There has been lots of speculation that blockchain games are the future of gaming, but what does that future look like? And more specifically, what does the future of blockchain gaming look like? This week on the Mastering Retention Podcast, Daniel Paez (Director of Monetization and Game Economy at Worldspark Studios) joins Tom to try and get to the bottom of these questions. The two of them dive deep into the world of blockchain gaming and all the things that it encompasses. Here are your cheat...
Sep 22, 2022•51 min•Season 1Ep. 98
Pixion, a new video game company, is on a mission to build a new category of competitive games called Lunchtime ESports. The genre aims to allow everyone to be competitive and play at their own pace. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Kam Punia (Founder and CEO at Pixion Games) about his team's ambitious goals, high standards and vision for the future. Here are your cheat codes: 0:43 How did Kam Punia get into the video game industry? 7:54 The founding of Pixion Games. 12:15 Lunch...
Sep 15, 2022•55 min•Season 1Ep. 97
Creating a successful and beloved video game is a tall task. It is even more of a challenge to create a successful and beloved children's video game. This week on the Mastering Retention Podcast, Tom speaks with Luis Cascante (Former Franchise Director at Star Stable) about designing video games for younger audiences and all the challenges that come with it. Here are your cheat codes: 0:50 How did Luis Cascante get into the video game industry? 7:32 Creating Games for Children. 23:13 In-app-purc...
Sep 08, 2022•53 min•Season 1Ep. 96
Most games require compelling live ops and multiple ways in which to make money - casino games are no different. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Dafna Ben Onn (Director of Monetization at SciPlay) about the different challenges that face casino games, managing a live ops calendar, player segmentation, monetizing casino games, and much more! Here are your cheat codes: 1:10 How did Dafna Ben Onn get into the video game industry? 5:12 What is it like to work at SciPlay? 7:42 Defin...
Sep 01, 2022•46 min•Season 1Ep. 95
A game is only successful if you attract users and continually provide them with reasons to keep playing. In order to keep your fanbase happy and eager to play, you must be able to understand their wants and goals, and you need to know their behaviors and habits. While players will often be very eager to share their critiques, you can learn more about what a player wants through data and proper segmentation. This week on the Mastering Retention Podcast, Tom speaks with Max Mozgovoy (Director of ...
Aug 31, 2022•56 min•Season 1Ep. 94
Creating and sustaining a great user experience is a surefire way to lengthen your game’s shelf life. There are many different ways to go about creating or improving a game’s user experience. It can be as simple as choosing an art style, or it can be as complex as using data to identify weaknesses in your game. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Abhay Ramakrishnan (Product Manager at DECA) about all the different ways to go about creating a user experience that retains players and...
Aug 18, 2022•54 min•Season 1Ep. 93
Whether you are building a team from scratch or adding on to an existing team, having common goals and values can have a massive positive effect on your company and its products. This week on Mastering Retention, Martina Gianfreda (Co-CEO at Whatwapp) walks Tom through the process of building a co-founding team and sustaining your company's success through shared core values. Here are your cheat codes: 1:01 How did Martina Gianfreda get into the video game industry? 4:40 What to look for in a co...
Aug 11, 2022•53 min•Season 1Ep. 92
The role of a product manager can vary widely depending on what industry he/she is in, and even then, companies within the same industry often define that role differently. Regardless of how a product manager role is defined, it requires someone that can balance the “Big Picture” and the small details. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Stav Klauzner (Head of Product at SciPlay) about the balancing act of being a product manager and loosely defines what the ideal video game produc...
Jul 28, 2022•54 min•Season 1Ep. 91
There are many different ways to go about creating a video game, but two of the main methodologies are Lean and Agile. The lean methodology puts an emphasis on reducing waste by recycling content, and managing workflow, whereas in Agile, teams emphasize small batch sizes to deliver results quickly. This week on “Mastering Retention” Ruby Urlings (Director, Production at GSN Games) speaks with Tom about these methods, their respective benefits, and so much more! Here are your cheat codes: 1:20 Ho...
Jul 21, 2022•53 min•Season 1Ep. 90
Thousands of games are made each year, and very few go on to have great success. Despite their success, these games are rarely sitting atop the charts years down the road. Creating a successful game is hard, but maintaining that game’s success and daily active users is beyond difficult. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Jonathan Durr (Studio Director & Co-Founder at Foxbear Games) about long term content treadmills, what metrics are useful when trying to maintain a game for y...
Jul 14, 2022•52 min•Season 1Ep. 89
Creating a new video game is a long and strenuous process, but that process is nothing compared to launching your very own game studio. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Lior Hadashian (CTO & Co-Founder at Gavra Games) about the importance of being a data-driven game studio, when to double down on a good idea, keeping your games fresh, and what all needs to be considered when selecting your co-founder. Here are your cheat codes: 1:10 How did Lior Hadashian get into the video ...
Jul 07, 2022•53 min•Season 1Ep. 88
Creating an awesome game is meaningless if it does not attract enough users. Acquiring new users can oftentimes require a bigger marketing budget and a great deal of patience. Not every game studio or game company sees the value in spending money on marketing their game, but it is one of the most successful and efficient ways to increase your daily active users and your games longevity. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Angus Lovitt (CEO at Ramp), about optimizing your marketing ...
Jun 30, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 87
Online streaming has completely changed video games. Game designers and marketers alike have had to adapt to this tectonic shift in the video game landscape. Streaming has become a very effective way to market and sell games. Studios are now implementing streaming into the very design of their game to drive user acquisition. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Joanna Haslam (Design Director at Snap Finger Click) about how to properly utilize streaming within your game, influencer m...
Jun 23, 2022•55 min•Season 1Ep. 86
Each user will engage differently with your game. How they play the game and/or how much they spend on the game will vary widely from player to player. In the same way a company would market their game differently for different target audiences, companies should segment their analytics to find the best possible ways to monetize their game. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Sam Abbott (Head of Monetization at Rec Room) about how to use player segmented data to help increase in-gam...
Jun 16, 2022•56 min•Season 1Ep. 85
You are not supposed to judge a book - or a video game - by its cover, but that is easier said than done - especially when covers can be very misleading. People often make snap judgments about things based on how it was first presented to them. These judgments can last a long time and negatively impact your product. When creating or marketing your game, one must ensure that the copy for and design of your game entices potential users and properly sets the user’s expectations. This week on Master...
Jun 09, 2022•41 min•Season 1Ep. 84
Web browser games are often an afterthought when thinking about the video game landscape, but with the internet being more accessible than ever, the odds of having some degree of familiarity with web games are high. Despite the perception that web games maintain a relatively low profile, there is a large market for these types of games and lots of money to be made. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Valentin Simion (Senior Game Producer & Product Owner at SOFTGAMES) about cate...
Jun 02, 2022•53 min•Season 1Ep. 83
Today’s video game market is completely saturated with games seemingly offering the same experience. Ironing out and perfecting the small details of your game design can go a long way in helping it stand out from the competition. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Amir Dori (Lecturer for Game Design at Mentor College & Head of Game Design at SciPlay) about building and managing casual game studios, using game design as a way to attract a larger audience, and his unique journey...
May 26, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 82
Creating a video game from scratch requires a lot of manpower and specialized talent. Being able to work effectively and efficiently as a team is key to creating a game that is both enjoyable for users and financially beneficial for your studio/company. In addition to helping teams work together seamlessly to coordinate and execute tasks, product managers serve many different roles depending on the industry or company. Since there are so many differing opinions on what exactly a product manager’...
May 19, 2022•56 min•Season 1Ep. 81
When you think about video games, your first thought is likely not about the business and financial side of things, but the video game business, like all other major industries, puts a large emphasis on money. No matter what the status of your game company is, money is at the center of all your current needs and future goals. During the infancy of starting and growing a game studio, you are constantly looking for funding to help take you to the next level. Then once your financial needs are met,...
May 12, 2022•52 min•Season 1Ep. 80
Staying ahead of the curve and budding trends is of paramount importance in the modern landscape of the video game industry. Smart companies and CEO’s identify these trends in their early stages and experiment with them, which oftentimes leads to adopting them. This week on Mastering Retention, one of those CEO’s, Oliver Jones (Co-Founder & CEO at Bombay Play), speaks with Tom about a budding new trend that his company has recently adopted, and the intricacies of building and running a game ...
Apr 28, 2022•52 min•Season 1Ep. 79
What makes a game special is not the graphics, the gameplay, or the plot … it's the people that work tirelessly behind the scenes. Having the right people in place at your studio is the difference between a smash-hit game and a forgotten one. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Kunal Mordekar (COO at YOOZOO Games) about finding the right people, the hiring process, and how important good workplace relationships are for sustained success in the video game industry. Here are your che...
Apr 21, 2022•54 min•Season 1Ep. 78
Some games are intended to be played over the course of several months, sometimes even years. These games demand new and exciting content - such as new quests - in order to keep players coming back. Designing, testing, and implementing these new quests into your game requires lots of creativity and brain power that often goes unnoticed. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with former World of Warcraft game designer, Kurt Sparkuhl (Lead Mobile Game Designer at Amazon Games), about the qu...
Apr 14, 2022•55 min•Season 1Ep. 77
So, your new game has taken the world by storm? What do you do next? How do you maintain momentum and how do you replicate your previous success? This week on “Mastering Retention,” Miikka Ahonen Co-founder of Lightheart Entertainment, creator of Mr. Autofire, joins Tom to discuss building and running a company, building successful games, as well as strategies for release and, of course, retention. Here are your cheat codes: - 0:45 How Miikka Ahonen got into the video game industry - 3:07 What i...
Apr 07, 2022•58 min•Season 1Ep. 76
If you use social media, odds are you have seen many ads for hyper-casual games. On the surface, these free-to-play games may appear simple and minimalistic, but in reality are intricate, detailed, and have the potential to generate lots of revenue. This week on “Mastering Retention”, Christoph Sachsenhausen (Managing Director at Sunday) joins Tom to discuss the level of detail that goes into creating and marketing these games and outlines the reasons behind why they are quickly becoming one of ...
Mar 24, 2022•58 min•Season 1Ep. 75
Creating a fun and engaging game is only half the battle. In order to establish your game as one of the most downloaded apps, you must create and properly utilize the many different types of advertisements. This week on “Mastering Retention”, Claire Rozain (UA Team Lead at Rovio) walks Tom through the process of implementing immersive and thoughtful ads/creatives in order to have a positive effect on user acquisition. Here are your cheat codes: - 2:37 How did Claire Rozain get into the video gam...
Mar 17, 2022•48 min•Season 1Ep. 74
Free-to-play is here to stay. For years the video game market has been saturated by free-to-play games. All facets of the gaming industry have had to adapt to this shift in the gaming landscape - as well as many other changes in the way a game economy is designed. This week on “Mastering Retention”, Rudy Saldivar (Lead Product Manager at Robin Games) joins Tom to discuss how game economists and economies have adapted to these many different shifts. Here are your cheat codes: - 0:49 How did Rudy ...
Mar 10, 2022•48 min•Season 1Ep. 73
User acquisition can be achieved in many different ways. Finding the right UA method depends heavily on the goals of both your game and company. On this week’s episode of “Mastering Retention”, Matej Lancaric (User Acquisition & Marketing Consultant) joins Tom to break down some of the ways he has helped companies meet their UA goals and discuss how important brand awareness is when it comes to acquiring new users. Here are your cheat codes: - 1:44 How did Matej Lancaric get into the video g...
Mar 03, 2022•50 min•Season 1Ep. 72
Blockchain technology is all the buzz right now. Could that technology lead to the beginning of the next era of mobile gaming? Anil Das-Gupta (CPO, Co-Founder at First Light Games) joins Tom to discuss how despite the complexity of the integration, there are many exciting possibilities that blockchain technology could usher in. Here are your cheat codes: - 0:47 How did Anil Das-Gupta get into the video game industry? - 7:08 Finding the right co-founders. - 11:53 The origins of First Light Games....
Feb 24, 2022•52 min•Season 1Ep. 71
The modern landscape of mobile gaming demands ad monetization to generate revenue for your game studio. A lot of hard work goes into not only creating ads, but every behind-closed-doors decision in regards to the very same ads. This week on the Mastering Retention Podcast, Diego Diaz Perez (Monetization Manager at WEEWOO) takes Tom behind the scenes of ad monetization. Here are your cheat codes: - 0:43 How did Diego Diaz Perez get involved in the video game industry? - 5:41 How does ad monetizat...
Feb 17, 2022•55 min•Season 1Ep. 70
Creating a company from scratch requires a ton of hard work and sacrifice. Maintaining a healthy work/life balance makes it all that more difficult, but it is doable. This week on the Mastering Retention Podcast, Tom speaks with fellow entrepreneur and business owner, Brett Nowak (CEO & Founder of Liquid and Grit), about how they have managed to find a healthy work/life balance in the midst of creating and maintaining their businesses. Here are your cheat codes: - 0:48 How did Brett Nowak ge...
Feb 10, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 69
