手游开发者利用APP外工具提高沉浸度的5种方法

原作者：Helen Burda 译者：Willow Wu

随着用户获取成本的飞速攀升，提高用户沉浸度对手游开发者来说就变得尤为重要。

据Bain & Company的研究显示，留住老用户所花费资金比争取新用户所需的少6~7倍，这就意味着玩家下载APP/游戏之后，如何让他们多次回到游戏中是一个非常关键的问题。

为了增加活跃玩家的数量，手游开发者的传统做法包括增加游戏关卡、加入可解锁的成就、新任务甚至是推送通知。

游戏焦点不断变化、市场竞争愈发残酷，开发者们需要更庞大的玩家基础才能站稳脚跟。

他们必须对玩家更加透明，并认识到不断变化的媒体环境。除此之外，他们也必须了解如何高效利用APP之外的工具来维持社区活跃度。

以下是开发者们利用APP外工具提高社区沉浸度的5种方法：

1.和玩家进行非正式交流

游戏开发者和用户之间一直存在某种屏障，但网络视频的普及拉近了这两个群体之间的距离。

有些比较缺少交流的环节，比如发行游戏补丁，就可以通过YouTube/Facebook直播来进行宣传。

直播让粉丝们有机会与开发者进行互动，当后者在讲解游戏的升级内容或游戏的未来走向时，粉丝们可以进行即时反馈。

这些视频不仅可通过创意的展现方式突出更新内容，还能让玩家了解到接下来的几个月里他们能够期待些什么。

Plarium的YouTube频道通过举办直播互动、展示独家的概念艺术、回复玩家提问、讲解新的游戏特色来和玩家保持密切联系。

玩家也可以从这些互动中了解公司的形象，有助于在两方之间建立起良好的而稳固的联系。

2.用vlog展示即时开发进度

虽说并不是所有游戏都适用于这个方法，但开发者们可以专注于展示公司的旗舰产品，或者其它主打产品来吸引玩家的关注。

以前很少有开发者用vlog，现在玩家可以通过vlog亲眼看到游戏的制作过程，了解游戏的开发进度。这也形成了一个反馈循环，让忠实玩家有了话语权。

就比如开发者有一系列武器打算加入到游戏中，他们可以跟社区分享这个计划，收集意见。

再比如游戏要扩大规模，加入新的地图，开发者们可以花点时间录下制作过程，跟玩家们讲解相关的背景知识。

Vlog也可以预示游戏概念是否会成功，这样也能省去开发者未来额外耗费的金钱和时间。

这对于开发者来说也是评估玩家对新游戏接受程度的关键依据，是一种较为谨慎的策略。你在任何具有直播功能的平台都能实现，比如YouTube、Facebook、Twitch等等。

gameloft-total-conquest-3-architect(from pocketgamer)

3.用助手APP（companion app）促进玩家互动

很多mid-core/hardcore游戏的开发者知道他们的大多数铁杆粉丝会花很长时间在论坛上和其他人讨论游戏，尤其是那些有公会、族群的手游。就算是游戏内置最先进的族群系统，玩家们还是会想到留言版上讨论策略、问游戏的相关问题、组织线下聚会等等。

助手APP可以让玩家在一个程序内轻松跟踪所有论坛帖子、留言板和通知，这是一个很好的补充功能。玩家不用花时间逐一翻阅他们之前参与过的版块，交流方便了玩家的沉浸度自然也就上来了。

助手APP同样也能方便开发者和社区管理人员了解玩家对游戏的看法。

4.制作适合直播的游戏

玩家在Twitch这样的直播平台能发现自己感兴趣的游戏，甚至会逐渐迷上。

一开始，这些游戏在直播平台上走红可能是纯属运气。当暴雪的《炉石传说》在Twitch上引起轰动后，大家都很惊讶一个卡牌游戏竟然能通过视频网站上获得这么多人的关注。

如今的游戏开发者应该把直播平台的作用考虑在内。

现在的游戏不光是要考虑它好不好玩，还要考虑它的直播效果。

5.通过直播活动提高玩家沉浸度

一个有能力发展成电竞游戏的产品不仅仅是能提高玩家沉浸度，还能建造出一个帝国。

NewZoo的数据显示，2017年电竞类游戏收益已经达到了6.96亿美元，同比增长了41.3%。

这一领域大部分都是PC或者主机游戏，比如《守望先锋》《反恐精英》和《英雄联盟》，但是手游的数量也慢慢多了起来。

就比如《虚荣》（游戏邦注Vainglory）这样的游戏，在2016开始举办锦标赛之后就越来越受欢迎了。电竞游戏的成功也证明了为玩家创造出真实的竞技环境是非常重要的，他们可以在真实世界中见到彼此，一同挥洒热血。

要创造吸引力如此之强的的手游，需要考虑的因素包括类型、精通游戏的难度需求、团队所需的玩家数量以及核心玩法的视觉效果。

就比如一个需要10~15人组成团队的游戏，它会比仅需3~5人的游戏更难组织赛事。要让前者立刻发起一场面对面的比赛是不可能的。开发人员在一开始就要思考游戏适用于直播比赛的特性，并努力积攒人气、设计对应比赛模式，为将来的时机做好充分准备。

除此之外，由《绝地求生》掀起的battle royale风潮也可能促使移动设备成主流的电竞平台。

开发人员应考虑通过游戏外工具来提高他们的用户留存率，并为玩家提供更好、更丰富的游戏体验。

本文由游戏邦编译，转载请注明来源，或咨询微信zhengjintiao

Skyrocketing user acquisition costs for mobile games developers are creating an ever-increasing urgency to improve user engagement.

According to a study performed by Bain & Company, retaining a customer costs six to seven times less than acquiring a new customer, which underscores the importance of keeping players coming back for more once they’ve downloaded a game or app.

In order to foster active users, games developers have traditionally followed a formula that includes the addition of new levels, unlockable achievements, new tasks and even push notifications.

But with the transforming sphere of gaming and a stark increase in market competition, more is required.

Devs must become more transparent with their players and cognizant of the changing media landscape. They must also understand how to best leverage tools outside of the app ecosystem to keep their community flourishing.

Here are five ways games developers can improve community engagement outside their app.

#1 Informal communication with players

There has always been a natural barrier between game developers and users, but the proliferation of online video eliminates the division.

Something typically passive, such as patch updates to a game, is able to have a more substantial and dynamic feel to them if promoted via YouTube and Facebook live.

Live videos give fans an opportunity to be interactive with the developer as the company presents their patch updates or future plans for a game, welcoming immediate fan reaction.

Not only can these videos have added creative spins to make changes stand out, but they inform a user on what to look forward to in the coming months.

Plarium’s own YouTube channel connects with users by announcing live events, giving exclusive concept art, answering questions, and giving insights on new game features.

A player can get a sense of what the company persona is like through these interactions, creating a more natural bond between the player and the company.

#2 Real-time development insights in a vlog

While not all game development is conducive to this method of user engagement, a top-tier title or a company’s “pet project” could double as one of the most prolific user engagement activities.

A development vlog, once an uncommon feature, give users real-time insights into the game-making process as it happens. It also creates a feedback loop, where dedicated players have a say in how a game turns out.

If a developer has a series of weapons that they’re planning to introduce to a game, they can share it with the community to gather opinions of the concept.

The same can be true if a game is expanding to include a new location. Developers can take the time to share how it was created, and the lore behind it.

Development vlogs can also indicate whether a game concept will be successful, further saving developers time and money.

These are valuable in gauging audience reception to a new game, as a cautionary step throughout the process. These can be on any video channel that has a live-stream function including YouTube, Facebook or Twitch.

#3 Companion apps for higher user interaction

As many mid-core/hardcore developers know, a majority of their most loyal and dedicated fans spend a good deal of time on forums with other players.

This is especially true of clan-based mobile games, where even the most advanced in-game clan functions still typically create a desire for players to participate in message boards to discuss strategies, host outside meetups, ask in-game questions, etcetera.

Developing companion apps that make it easy for players to keep track of all the different forums, message boards and notifications in one place is a nice addition to help increase engagement from players who perhaps don’t have the time to continuously check each board they are involved in manually.

These apps also promote an environment where the one-time forum visitor can continue to participate.

Companion apps can create a similar effect on developers and community managers, who can follow these forums easily to understand the sentiment of the gamers.

#4 Building conducive games for livestreaming

Livestreaming video platforms, like Twitch, help bridge the gap between discovery and engagement of an app.

In the beginning, it was mostly luck that certain games were exciting to stream.

When Blizzard’s Hearthstone became an enormous success on Twitch, people were ultimately surprised a card-based game could have such a following on a purely visual platform.

Nowadays, games developers should strategically develop titles with these livestreaming platforms in mind.

For mobile developers, it isn’t just about how a game is played anymore, but is it also watchable?

#5 Drive engagement through live events

By creating a mobile game with the capability of becoming an esports title, a developer isn’t just improving user engagement – they are building an empire.

Esports revenue grew to $696 million, a year-on-year growth of 41.3 per cent, according to NewZoo.

The majority of the market is dominated by PC/console games such as Overwatch, CounterStrike, and League of Legends, but mobile is also slowly creeping into the live event sphere.

Games like Vainglory, for example, have picked up steam since its tournament in 2016. Esports popularity has demonstrated the importance of creating a truly competitive environment for fans to meet each other and share their passion for games.

Vainlgory is a prime example of a company using events to help improve user engagement and create a community.

Considerations for creating a mobile game with this appeal range from the genre, the range of difficulty to master a game, the number of players that are needed to complete a team, and visual appeal of the core gameplay.

A game that requires 10 to 15 teammates, for example, would be more difficult to develop a tournament around than one requiring three to five.

It is unreasonable to believe a dedicated in-person tournament could happen almost instantaneously for the former title. Developers should consider the ability to leverage livestreaming tournaments initially and try to build their popularity and tournament structure to pave the way for primetime.

It is also likely that battle royale-style mobile games, a result of the success of console-counterpart Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds, will increase the likelihood of mobile games becoming a dominant esports platform.

Developers must consider all the unique out-of-game tools at their disposal to improve their user retention and provide a better, more comprehensive experience with players.(source：pocketgamer.biz )