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rihapat

Dev Diary #315 Getting Players Hooked

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Ahoy Ylanders!

With update 2.2, those who started a new game (or reset their progress) can experience a new introductory scene before arriving at the starting island. Let's discuss why it was added and what it brings to Ylands.

One of the biggest challenges for free-to-play (F2P) games is retention. Many players try them out, but only a few stick around long enough to make a significant impact. Casual F2P games, like shooters, puzzles, and match-threes, have it easier. They can showcase their core gameplay almost immediately after the player starts the game for the first time (despite clicking through countless popup windows).

For a game like Ylands, this is much more complicated. Up until 2.2, you started with nothing and very little to do besides picking up items. You picked grass, sticks, stones, and flint. These were your first minutes in the game, and based on this, you decided whether to give it more time, which could turn into hours. The math is simple: more new players playing the game equals more effort put into improving the game for everyone.

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In update 2.2, we added the Tech Tree and Handbook Quests. Suddenly, you can clearly see what you can achieve and how to get there. There's always something interesting to do.

However, this doesn't entirely solve the problem I mentioned earlier. For the new player, it's more like a promise that there are some great things ahead and that the game becomes much more fun and interesting once you get past the "gathering phase."

What we wanted to do was give players a taste of how great it is to have your own ship, explore various unique places, and do it as soon as possible.

This is why the short playable intro scene was added. Based on the numbers we've seen, it seems to be working. More new players are finishing the subsequent tutorial than before, and they are staying longer.

Knowing that this works, we can safely proceed to the second phase of the Intro scene operation - releasing a vastly improved and polished version of the intro scene. We believe this will give new players even more reasons to invest time in the game, discovering its unique and complex nature. This new version of the intro scene, featuring sailing, underground exploration, and more sailing, should become available in about a month or two.

Have fun and stay classy, Ylanders!

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