Boss: They keep coming back

Play this quiz

Plan the rhythm

#studio-plans, Kai
Garden Defense launched last month. Let's go quiet for a year and then ship one giant update.

What does LiveOps suggest instead?

  1. A steady rhythm the team can keep, like a small update each month plus seasonal events, measured and improved each time
  2. A new feature every single day, even if testing gets skipped
  3. Nothing, because a game is finished on launch day
Show the answer

A steady rhythm the team can keep, like a small update each month plus seasonal events, measured and improved each time

LiveOps runs the game as a live service: plan, build, release, measure and learn, again and again. A steady rhythm keeps players coming back without burning out the team or skipping testing.

Read the numbers

retention_report.txt
Installed   Played next daySat  500    100Sun  200     60

Which install day had the better Day 1 retention?

  1. Sunday: 60 of 200 is 30%
  2. Saturday, because 100 is more than 60
  3. They are the same
Show the answer

Sunday: 60 of 200 is 30%

Retention compares returning players to the ones who started that day. Saturday is 100 of 500, or 20%. Sunday is 60 of 200, or 30%. Bigger counts do not mean better retention.

Quick check

Players quit between level 4 and level 5. The team wants to test slower pests. What is the best way?

  1. Use Remote Config to give a random half of players the slower speed, keep everything else the same, and compare for a full week
  2. Change the pests, the map and the rewards at once to save time
  3. Ask three friends which version they like
Show the answer

Use Remote Config to give a random half of players the slower speed, keep everything else the same, and compare for a full week

An A/B test changes one thing for a random group, so any difference comes from that change. A full week counts weekday and weekend players.

Flip the switch

#studio-plans, Kai
Let's add a brand new ghost boss tonight with Remote Config. No store update needed!

What is the problem with Kai's plan?

  1. Remote Config changes values, not code. The boss must ship in an update first, switched off
  2. Nothing, Remote Config can add any new feature from the cloud
  3. Remote Config only works on the App Store, not Google Play
Show the answer

Remote Config changes values, not code. The boss must ship in an update first, switched off

Remote Config can only turn on what is already built into the game. We ship the boss in a normal update with the switch off, then flip it on before the event.

Quick check

Because games can keep cached Remote Config values for up to 12 hours by default, we flip event switches a day early and store the start time as a value.

Show the answer

True

Cached values save battery and data, but a player might not see a change for hours. Flipping early and letting the game wait for a UTC start time means everyone starts together.

Patch note pick

patch_notes_1.3.0.txt
Garden Defense 1.3.0 New- Night Moth pest and three night levelsChanged- SNAIL_SPEED 2.0 -> 1.8Fixed- The shop no longer freezes on tablets

Which line should Remy rewrite before players see these patch notes?

  1. Line 4
  2. Line 6
  3. Line 8
Show the answer

Line 6

Line 6 is a value from our code. Patch notes say what changes for the player, and why: "Snails are 10% slower, so level 4 is fairer." Lines 4 and 8 already speak player.

Chore test

Which new Hyper Shards reward passes the chore test?

  1. "Untouchable": clear a whole wave without getting hit
  2. Log in every day for 30 days or your streak resets to zero
  3. Watch five ads a day to keep your bonus
Show the answer

"Untouchable": clear a whole wave without getting hit

A good reward celebrates skill or curiosity, something players would enjoy anyway. Daily log-ins with resets and forced ads are homework, and the reset adds fear.

Version pick

patch_notes.txt
Garden Defense, version ? - Fixed: game froze when pause was tapped twice

Garden Defense is on version 1.1.0. Which number should this update get?

  1. 1.1.1
  2. 1.2.0
  3. 2.0.0
Show the answer

1.1.1

A small bug fix raises only the last number. New features would raise the middle number, and a huge change the first.