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Mastering Retention Podcast

Ep.77: Finding and hiring the right people

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZYPC--BwEQ⁠

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🎙️ Mastering Retention Podcast: Insights on Game Development and Production with Kunal Mordecar

Host: Tom Hammond, Co-founder of UserWise

Guest: Kunal Mordecar, CEO and Head of UZO Games in India

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Introduction

👋 About Kunal Mordecar:

CEO and Head of UZO Games in India.

Started as a gamer with a passion for video games.

Progressed from an intern to leading a gaming studio.

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Journey into the Gaming Industry

🎮 Early Beginnings:

Grew up playing games at a neighbor's house due to lack of personal access.

Developed a strong interest in gaming and computer science.

Enrolled in a diploma course in game design during his graduation.

🚀 Breaking into the Industry:

Offered an internship by a visiting faculty member who founded a gaming startup.

Became one of the first five employees, contributing to various roles due to the startup environment.

Helped the company grow by expanding the team with producers and artists.

🌐 Career Progression:

Worked as a game designer at Nazara Games in Mumbai.

Joined UZO India as the second employee, initially as a producer.

Played a pivotal role in setting up the entire studio and eventually became the CEO.

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Scaling a Game Studio

👥 Building the Team:

Emphasized the importance of hiring the right people to build and expand teams.

Created job descriptions by researching industry standards and tailoring them to the company's needs.

Stressed honesty and clarity in role requirements to ensure long-term employee retention.

📝 Creating Effective Tests:

For Programmers:

Focused on assessing logical thinking and problem-solving abilities.

Preferred open-ended questions like explaining how to program a chess game.

Looked for candidates who could logically approach tasks and find solutions.

For Artists:

Provided practical tests relevant to the role, such as modeling or animating a character.

Reviewed portfolios and encouraged artists to keep them updated.

Noted challenges when artists couldn't share work due to NDAs.

🤝 Transparency in Hiring:

Maintained clear communication about the dynamic nature of a startup.

Set realistic expectations about roles, especially when team members have to handle multiple responsibilities.

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The Role of a Producer in Game Development

🎯 Defining a Producer:

A senior producer translates the game vision into actionable plans.

Manages team size, budgeting, and timelines.

Balances the three critical factors: quality, budget, and time—able to control only two at a time.

🛠️ Tips for Aspiring Producers:

Accurate Estimations:

Develop skills in making realistic time and resource estimates.

Understand that developers may underestimate task durations.

Hands-On Experience:

Gain basic knowledge in programming, art, and other game development areas.

Helps in guiding team members and making informed decisions.

Team Dynamics:

Know your team members' strengths and working styles.

Minimize friction between different functions within the team.

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Managing Timelines and Project Updates

⏳ Handling Delays:

Assess the importance of delayed features and decide whether to postpone or reassign tasks.

Keep updates short and focused to better track metrics and impacts.

🚀 Rolling Out Updates:

Caution with Full Rollouts:

Shared a case where rolling out an update to all users caused significant issues.

Led to increased crash rates and a drop in organic users.

Strategic Rollouts:

Recommended rolling out updates to a small percentage of users (e.g., 10-20%) initially.

Use the current build as a benchmark to measure the new update's performance.

Be mindful of changes in user acquisition strategies that could affect data.

🧪 A/B Testing Features:

Utilized live operations (LiveOps) events to test new features before a full rollout.

Tested different monetization strategies, such as limited-time offers versus always-available items.

Emphasized that player feedback should guide decision-making.

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Enhancing Player Retention

🔑 Understanding Retention Mechanics:

Different features and mechanics affect retention at various stages (day 1, day 7, day 30).

Early Retention (Day 1):

Focus on core gameplay and initial user experience.

Ensure the game appeals to the right audience from the start.

Mid-Term Retention (Day 7-Day 14):

Introduce content like loot boxes, story progression, and new features.

Long-Term Retention (Day 30 and beyond):

Incorporate social elements like leagues, guilds, and clans.

Encourage community building to keep players engaged.

🎨 Importance of UI/UX:

Highlighted that a polished and intuitive UI/UX is crucial for retaining players.

Shared an example where a UI update led to a 6% increase in day-one retention.

🎯 Targeted User Acquisition:

Acquire users who are interested in the game's genre and mechanics.

Use creatives that accurately represent the gameplay to attract the right audience.

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Conclusion

🌟 Final Thoughts:

Emphasized the significance of being adaptable and data-driven in game development.

Recommended involving players in decision-making through testing and feedback.

Encouraged clear communication within teams and with prospective hires.

📞 Connecting with Kunal Mordecar:

Email:

kunalmordekar@gmail.com⁠

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