Author profile

Sarah Impey

Content Creator at GameAnalytics
Matchmaker
6 min read
#Commentary

Navigating the World of Matchmaking: Tips for Game Developers

When building a multiplayer game, your players are going to need a way to find each other. That's where a matchmaker comes in. But what is a matchmaker? How do they work? And is there any difference when it comes to mobile?
6 min read
#Commentary

Cybersecurity for Game Developers: Top Tips to Stay Safe

Protecting yourself isn’t necessarily hard. Not if you’re aware of the techniques hackers use. So, with data breaches becoming increasingly common in the news, we thought we’d give a little advice about how to protect yourself.
AI and game development
7 min read
#Commentary

AI-Driven Creativity: Prototyping Games in the Digital Age

While you can’t (yet) plug in a prompt and have it develop a fully functional mobile game, you can use AI to help you come up with ideas and speed up your process. So here are a few ways you can use AI when developing your prototypes.
Rocket League Sideswipe
7 min read
#Commentary

From console to pocket: How to adapt your game for mobile

Adapting your game to mobile is no walk in the park. Yoru controls are different, you have a much smaller screen size, and you're much more limited with the hardware. And yet, Psyonix nailed this perfectly. Here’s what we can learn from them.
social influencers cover image
8 min read
#Guides

Influencer Partnerships: The Key to Expanding Your Game’s Reach

Working with social media influencers can open up an ocean of new players for your games. But who are the best influencers to work with? How do you go about finding them? And how can you get in touch with them?
Loot box cover
12 min read
#Commentary

The Cost of Entertainment: Are Games Getting Too Expensive?

A big topic we see today is people complaining about the price of games for what they’re getting. But why is that? Are studios becoming too greedy? Or are business models evolving so quickly that players can’t keep up with the trends? Let's find out.
VR Design Tropes Cover Image
8 min read
#Commentary

Creating VR Experiences: Challenges and Solutions for Designers

Making a VR game is still no walk in the park. It’s very different to what you may be used to building. So what are the top game design conventions that don’t currently translate well to VR? And what can you do to overcome these? Let’s break it down.
Hype cover image
6 min read
#Commentary

Managing Expectations: The Art of Building Hype the Right Way

You want your players to be engaged with your game, but you don’t want to accidentally break the trust you’ve built up. When developers overpromise and don’t deliver, it can damage their relationship with their audience. Here are our top tips for building hype safely.
Discord cover blog
9 min read
#Commentary

5 Steps to Building Discord Community

Building a community for your games is crucial to getting new players and keeping them loyal. And Discord is now the number one place to go. But how can you get the most out of this social media platform? Here’s our guide.
8 min read
#Interviews

Behind Lifeline’s Success: An Interview with 3 Minute Games

Lifeline was one of the first mobile games to use push notifications as a core mechanic for their game, which led them to over a million downloads and seven sequels. But what was the secret sauce that led to such success? We spoke with Mars Jokela – Lifeline’s game designer – and Dave Justus – the writer behind the scenes – to ask them what advice they had for other developers and what it was about Lifeline that worked.
Sugartown cover image
6 min read
#Commentary

Exploring Sugartown: Zynga’s NFT-Powered Universe

As Zynga releases their first Web3 game – Sugartown. Rather than in-app purchases or advertising, the game would rely on players buying, trading (and potentially earning) assets. Here's everything we know, and what it means for you.
Afterverse PKXD
8 min read
#Interviews

Kid-Focused Design: The Secret to Engaging 750M Young Gamers

PK XD has over 500 million downloads on Android alone. It gets 30 million views on YouTube every week. And their average session length is 25 minutes a session, with people playing around an hour and a half a day. So what's the secret behind their success? Here's what we know.
Zynga cover image
8 min read
#Spotlights

Adapting to the changing games market: a Zynga spotlight

Every company has its ups and downs. But it’s how they regroup that matters. And Zynga is no different. so we thought we’d dive into what they did and how they came out the other side as one of the most successful mobile gaming companies in the world. We dive into Zynga’s strategy and how they recovered from losing half their revenue to rise back to $720 million a quarter.