Game Basics: Retention

STICKINESS The ratio between MAU and DAU, showing the overall retention of the

game

LIFE TIME VALUE The overall period spent

by a player over the game will establish his

value

REVENUE Daily active Users define the revenue pattern of a

social game

RETENTION A series of game mechanisms and incentives that bring back players to play in a repetitive

manner, over a long period of time

COLLECT Collect a daily reward.

Grows according to consecutive visits

PLAN Deploy a timed bonus, to be

collected on a nearby visit (harvest, Job, property)

PLAY Gain a daily bonus by playing a mini game

when landing in the game

DAILY BONUS A daily incentive given to a player upon his

landing, providing a “bait” for the next day of gameplay

GAME OF SKILL Cards, roulettes,

wheels of Fortune and games of luck

NARRATIVE Short cut-scene

experiences or visuals narrating arc-stories

GAMES OF FUN Short-burst Platformer,

shooters and arcade like activity

MINI GAMES Mini Games are short-burst simple game

engines that provide a differentiating moment of fresh gameplay during a repetitive sequence

LEVELING Unlock new content,

titles and game options by climbing up

the leveling system

MULTI SYSTEMS Climb through multiple leveling systems (social, career, etc) to explore

the game

EXPERIENCE Collect Experience Points by performing quests or

game actions, to gain new levels and titles

PROGRESSION A progression system is the heart & core of a

persistent game. It provides a thread that connects the player’s individual sessions

CONTENT Game environments, Storylines, Non Player characters and visuals

OPTIONS Game modes, secret levels, career options

and bonuses

GOODS Items, weapons, gifts, power-ups and virtual

goods found in the store

UNLOCKING MECHANISM As means of exploration, a good game slowly

unveils content, options and goods, making the player curious about “what’s next?”

CLASS A class is a unique

career path offering attributes, abilities

and options

PRESTIGE A Prestige Class is a

specialized class that unlocks at a specific

level

MULTI-CLASS A Multi Class mechanic

enables players to pick to classes and run them in

parallel

CAREERS - II Careers are powerful engagement engines; they

grant players a feeling of personalization, by allowing them to ‘model’ their progression

CONSECUTIVE Player gains time-based bonuses, as

long as he sits in front of the game

COLLECTIVE (group) Players work together to achieve goals and gain

group bonuses

COMPETITIVE Players compete to gain a

daily/hourly grand bonuses

INCENTIVES Rewards, bonuses and gifts given to a player in

order to motivate him and make him ‘strive for more’

BADGES A badge is a visual

icon representing an in-game

accomplishment

TITLE A title is a textual label

showing a specific designation or

accomplishment

TROPHIES A trophy is a badge that

moves from hand to hand, according to the

current winner

ACHIEVEMENTS Virtual means used to motivate a player and

mark a specific in-game accomplishment. (also Used by players for Bragging rights)

REGENERATION An Attribute, a Bonus or a game option that

slowly renews itself every x seconds of gameplay. Used by players for planning their next move

TIME STAMP A timer counts backward to show the moment in

which regeneration takes place

PERSISTENCY Regeneration continues to take place even when

the player is offline

QUANTITY Fine balance of the

quantity of units gained is crucial for this

mechanism

BRIEF The brief tells the player what he is required to do in order to complete he

quest

INCENTIVE The incentive is a reward

given to the player for completing the quest

FEEDBACK The feedback is a

midterm pointer, telling the player he is on the

right track

QUEST The Quest is a short-term task within the

gameplay world, offering players an immediate course of action & reward

COLORS Complete each quest in 3 different levels: Bronze,

Silver, Gold

PRE-REQUISITE Complete a quest in a

specific mastery levels in order to unlock content

STARS Try completing a quest

with a maximum of stars. Performance based.

MASTERY SYSTEM A Mastery System is used to create replay ability

of content and a way for players to generate specialization

TIMING A Public quest starts on a

given time frame. Late-Birds must wait for

the next round

PRIZES! A Public Quest generates

rewards to all participants, according to their performance

LOCKED From a moment a public

quest is launched, no one can leave or join it

PUBLIC QUEST A cooperative Quest, played by a small group of

friends/strangers in a limited time frame