How can I improve retention and fun in my game? [CASHGRAB]

[2stefani1 (Stef)]

Hiya!

I’ve recently released a new game: THE COUNTDOWN, which is a reupload of an older game I made (Wait 1 Million Seconds) with some adjustments and new stuff.
The original version had a life span of 4 weeks and grew naturally, peaking at 650 concurrent players

Both games (versions) have EXTREMELY effective monetization. the ARPDAU for our original version is in the 95th percentile of the simulator genre (usually around 2.5-3), and the new game has even more aggressive monetization. However, the game is underperforming when it comes to core engagement metrics like average playtime, day 1 retention, and the rest Funnels, session data, and player feedback have helped us improve slightly, but we’re still sitting below the 50th percentile in most of these benchmarks

I also tried using Roblox’s new AI ads on the new game for a week and we achieved a solid 3.2% CTR, but it didn’t bring us any further long term

These are the questions that we need answers to (that in my opinion WILL help the game)

• How can I make the game enjoyable without paying?
• How long does the average player play before they get bored or confused?
• How can the game be easy to understand for completely new players (e.g., a dad who has no experience with Roblox)? (this has partially been solved thanks to a tutorial and some signs, but im still looking for feedback)
• What can be added or improved to give players a reason to return the next day? Any improvements?

Any feedback or advice would be really appreciated, especially if you can take a look at the game directly and suggest what to change.
As said in the title, this game is a cashgrab. Its sole intent is to make money off players, but having the game be actually enjoyable and fun would be a huge benefit, not only for the growth of the new game, but also for the players sake.

Thank you!

[HollywoodPLUS (Andrew)]

Your game is doomed to fail because it’s painfully generic, has a terrible UI, and players can tell you don’t actually care about making something fun or worthwhile.

[Kostiskat (kostis)]

i played your game for 10 minutes

i guess the group name sets the mood for whats about to follow

i was promoted to favorite your game 2 minutes after i joined and also when i was doing something else

bug i found

you can walk on the side of the red light green light area and it wont trigger the game and you can just walk to the reward

the prices dont make any sense

reducing 50k secs costs 149 robux but…

teleporting to the end of the impossible obby also reduces the time by 50k seconds for less than half the price

nothing really motivated me to keep doing anything. the only solo activities you can do is do the obbies or the green light red light game unless you dont and just walk on the side

i cant see how anyone would spend more than 10-15 minutes here to take the timer down to 0 seconds

if 2 people buy x5 time then its easy to take the timer to 0 for dirt cheap in little time when your “end timer” product costs 799 robux (timer starts at 1mil)

probably many more issues to point out if you dig deep enough, other than the extremely generic and boring concept of the game.

credits to this fella @notsfeelings

EDIT #1: your other game with 19 active players is the exact same thing? why not just update it…
conveniently it has the same red light green light bug i found in the “remake”

oh god

---

also answering some of the questions in your post:

How can the game be easy to understand for completely new players (e.g., a dad who has no experience with Roblox)?

i think a dad would have more important things to do, but generally you cant help it much due to how chaotically everything is laid out in your game

What can be added or improved to give players a reason to return the next day? Any improvements?

its hard for people to come play again because as you pointed out in the obnoxious red text when i hit escape, the countdown resets if i leave. therefore if i dont have ample time out of my life to play your game, i will never be able to finish it unless i start spending money

[notsfeelings]

Maybe if your game actually had anything fun within it, people would want to play it…

The only things to do here, it seems, are small obby-style courses and other pointless stuff along the same lines. Who is going to sit here and grind that? Certainly not anybody with any place to be other than in front of their computer. I know that @Kostiskat and I certainly don’t have time to do that.

Make your game worthwhile to play so that people will actually play it—or, instead, they just won’t!

and as @Crazedbrick1 pointed out… really??? a cashgrab game??? shame… shame!!!

[notsfeelings]

really a matter of garbage in—garbage out

[JxstKilo]

The only thing that was interesting was the group comments, I really had a fun time reading them.
Small preview of group wall.

[2stefani1 (Stef)]

Appreciate all of the replies!
The criticisms are extremely valid, this game is NOT in the slightest fun to play.

Which is exactly why ive come here to ask for suggestions on how to make the game enjoyable.
Its really unfortunate how out of every project I have created and maintained throughout my journey, THIS is the one that had the most success money-wise

Ill reiterate it again, how can I make the game fun? the game clearly suffers from the fact that its a cashgrab

OH, and to expand on my original post, I also wanted to mention that there was another game with a similar format as mine that had good success (Wait For 1 Year, peaking at around 2.5k CCU). Both of these games were inspired by one that shut down a few months ago

[butterpilot123 (Butter)]

Just make a new game mate, its gone bro.

[SirDynamotor]

To make the game fun, you need to understand a bit about psychology and how people work.

When players are satisfied in your game, they are more likely to spend Robux in it, but if they find out that the game is a cash-grab, they might not be confident in spending Robux over a cash-grab. So the key here is to build trust with your players and encourage them to spend Robux in your game.

Imagine yourself as a random player who wants to play your game and tries it out. How do you think would they feel when they are inside your game? Is the game beginner-friendly? Is it annoying? Is it strict? Are there any goals? Don’t be afraid to ask many questions to yourself, and if there is one question that puts you in a dilemma, you can always ask others or create a post here for the answer.

Learn to empathize with your players, and you’ll understand what they want.

Seeing the complaints of the fellow members here, I’m afraid the game is nothing but a joke, but if you intend to make a serious game someday, you can take account of my advice. Hope this helps for your future games!

[xChris_vC (Chris)]

@2stefani1

Ill reiterate it again, how can I make the game fun? the game clearly suffers from the fact that its a cashgrab

Fun is subjective and influenced by so many factors, but we can give some structure to it. The Core Loop is a popular instrument to design the core gameplay of your game.

Core loops | Documentation - Roblox Creator Hub

When you’re designing the core loop, you have to ask yourself: Why does my player play & want to come back?

If the main theme is to wait, where players repeatedly wait and progress by waiting, there’s no doubt you’ll have the most boring core loop ever.

Unless your game is a zen garden and your target audience are stressed people seeking calmness, nobody’s going to enjoy their time here. Sure, you can torture them to keep paying in your waiting hell, but don’t expect much loyalty.

tl;dr: fun isn’t a feature you can add. Go back to the drawing table, consider what you / your audience enjoys playing and try some concepts based on that. Play the long-term game, and you might profit long-term as well.

[2stefani1 (Stef)]

Seems like this post was of no important use. Thank you to anyone who participated!

[Andy_Wirus]

is this bait you can’t be this daft and this self aware at the same time

[thatguybarny1324 (Thatguy)]

You’re basically saying how do I make something that I rushed fun when I rushed it for the only goal of profit.

Its contradictory. I feel you should’ve understood this anyway way before posting this hence the phrase CASHGRAB.