By |

“We used to give people 10 horseshoes when they start [FrontierVille] – then we did a little test of, ‘Well, what if we gave 15?’ We thought that maybe the would help them get over the hump of building the cabin because we noticed that people who make it to finishing the cabin were more likely to stick and keep coming back. We tried 15 horseshoes and sure enough we had a substantial uptick in early retention – in people getting to the cabin and therefore sticking as players. In that way, essentially, it made the game more fun.” — That’s the lead creator of FrontierVille, Brian Reynolds, telling Industry Gamers why caring about the metrics of how people play their games is a plus, not some anti-fun, accounting-as-game-design misery.

🕹️ Level up your inbox

Don’t miss the latest reviews, news and tips. Sign up for our free newsletter.

You May Also Like

Latest news
Image 2026 09 23t151824.629
The First Ace Combat Game In Seven Years Is Playing For Keeps
Anime Guid
The 10 New Fall 2026 Anime You Should Be Most Excited For
Fireemblemfortunesbored
Can Everybody In Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave Please Shut The Hell Up A Little Bit?
4019220 200
Dressmaker Is The Dream Indie For People (Me) Who Spend Hours On Outfits In The Character Creator
Xbox Achievmeentn
Xbox’s New ‘Mythic’ Achievement Features An Unlock Noise That Goes On For 15 Seconds
Barbie Horse (1)
Barbie Rewind Threatens To Bring Out My Inner Horse Girl
Mcd Menuboard
McDonald’s Cramming Ads For Other Brands Into The Drive-Thru While You Wait To Pull Forward
An Xbox Series S hangs in mid-air.
Xbox’s Restructuring Is A ‘Reverse Acquisition In Slow Motion,’ Analysts Say