DataStax
The Key to success It is difficult to exceed player expectations in a very competitive market. Find out how to scale your tech stack behind one of the world’s largest games was key to its success, why it’s crucial to prioritize technology Everything from development to launch.
What is it? technology behind Why is a game important? The essence of games is entertainment. This, Henning Kosmack says, cofounder and CEO at MegaZebra. behind Mahjong Trails. But even the happiest user won’t tolerate friction in a game — and in a media market packed with near-infinite content, it’s easier than ever to abandon a lagging game and never return.
“Good technology will not make a great game,” Kosmack: “But bad technology will kill even the best game.”
It’s especially critical as user acquisition keeps getting more expensive: the noise level in the market keeps rising, and user privacy changes, in a charge led by Apple, have hamstrung targeted marketing in a variety of ways.
“For a game like ours, it’s important that once we have a user, ideally they will be so happy with everything that they’ll stick around for a long time,” He said. “Instead of us constantly churning out new games that people might play for two weeks or so, we’re focused on the long tail. That means constantly bringing new content and new features into the game, which comes with extra tech challenges.”
Kosmack also points out that the gaming market is a volatile one, in which games that are languishing, generally unloved, could suddenly go viral — and right out of the gate, any studio should have the infrastructure to support that. It’s not just about running smoothly, regardless of the size you reach, but being able to scale up and down as necessary, to meet unexpected challenges. If it’s not scalable and you’re over-provisioned, then your costs will hurt you. If it doesn’t scale and you’re under-provisioned, players get angry.
These are just a few of the many reasons why you should consider these. “you have to make that technology investment at the start, and you shouldn’t cut corners on it,” Kosmack: “You have to find the best way that works for you and your studio.”
The How Mahjong Trails tech stack evolved
Mahjong Trails is a trail system that has existed for over ten years. behind It was important that the game kept up with both the evolution of the game and its growth. technology New solutions are available on the market.
“From very early on we knew that this could be mass-market, and knew it needed to be scalable,” Kosmack: “We had servers from Amazon Web Services, and the Cassandra database, but we had to build all the scaling and we wrote a lot of code to do things that partners like DataStax can help you with today.”
Scalability has remained crucial, and over time, MegaZebra’s infrastructure has become seriously robust. Over the years they’ve gradually worked their way through the overall architecture to optimize whenever new technology It was readily available. MegaZebra Dockerized, for example, where it was necessary. technology In-house code was made available and then replaced by better products. Also, the team was collecting player data as well as building analytics and systems logs right from the beginning.
“Originally we made the right technology decisions, and that has been a competitive advantage from the get-go,” He said. “And while we like to be on the forefront of innovation, we have to make sure that we don’t jump on something before it’s proven, and before we know that there will be ongoing support for it.”
It’s also important to consider how easily a new technology can be maintained — whether game publishers have the skills in-house or have to tap someone new. If they do need to get a specialist they will be looking for someone from the very limited and exclusive pool of specialists. And while cost will always remain a consideration, it shouldn’t be the deciding factor.
“Good technology is rarely cheap, but don’t just go for the least expensive solution,” Kosmack says.” In Germany we sometimes say that if you buy something cheap, you’ll have to buy it twice. We don’t take these decisions lightly.”
Find out more information about building a home. technology For stacking successWhy companies of all sizes need to be proactive technology into consideration right at the start, and more, don’t miss this VB Spotlight event!
Agenda
- Shipping updates and new games quicker
- Increase player engagement, retention, and word-of-mouth
- Scaling effectively and efficiently for all sizes of audience
- Maintaining availability global audience
Presenters
- Henning KosmackMegaZebra’s CEO and Cofounder
- Daniel Lee, Solutions Architect – WWCS DNB Games, AWS
- Aaron Ploetz, DBRE/Developer Advocate, DataStax
- Rachel Kaser, Technology Writer, VentureBeat (Moderator)
