Top 10 Ways to Improve the
Online Game Experience
In the highly compe//ve world of online gaming, developers and publishers must do everything they can to a:ract players. Once you get their a:en/on, the first 30 minutes are cri/cal to engaging and keeping those players. The following list suggests 10 best prac/ces for improving the game experience to increase reten/on rates. 1 Speed-­‐up downloads to get players into the game faster. Use a gaming focused CDN (content delivery network) with faster connec/on /mes and higher sustained throughput, op/onal P2P (peer-­‐to-­‐peer) technology, and an advanced download manager to increase the speed of the game download and reduce abandonment. 2 Engage players during ini/al download. Create a branded download experience that includes character development, storytelling, weapon selec/on and other content so players are engaged during the download and won’t leave before they play the game. You can also allow them to start playing the first level or world while other content con/nues to download in the background. 3 Improve the point-­‐of-­‐play experience. Use a full-­‐featured game launcher to offer updates, new content, keep players informed, and mone/ze free-­‐to-­‐play games with adver/sing or special offers. Each /me the player launches the game you have an opportunity to improve their experience. 4 Keep all players on the current version. No patch, no play. Use an advanced game updater and patching solu/on to publish new versions and add addi/onal game content efficiently. By selec/ng a full-­‐featured solu/on you can also perform byte level and non-­‐linear patching. 5 Measure twice, reconfigure once. Making changes to the game experience should not be guesswork. Advanced delivery analy/cs enable you to test comple/on ra/os, download speeds, regional delivery data and more. By tes/ng and reac/ng to the results you can make changes to the game download experience that will effect player acquisi/on, reten/on and mone/za/on. 6 Secure your game, while making approved access simple. You’ve invested heavily in your game, so protec/ng it is paramount. Doing so at the CDN level allows you to keep unauthorized players out without making it difficult for your approved players to play. 7 Mone5ze in ways that add value for the player. Make game play more affordable and accessible by implemen/ng crea/ve mone/za/on strategies. By providing gamers with incen/ves to view adver/sing such as content, weapons, virtual currency, etc., you enhance the game while also crea/ng a new revenue stream. 8 Improve sa/sfac/on by connec/ng players to the best server. Make games more responsive by leveraging real user measurement (RUM) to connect individual players to the game server with the best connec/vity. Happy gamers spend more /me and more money. 9 Shine during your game launch. Nothing is more important than the ini/al launch of your game. Lean on the experience of a gaming focused content delivery provider to plan and execute a global launch strategy that guarantees server up/me, avoids bo:lenecks, includes regionally focused capacity planning and more. 10 Save money and reinvest in the game. Don’t get caught up in managing infrastructure, monitoring servers and developing complicated download, update and patching solu/ons. By outsourcing these tasks you not only save money, you free up developer resources to focus on crea/ng new games, adding content to exis/ng games and ul/mately adding value for your company. Top 10 Ways to Improve the
Online Game Experience
1 Speed-­‐up downloads to get players into the game faster. 2 Engage players during ini/al download. 3 Improve the point-­‐of-­‐play experience. 4 Keep all players on the current version. 5 Measure twice, reconfigure once. 6 Secure your game, while making approved access simple. 7 Mone5ze in ways that add value for the player. 8 Improve sa/sfac/on by connec/ng players to the best server. 9 Shine during your game launch. 10 Save money and reinvest in the game. Top 10 Ways to Improve the
Online Game Experience
Are you overwhelmed by the amount of work it would take to execute on each of these sugges/ons? Don’t be. Highwinds built a complete set of solu/ons to address each item on this list as part of the GDN™ (Game Delivery Network). Now you can access the best game delivery, download manager, patcher, analy/cs, mone/za/on, security and more. To set up a live demonstra/on or to request a free trial, click here. Want to learn more first? Visit the GDN customers page to read how successful game companies like Valve -­‐ Steam, Online Warmongers, U4iA Games, Funcom, GameFly and Penny Arcade are leveraging the GDN today. Visit www.highwinds.com/GDN to learn more!