Redesigning the Board Event Feature
1. What is Travel Town?
Travel Town is a casual mobile Merge-2 game where the players build and manage a town by completing orders of items accumulated in a Merge Board.
2. What are the Board Events?
The biggest feature of the game, where we take players for a unique adventure on a fresh separate merge board, boasting totally new items, new levels, new art & new mechanics. The Event usually celebrates either a holiday, for example Halloween, or a travel location, such as visiting Italy.
3. The Success of the Board Events
Upon the establishment of the game, the Events functioned as the primary feature. This led to significant success, at times resulting in weekends with a 40% increase in Monetization KPIs and 15% Engagement KPIs (in comparison to weekends without the Event Live-Op). Players sought respite from the "Core Board", where they encountered common Merge-2 problems such as Board Pressure, slow progression & repetitiveness.
4. A call for Redesign
During that period, we evaluated the status of the game and determined that the Events were functioning adequately. Consequently, we directed the majority of our resources towards enhancing the "Core" game. Unfortunately, as time passed, the neglect of the Events resulted in a gradual decline. While the rest of the game progressed, the Events remained stagnant with an outdated design that did not evolve alongside the game. Considering the monumental efforts required to implement an Event into Production, including game design, artwork, and proper economic balancing, a Defensive Test was conducted to assess its continued impact. In the image, the Base group participated in the Event, Target_1 experienced a different live operation, and Target_2 did not receive any special features.
5. Creating "Travel Mission"
Introducing Events 2.0, also known as "Travel Mission," a new and improved experience aimed at enhancing the fundamentals of Board Events and optimizing key performance indicators. I created a team and we diligently identified and addressed various issues, to name a few, Event Energy (resource) pricing and value, excessive free play time, repetition, and limited integration with the Core Board. The Previous Events were designed as a completion experience, many players were unable to finish it. We recognized that Events disproportionately impacted the light depositors segment, who constitute the majority of our player base. Originally intended to compete with the Core Board when there was limited content available, we now understand we can't make the players have to decide where to play and how to spend their time - both experiences must come together. On top of all that, we aim to increase players engagement and spending habits in ways that benefit them overall. Players time and sessions are limited and valuable, and even if you are a depositor who is unable to complete the event, we have implemented mechanics and designs to ensure you still gain something from participating.
6. The Design
- Rebranding the Event as a new experience "Travel Mission" which also has a strong detective-like narrative, always a mystery and a solution.
- New development to improve feature fluidity: The ability to change the resource throughout the whole game to a new colorful energy (previously blue), better explaining a new experience. The ability to access the event quickly from within the Core Board without tedious extra steps, a counter indicating the event energy on the entrance widget.
- Event energy can no longer be bought directly from the store, the removal of a passive refill system, increasing its value and rarity. Now only accessible through completing Core Board orders, ensuring constant progress on the meta and increasing playing habits.
- Reduced the time and difficulty of the event by almost 50% ensuring gameplay KPI's are not harmed and actually sustained in both the event board and the core board together without cannibalism or hangover.
7. Treatment & Results
In the image, one can observe the intervention wherein the Target group was exposed to the novel Travel Mission Event, while the Base group engaged in the standard Production live-ops without the Event. The Event spanned over a period of 4 days, during which Key Performance Indicators were closely monitored for D7 results. The outcome proved to be highly successful, garnering exceptional feedback from the community both within the game and across various social platforms!