5 years?

A lot of people criticize Destiny 2 for a dull and monotonous gameplay and as a player I do agree with that. Also there's a misbalance of weapons as well. Of course I don't like that first you pay to purchase the game and then you pay more money within the game, although I understand the developers' point.

I haven't played FarCry5 yet but it made it to the short list ;) As a player, within the last 5 years I'd say that Hearthstone and The Witcher 3 do stand out for me. Hearthstone has a great gameplay and continuous updates and The Witcher 3 has a great design of the game world.

Yea, he is a mobile game analyst.

avid player as well :D

In the case of a game being so bad. Do you still provide a complete assessment, or do you have a heart to heart about the status?

Of course I will assess it and then work with it. If a 'bad' project is a project with low metrics - I love working with those. Because if you increase its ARPDAU from $0.001 to $0.01, you can say that you made it 10 times better :D

Who would win in a fight between a grilled cheese and a taco?

The one who’s eating both of them :D

How well do you think a card game on mobile will do? Something like Card Thief etc.

Are users shifting towards Premium games or do they still prefer freemium?

Users still prefer free games but it's really hard to make those. But card games on the mobile devices are really cool and I sometimes think that cell phones are created for them

What are some tactics and methods used by devs to keep people coming back that: 1. Failed, 2. Worked out well, and 3. Didn't do so well, but well enough for the devs to continue implementing it?

Push notifications and daily bonuses work well. Social linking work extremely well - you're more inclined to play again if you have your friends playing there. 'Share with friends' links don't work too well

Would you say that enjoyment of the game directly relates to profibility?

If so what priority does improving enjoyment usually have when trying to "fix" a game?

Enjoyment and fun are the most important things in the game. They give loyalty and loyalty brings money. They don't directly influence the profit, they do it indirectly but significantly.

What's your advice to Fortnite right this moment?

I'd suggest them improving their ping speed - a lot of people complain. But the game looks great, I'm happy to observe how this genre is developing

What is your opinion on microtransactions?

I love those games where a non-paying user feels great without having to pay them - this way I'm ok with microtransactions

It seems to me like you believe games are objectively getting "better" as the industry grows. I wonder how you feel about games from past generations.

Do you notice glaring flaws in "classics" like Super Mario World or old-school JRPGs?

Do you think future generations will still appreciate 16bit generation titles (and earlier)?

Also, is there an old school game that most people dislike but you absolutely love? What do you think it does right?

At GamesCom in Cologne I player the original Pong from Atari, which was published in 1972. It's almost the best thing that has happened to me. Every game is good at its time. But Shakespeare's books can still be relevant nowadays.

Why is PUBG so bad?

Fortnite, is that you?

How could you have made sonic boom a better game?

Improving game play probably, I could've said more if I had a chance to analyze it properly :)

What is the best game you've ever played in terms of having profitability? What's the most fun game you've played?

I love Blizzard games and Hearthstone in particular. Most fun - GTA, for example.

What education do you need for this profession?

I have degrees in Economics and Mathematics but obviously that's not an only way - you also need tons on hands-on experience. Try checking our online course in game analytics (shameless plug) - this way you'll be able to have a glimpse into what analyzing games means :)

what's the biggest game design mistake you frequently see new game-makers accidentally doing?

Bad FTUE. Unclear first session leads to people leaving the game too early without really playing it

I'm going to a Game Jam this weekend, it's my first one! Do you have any advice on how to make my team's game stand out, whatever it ends up being?

Create the game that you would love playing yourselves! Good luck at your Game Jam!

So 7 years in IT considered to be enough to be an expert?

depends on what people do during those years but seeing thousands of projects and having hands-on experience analyzing and improving them certainly helps