Games! But for whom?
Games! But for whom?
Intro
In this article it will be about for whom we develop creatives. While developing games game designers try to focus on a particular group of users. They are called Bartle taxonomy of player types. So if you construct a game for achievers you won’t be satisfied with a huge amount of socializers.
Today we will discuss exact examples of games and how they get along with user acquisition process.
This post would be impossible without Apptica. Thanks for valuable insights and creative access!
What is Bartle taxonomy of player types?
In 1996 British professor and game researcher Richard Bartle created a classification of players based on 2 criteria: acting <> cooperating and players <> world.
We define a player type based on what he is focused on: interacting with another players or acting independently and its intentions to focus actions on the world or another players.
There are 4 types: killers, achievers, socializers and explorers. Let’s take a look at them and see how we can attract each type with UA creatives.
NB: no players matching 100% to each type! Every single person is unique and combine different charts. We talk about core type.
Achievers
Bounty, goods, puzzle solving and goal achievement.
The main attributes of a player when it comes to Achievers. They are in love with mining and store resources. Even better if they are able to convert it in a lot of stuff. Best for them is to get prizes, medals and bounty.
Most of players in the world are achievers ~ 40%. This type is focused on a growth and progress. But they are not delighted by become better paying real money for some resources. Their approach is “spend time — get rewarded”. But if you can find a solutions to boost their progress — no doubts they will pay for it.
Examples:
- Family Farm Adventures — efforts into result transformation. Resource management mechanic fits it best. Clear visualization of efforts (transporting eggs), final result (egg and sheep farm) and the connector — currency (coins).
- Paper.io by Voodoo — no currency and almost instant transformation of efforts (sliding through space) into results (origin area increasing). Pure achievement.
- Match Factory by Peak — achievement through getting more/getting bigger.
Explorers
Discover, travel, dig down and finding small details.
Unlike Achievers this type of players is in love with travelling. They are not happy with time restrictions. They pay huge attention to details and revealing objects on the whole picture.
The most obvious type of games for Explorers is merge. Player has to find a solution by combining elements. Question: “what is the limit of merging?”
Examples:
- Merge Dragons by Zynga — exploring, comfortable level passing, no-pushing and easy gameplay.
- Hidden Objects by Guru Smart Holding — Zoom-in/Zoom-out, no rush and hunting for small details.
- Can You Spot It by Brightika — find the differences. No timers. Dumb hand hook makes attention catch easier.
This type pays worst among others — that’s why you won’t see a colorful palette of games. But their main advantage: they stick with your game in a highest degree! Find a way to quench the thirst of step-by-step exploration and you’ll be rewarded.
Killers
Killing or “owning” others, to be №1, want to see others lose. Dominating, powergaming, speedrunning and beating records.
This type is extremely rare — approximately 1% of players. Their average check is the highest among any other type.
Question: “Are there any games where players are ready to pay to be №1?” Diablo Immortal, Call of Duty, PUBG, Dota2, Valorant, World of Tanks, CS:GO. Players gladly pay for skins, equipment and weapon upgrades.
Mobile examples:
- Lords Mobile by IGG — continuous waves of enemies, kills counter, constant weapon improvements. Crafted for killers.
- Star Rail by COGNOSPHERE — “try - defeat - upgrade - try - win” flow. Aimed for asian audience.
- Call of Dragons by Farlight — “progress as you go” in Diablo II style. For European audience.
Socializers
The game is not a game itself but a tool to meet friends online. Playing not to compete but for a social aspect — communicate, fun with friends.
Sticks with games in a least degree. Low retention, leave when fun is over. Pay really poor — only for cool outfits to show off.
But we need them! They bring friends who could be Killers, Explorers, Achievers or Socializers too. Don’t underestimate this superpower! Look at non-mobile titles that exploded the market: Fall Guys, Among Us.
Examples:
- Coin Master by Moon Active — players interaction with each other. Sells fun.
- Monopoly Go by Scopely — sells fun, easy and friend cooperation. Original Monopoly was released in 1934. Familiar Rich Ankle Pennybags is one of the most recognizable characters.
- Ludo King by Gametion — show how you can spend a time with friends, family and lovely ones.
Resume
There are creatives promoting several signals. Family Island by Melsoft mixes Achievers and Explorers. But the main message is collecting and mining resources + solving puzzles — for Achievers. No surprises that game attracted users with mostly Achievers.
Fishdom (Playrix) and Clockmaker (Belka Games) — current black is puzzle creatives. Earlier they tried drawing mechanic — for Explorers. No wonder you won’t see this mechanic in the top.
Top War — new black is one video, but they test variants:
- One starts with sneaky kills, develops into resource management, ends with fight.
- Another starts with combat instantly, continues into progression that leads to everlasting battle.
In all cases — same pattern: blue vs red. A great example how you can test something new keeping in core familiar one. It decreases risks to fail.
Key findings
- Understand and learn your audience. No sense to go further missing it.
- Test, test, test.
- Adapt ads wisely. Take p.1 into account.
- First things first. You may develop a great creative in terms of dynamics, emotions, art, design, characters etc. But if you miss the main focus — your audience — you will fail.
Понравилась статья? Подписывайтесь на Telegram-канал UA Collide или LinkedIn.