What elements of a simulator can be added to improve analytics? What is average for this genre? What is the most important analytic?
(other than basic things like playtime and streak rewards, eggs, adding more zones and content, etc)
How much retention, session time, etc would I need on average to get 500 dau?
What elements of a simulator can be added to improve analytics?
Warm welcome - When the player first joins, its very important to not overwhelm them with a long tutorial that they can’t skip. Most players are just looking to get straight into it. Have an interactive tutorial that allows the player to move right away, explore, and learn on their own as they go.
Clear goal in mind - Make sure their is a goal in mind for the player, maybe even have multiple goals to work towards instead of just one. Pet Sim 99 is a good example of this, you have the goal of rebirthing and clearing every zone, hatching eggs for more huges, and trading. There is always something to do.
UI effects - Whenever someone is awarded with something, make confetti or fireworks happen on screen. Having something visually on screen gives you this dopamine hit and makes you want to keep playing.
What is average for this genre?
I would say that the average daily active users (DAU) for simulator games is about 1k disregarding Pet Sim 99 with around 100k DAU. This is a geuss by looking at the simulators on roblox so don’t quote me on this.
What is the most important analytic?
I feel like this is ultimately on your personal opinion on whether you made the game for the money or for the enjoyment. Personally, I would say playtime represents how fun/addictive your game is because it shows how long people actually play before they leave.
Hope this helps.