An article to thoroughly understand what game operations are all about?

Game operation is a tedious but very critical position. You can experience the dual effects of being a game cash cow and a player babysitter. The word "grinding" is the most appropriate to describe game operation . This article mainly introduces some basic knowledge of game operations, to provide guidance for young operators who have just entered the industry and help them avoid detours.
What is game operation?

By definition, game operation is the process of launching a game online and implementing product operation strategies and marketing methods in a planned manner throughout the game's entire life cycle, so that players can continue to understand the game, enter the game and ultimately pay, in order to achieve the goal of increasing game revenue.

Game operations specialist is a position in the company, responsible for product preheating, product launch, event planning , data analysis , channel operations, marketing and customer service.

In actual work, the game operation of a game must not only be competent for daily process-based work, but also achieve the following goals:

1. Extend product life cycle and improve user stickiness <br />Develop a version plan based on product life cycle and market research results. Because front-line operations staff have access to existing game bugs, player feedback, and data reports , they can clearly understand the product's life cycle and competitive situation, and thus develop version plans to extend the product life cycle, continuously launch new information and new versions, improve the version experience, and keep users looking forward to it. At the same time, we study the users who have already lost, understand the level, level and reasons for the loss, and prepare for game optimization.

2. Lubricate each department to reduce the occurrence of gaming accidents <br />The operation department is the node connecting developers, channels, markets, and players. If problems occur at each node, the operation department must actively communicate, coordinate and cooperate to reduce the occurrence of gaming accidents. For example, active and proactive communication is very necessary for following up and correcting BUG submissions, tracking and feedback on activity results, emergencies on payment platforms, etc.

3. Increase game revenue <br />The operation department is the key department to increase game revenue. Routine affairs cannot measure the quality of the operation staff's work. The monthly turnover, total turnover and ARPU of the game are the most critical. Only with income can we pay salaries to various departments, promote market launch plans, and carry out various online and offline activities ; at the same time, high-income mobile games will rank higher in the channel and be recommended higher, leading to a snowball effect.

Classification of game operation job functions

The work of game operation is very complicated and trivial. Operation specialists are even given the title of "odd jobs". However, according to the role played by the functions, it is divided into eight modules, as follows:

1. Event Planning <br />Event planning is a key position in generating game profits, which requires coordinating the relationships between players, products, and KPIs. Whether players buy into the activity affects the effectiveness of the activity, while whether the product itself supports the activity determines whether the activity can be carried out. Of course, the event planner is employed by the company, and the boss has KPI requirements, short-term or long-term plans, and also needs to consider the profits brought by the activity.
The responsibilities of event planning are to design events (online and offline), statistically analyze event results and provide feedback.

2. Data Analysis

The premise of data analysis is data statistics, that is, to compile statistics of game data in the target area, server, and channel within a certain period, including the number of logins, the number of active users, the active time period, retention rate , payment rate, etc. However, statistical data is not the ultimate goal. The essential job of a data analyst is to use existing data to analyze player status and propose version and activity optimization suggestions.

3. Channel operations <br />That is, get in touch with business managers in major markets to discuss revenue sharing, scheduling, and recommendation plans, and push products online; after the product is launched, maintain channel forums and special areas, cooperate with channels to organize activities and distribute gift packages, etc.

4. Media Operations <br />Employees engaged in media operations are called media. They are responsible for external product publicity and product image. They make and execute external publicity plans based on the requirements of different product testing stages. The main tasks include writing and submitting soft articles, delivering media gift packages, reserving recommended positions, designing creative advertisements, formulating and executing soft advertising plans. He is mainly responsible for the game's Baidu index, channel popularity, and product image.

5. Marketing
Monitor downloads, login data, and market comments in major markets after the product is launched, and perform various operations to improve product rankings, market popularity, and praise rate, such as placing CPA, CPC, and brushing positive reviews.

6. Event management <br />That is, handling routine affairs and emergencies in the process of game operation, such as formulating service launch plans and notifying channels and operations and maintenance, advance notification of game maintenance, issuance of maintenance compensation, and monitoring of daily data anomalies.

7. Player management <br />This is a job that always faces players, but it does not involve dealing directly with players like customer service. Instead, it involves managing VIP players based on indicators such as players’ payment rate, payment amount, VIP level, and activity. It collects players’ BUG suggestions and submits the best ones to relevant personnel, and follows up on the progress of BUG resolution. Set the amount and discount of recharge rebate.

8. Community Management <br />The community is a place where players gather, including QQ groups, Tieba , forums, guilds, game boxes, etc. Players communicate directly with each other, and it is often the place where player complaints, suggestions and problems occur most frequently. A good community administrator can handle opinions and suggestions, calm players’ grievances, and appease them in a timely manner. He or she can also increase community activity and create community characteristics. For example, UC's guild has guild groups, communities and QQ groups. The popularity of the forum directly affects the ranking of the new game expectation list.

Workflow and capability requirements

The above is a comprehensive introduction to the job functions of game operations. I believe that the audience has a relatively comprehensive understanding. The following explains the workflow of game operations and the competency requirements for each position.

Workflow:
Game operations work revolves around the various testing stages of the game (closed beta, internal beta, public beta), is product-centric, considers the purpose of the testing stage, and carries out corresponding work. This process is not linear, but circular. The latter testing period is a copy and enrichment of the work content of the previous testing period. The only difference is the number of players and the depth of their needs.
1. Closed beta period <br />The so-called closed beta is the abbreviation of closed testing, which means that a small number of players are selected to participate in the first release of the game. These players are seed users generated during the development period through game preheating and IP advantages. They are very loyal and often become the first batch of paying users .

There are many things to do in the early stage of closed beta testing, including business negotiations on cooperation, setting up business discussion groups, preparing for game testing, establishing game-specific QQ groups, BBSs, and forums, and sending soft articles and promoting game ideas through the media.

During the closed beta period, data is generally deleted for stress testing and trialing the game. The key task is to maintain the reputation of the first batch of players, keep the popularity of the game, and look at operational indicators such as DAU, retention , and payment rate. The closed beta test data is very important for the game's position in the channel and the market. For example, UC Jiuyou will classify the games into different levels based on the closed beta test data, and provide complete special areas, forums and publicity locations for games rated A+, S and above, which is the so-called in-depth cooperation.

2. Internal testing period

The difference between it and closed beta is that it is open to download to all market players, while internal beta is divided into deleted data internal beta and non-deleted data internal beta. In the early stage of internal testing, media operations carried out advertising preheating according to the advertising plan. The work of game operations in the internal testing period was basically on the right track, and each position performed its duties step by step every day. For example, channel operations start to apply to channels for activity support and recommendation applications on schedule; marketing promotion carries out hard advertising, activity planning carries out large-scale activities (recharge, consumption, activeness), and data analysis calculates periodic login, retention, and payment data...

3. Public beta period <br />Before the public beta of a game, there will often be version updates, and there will be major adjustments to activity templates, functions, and UI. A new round of product publicity and market launch has begun. Games with high channel rankings and high exposure can get better downloads and payments.

During the 1-3 months of the public beta, online and offline game activities are very critical, player maintenance work is also very complicated, and the speed of server opening and version replacement are more frequent. Therefore, it is the golden period of operation. Overtime work is common, and duty is also arranged on weekends.

Ability requirements:

The entry threshold for operations is not high (college degree or above), and experience is often more important than academic qualifications. However, the Internet industry is a sunrise industry with extremely rapid updates and changes. If you cannot enrich and improve your professional qualities in a short period of time, being eliminated or relying on your old capital is inevitable, because operations positions are also positions with relatively frequent staff turnover.

But it is undeniable that a senior operator is the key to the success of the product. Mobile games are short-lived and fast-paced, with a lifespan of only three months to a year. Therefore, the operator of a mobile game has a heavy responsibility in the short term. People who are able to endure hardships, have patience, and have a strong learning ability are more suitable for this position.

Let’s talk about the competency requirements for operations positions.

1. The ability to learn quickly and master new knowledge quickly

As an operator, you need to have rich gaming literacy and understand the operating models of mainstream games in the market. Operators need to have a certain level of gaming experience and have played at least two games in depth. However, we are not "playing" games, but learning about games.
In addition, operators need extensive knowledge and complete market information, and should be able to extract important information from the information released by major game media and channels. They should always maintain a comparative and research attitude, let the information converge into a river in their minds, and form a clearer understanding of the entire market.

2. Fluent and friendly communication skills

The operations position is an important position that connects developers, channels, players, and bosses, so effective communication is very important. Game function optimization and version updates require consensus with planners, who will lead technical staff in development and test staff in testing by issuing requirements.

The channel party is responsible for a lot of games, with an average of at least 5 games per person, so it is necessary to cut the crap and get straight to the point. When it is necessary to apply for a recommendation position from the channel party, interpersonal relationships also play an important role. For example, 70% of the launch of App Store depends on the relationship with the business. The communication between operations positions and players is reflected in various announcements, event handling, and VIP player services. There is more one-way communication, so it is very important to be polite, neither humble nor arrogant, and principled in expression.

3. First-class software operation capabilities

Operational work requires the use of office software such as Excel, Word, and PPT. These software are often used by people, but few people are proficient in using them. Operations personnel need to develop concise and clear version plans, data analysis files, soft copywriting and even web editing tools . Many of these tasks are repetitive, so in addition to patience, speed is also important. Your boss asks you to compile yesterday's statistics for the entire region and server within one day, which involves hundreds of tables. A skilled person would not need to spend much time integrating the data, but would spend most of the time analyzing the data .

Web editing tools, drawing software, everything can be picked up and put down, which will be of great benefit to your work.

4. Overall vision and strong execution

Excellent operations personnel are people who proactively identify problems continuously and have strong execution capabilities. They have a global perspective and adjust operational strategies based on the game’s market performance and the stage it is in.

For example, event planning. Many event planning activities are like squeezing toothpaste. Only when the boss is under pressure from KPI indicators will he start to think about what type of activities to do and how long the cycle should last. He often makes decisions on a whim without comparing the results of the activities with data analysis. Therefore, the activities produced in this way cannot be called high-quality. Controlling the relationship between discount prices and life cycles and players’ existing props is a skill that an event planner should always master.

Media operations do not have to be hyped up throughout their entire life cycle. When a game is in decline, the official website gradually stops updating, customer service fades out of the players' field of vision, and a group of players are naturally eliminated, and media personnel no longer need to hype it up.

Conclusion:

The work of game operation is very trivial and complicated. The above only introduces the functions and ability requirements of each position. If you want to have a deep understanding of the details and skills of each major function, long-term practice is still needed. Each function can become an independent topic. Many people envy game operations and are even willing to start from customer service. In fact, each position has unique advantages. Mastering more skills and knowledge will definitely benefit your work. Anyone who has become an operator or aspires to become an operator must be more proactive in long-term practical experience and produce works with a turnover of tens of millions. The position of operations director is waiting for you!