Mobile Games Playbook

As we wrap up the end of the year, this episode of The Mobile Gamedev Playbook looks back at what 2021 brought to the mobile gaming industry in the US, China and Japan. We delve into the key trends to come out of this year, including the rise of renovation mechanics, collaboration events and popular IPs. Host Jon Jordan is joined by GameRefinery by Vungle’s analysts, Teemu Palomäki and Wilhelm Voutilainen, who together take us through this year’s most successful games and even a few unfortunate failures. You can now find The Mobile Game Dev Playbook on GameRefinery’s Youtube channel. Please subscribe and leave a review!Thanks for listening, The Mobile GameDev Playbook

In this episode of The Mobile Gamedev Playbook, we’re looking at diversity in the mobile games industry and how having a culturally and ethnically diverse team helps build better mobile games. Co-founder and Head of Analytics at GameRefinery, Joel Julkunen, shares his expertise on player motivations and expanding your player base by adding features that cater to wider audiences. He is joined by the HiDef team, Anthony Castoro, Jen Donahoe, and basketball legend Rick Fox.  Together they discuss their individual experiences of being a minority in the games industry and how diversity and representation are central to HiDef’s corporate DNA.You can now find The Mobile Game Dev Playbook also on GameRefinery’s Youtube channel. Please subscribe and leave a review!Thanks for listening, The Mobile GameDev Playbook 

In this episode, GameRefinery looks at the craziest events this year, from Genshin Impacts’ collab with KFC to Roblox Lil Nas X digital concert.GameRefinery Analysts Kalle Heikkinen and Wilhelm Voutilainen join host Jon Jordan to discuss the wonderful world of mobile game events, including the mechanics behind LiveOps and utilising the same framework for multiple events, the benefits of collaborating with non-gaming brands and the importance of seasonal events to the success of mobile games. You can now find The Mobile Game Dev Playbook also on GameRefinery’s Youtube channel. Please subscribe and leave a review!Thanks for listening, The Mobile GameDev Playbook 

In this episode of The Mobile Gamedev Playbook, we're looking at the use of AI moderation in social gaming. GameRefinery analyst and podcast regular Kalle Heikkinen joins host Jon Jordan to kick off the podcast with all things social, including the emergence of social hangout areas and the rise of social features in mobile games. While social features create endless opportunities for games to succeed (look at Roblox!), there is also a toxic content dilemma that comes with gamers being able to communicate with one another freely. CEO and Co-Founder of Utopia Analytics, Dr Mari-Sanna Paukkeri, brings her expertise to discuss AI moderation, toxicity in gaming and the intricacies behind moderating language, images and voice. You can now find The Mobile Gamedev Playbook also on GameRefinery's YouTube channel.Please subscribe and leave a review!Thanks for listening, The Mobile Gamedev Playbook 

In this episode of The Mobile Gamedev Playbook, we’re exploring all things metaverse. The idea of the metaverse has caught on across the tech industry over the last decade, with tech giants seemingly in a race to make it a reality.CEO and co-founder of RP1, Sean Mann, joins host Jon Jordan to discuss how close the metaverse is to becoming a reality, what it might look like, how it’ll affect mobile gaming and how RP1 has created a proprietary technology that provides a foundational layer upon which the metaverse can be built. You can now find The Mobile Game Dev Playbook also on GameRefinery's Youtube channel. Please subscribe and leave a review!Thanks for listening, The Mobile GameDev Playbook 

As we wrap up the first half of 2021, in this episode of The Mobile Gamedev Playbook, we have asked our analysts to spell out what have been the biggest mobile trends and games of the year so far! GameRefinery by Vungle's own Erno Kiiski, Wilhelm Voutilainen, and Kalle Heikkinen join host Jon Jordan to discuss how hybrid game mechanics and particular market trends have rocketed new games to the top of the download charts across the USA, China and Japan, as well as which games we should be keeping an eye on. You can now find The Mobile GameDev Playbook also on GameRefinery's Youtube channel. Please subscribe and leave a review! Thanks for listening, The Mobile GameDev Playbook

We are a bit starstruck in this episode of The Movile GameDev Playbook, with guest Richard Bartle! Listen in to learn more about best practices for audience design, taxonomies of players and how they can help developers design better, more engaging mobile games. Richard joins the podcast to discuss his impressive career, including how he created the Multi-User Dungeon - or simply MUDs - the forebearer of the multiplayer online role-playing genre and how he developed the Bartle Taxonomy Player Types. Head of Analytics at GameRefinery by Vungle, Joel Julkunen, also joins the conversation to discuss the influence  Bartle's player types have had on GameRefinery's own taxonomy and the subtle difference between mobile and MMORPG players. You can now find The Mobile GameDev Playbook on video and all the usual podcast platforms. Thanks for listening!

In this episode of The Mobile GameDev Playbook, we’re discussing how to utilize player insight to help build better games. We look into the tips, tools, and techniques game developers can use to understand what their players want so that they’ll keep coming back for more.Market-research platform PickFu joins this episode to discuss how game developers have collected user feedback using their service, along with mobile game studio Mojiworks, which uses data-led design in their game development process. Dive deep into the topic with host Jon Jordan, GameRefinery’s Chief Game Analyst Erno Kiiski and special guests John Li, co-founder of PickFu, and Jen Bolton, VP of Player Insights at Mojiworks. Thanks for listening! 

In this episode of The Mobile GameDev Playbook we discuss the common struggles game developers face when monetizing their games and provide some top tips to ensure optimal ROI on mobile gaming ad monetization. We also take a deep dive into the current mobile app monetization strategy and how it might change post IDFA. Will high IAP monetization games survive the change? Kolibri Games brings their expertise to the panel today, as a games publisher, with their most notable mobile titles including “Idle Miner Tycoon” and “Idle Factory Tycoon”, with the former reaching over 100 million downloads worldwide. This episode also takes us through Kolibri’s humble beginnings from being founded in a student dorm to building an 120 strong team based out of Berlin. Host Jon Jordan is joined by GameRefinery's Head of Product & Ad Intelligence Lauri Heikkinen and special guest Nate Barker, Director of Business Development at Kolibri. Thanks for listening! 

Episode 13 brings you insight into the winners and finalists of GameRefinery’s very first Mobile GameDev Awards in 2021. These new annual awards aim to reward design and innovation in the mobile game industry by developers in the US, China and Japan. In this episode, GameRefinery’s analysts and partner judge from Luna Labs discuss a few of the award categories and what made the winners stand out from the competition - what is their secret?Award categories discussed include Innovation and Excellence in Core Gameplay, Best Evolver, and Best in-game Event. Host Jon Jordan is joined by GameRefinery's Chief Analysts Erno Kiiski, Kalle Heikkinen, and Teemu Palomäki and special guests John Wright, Vice President of Operations at Luna Labs. Thanks for listening!