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Mastering Retention Podcast

Starting a gaming studio from scratch

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyx350wKFEU⁠

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Podcast Summary: Mastering Retention with Peter Paulin of Super Huge Studios

In this episode of the Mastering Retention podcast, host Tom Hammond engages in an insightful conversation with Peter Paulin, the Chief Product Officer at Super Huge Studios. Peter brings over a decade of experience in game development, having held various roles such as founder, producer, product manager, and game director. His diverse background, spanning engineering, design, product analysis, and art, has equipped him with a holistic understanding of the gaming industry.

Early Passion and Entrepreneurial Journey Peter's passion for game development ignited at the age of 11 when he began creating games on an early computer using QBasic. This early fascination with coding and interactive entertainment laid the foundation for his professional career. Over the past twelve years, Peter has thrived in leadership positions, emphasizing a broad, interdisciplinary approach rather than specializing narrowly.

Founding Super Huge Studios Peter recounts his entrepreneurial journey, highlighting the formation of his initial game development team, which operated much like a rock band—creative, fun, and profitable for a brief period. However, realizing his ambition extended beyond what the startup could offer, Peter ventured out independently. After a productive stint at Moon Frog, where he learned from industry veterans like Max Cax of Zynga, Peter seized the opportunity to establish Super Huge Studios. Relocating to Bangalore, he quickly assembled a talented team and commenced production, driven by the right timing, funding, and collaborative mindset.

Game Design and Business Strategy A significant portion of the discussion focuses on the critical interplay between game design and business planning. Peter emphasizes the importance of starting with a solid business plan before delving into game mechanics and engineering. He advises aspiring game developers to:

Develop a Business Plan First: Understand your target audience, analyze competition, determine customer acquisition costs (CPI), and project the lifetime value (LTV) of players. Tools like lean canvases can help map out market positioning and differentiation.

Design with Audience Insights: Beyond demographic data, deeply engage with potential players to uncover their desires and pain points. Peter shares anecdotes, such as redesigning razors for the Indian market by observing user behavior firsthand, underscoring the value of immersive user research.

Iterative Prototyping and Analytics: Create a Minimum Testable Product (MTP) with just a few minutes of gameplay to gather actionable data. Implement robust analytics (e.g., Amplitude, DeltaDNA) and crash reporting (e.g., Crashlytics) from day one to monitor player behavior, identify friction points, and refine the game accordingly.

Technical Infrastructure and Live Operations Peter outlines the essential technical components required to support a successful game launch:

Analytics and Attribution: Integrate tools like Amplitude or DeltaDNA for in-depth player behavior analysis and Adjust or AppFlare for user attribution.

Backend Services: Depending on the game's needs, utilize Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS) platforms for multiplayer features, data storage, and server management before potentially migrating to in-house solutions as the product matures.

Live Operations (LiveOps): Incorporate live operations strategies that extend beyond the game itself, leveraging social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook for community engagement and player retention. Automated push notifications and event-triggered features can enhance player reactivation and sustain long-term engagement.

Retention Strategies and Player Engagement Addressing retention, Peter redefines churn as not just players stopping gameplay but also disengaging from related social media interactions. He advocates for a holistic retention approach that includes:

Social Media Integration: Use platforms where players remain active to maintain visibility and re-engage them with new content and events.

Community Management: Foster a vibrant community that continuously interacts with the game through various channels, ensuring the game remains top-of-mind even when players are not actively playing.

Behavioral Analytics: Monitor how different cohorts interact with the game to tailor live operations and content updates that resonate with specific player segments.

Final Insights Peter concludes by sharing lessons learned, emphasizing the importance of data-driven decision-making and authentic player interactions. He advises against relying solely on surveys, advocating instead for direct engagement and behavioral analysis to uncover genuine player motivations and challenges.

Overall, this episode offers a comprehensive roadmap for aspiring game developers and studio founders, blending strategic business planning with meticulous game design and technical execution to foster player retention and achieve sustained success in the competitive gaming landscape.

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