Games and psychology: What players seek from their first session

Most developers know how to study best practices from competitors and top-grossing games, but simply copying successful mechanics doesn’t always work. Game analytics tools often can’t answer the key question of why players behave a certain way. By turning to neuroscience and behavioral psychology, developers can gain a deeper understanding of players and their needs. This goes beyond just creating player profiles or segmenting the audience by behavior patterns.

In this article, Bogdan Baranovskiy, a specialist in UX research and psychology, explores the psychological and neurobiological factors behind player motivation and how first impressions impact long-term engagement. His insights are based on our observations from testing conducted over the past six months.

Why do people play games?

There are numerous theories and studies on player motivations. If you’re interested in understanding which players are likely to play your games, Nick Yee's research over the past decade is an excellent resource. However, we aim to take a closer, more focused look at the First-Time User Experience — ranging from the first few minutes to several hours of gameplay, depending on whether the game is casual or core.

Several psychological theories can help us understand early player interactions, especially before players fully discover action-oriented game features. Let’s focus on two of the most useful motivation theories, in my view, due to their broad psychological principles that exist both in real life and in games.

Intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation is an internal drive fueled by personal interest, curiosity, or the satisfaction of completing a task. For example, a person might read a book simply because they enjoy learning.

Extrinsic motivation, in contrast, is driven by external rewards or pressures. People engage in activities to gain rewards or avoid negative outcomes. For example, someone might study to earn good grades or to avoid failing a course.

*Motivation theories - intrinsic vs. extrinsic*

Both types of motivation can engage a person, but extrinsic motivation should not be emphasized in the first-time experience and should generally play a limited role throughout gameplay. Why?

Due to the “overjustification effect”, where overreliance on external rewards can undermine intrinsic motivation. For example, someone who writes for personal enjoyment may lose interest if they start receiving monetary rewards or excessive praise. The activity shifts from being personally fulfilling to meeting external expectations, reducing their internal drive. While this can be sustainable for those who earn a living through their activity, regular players aren’t being paid to play. Losing interest will simply lead to player drop-off — which brings us to an important point.

Players often engage with a game because it’s genuinely enjoyable, not just for external rewards. Early interactions should offer a sense of fun, exploration, and curiosity to tap into this intrinsic motivation.

Self-Determination Theory (SDT)

Based on the Self-Determination Theory (SDT), which is a psychological framework that explains human motivation by focusing on three fundamental needs, players are looking for:

Autonomy: the sense of having free choice and control over actions within the game’s world or mechanics.
Relatedness: the feeling of connection to the game world or community. In multiplayer games, this connection is easier to see (though not always easy to achieve). At the same time, single-player games can also foster relatedness through rich storytelling or by creating a sense of immersion in the game world and community.
An interesting fact: players can now feel connected with a game content simply by watching short videos on socials or live streams of others playing. This trend enhances relatedness through subtle, non-intrusive ads.
Competence: the sense of being challenged by the gameplay, at the same time being able to complete it (that is also the key characteristic of Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow Theory).

So why do players play games?
To have fun and experience the emotions that arise when their needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are met, fueling their internal drive to engage and enjoy the game.

The role of arousal in an early stage of game engagement

How can we ensure we create an immersive, breathtaking experience that aligns with players' needs and supports intrinsic motivation?

In the past, understanding player reactions and engagement could only be done through methods like questionnaires, Q&A sessions, or interviews that took place after players finished the game. While these methods provided some insights, they had a major drawback: without real-time evaluation, the data often lost accuracy. Players might forget specific details or their emotional responses might change, making it harder to get a true picture of their in-game experience.

While there are some effective measurement methods available, they’re still quite complex for evaluating the game experience as a whole.

The good news is that modern technology offers a new approach. By using emotion recognition technologies to measure arousal and Central Nervous System activation, we can gather per-second data on player engagement — and no questionnaires needed.

That is what we do at Sensemitter, where we came up with a single metric, giving it a simple and straightforward name — arousal.

What is the arousal? In psychological terms, it is a state of alertness and engagement with stimuli.

Arousal is the level of emotional engagement of the audience during interaction with content. Players' arousal is vital for immersion, gauging how effectively it captivates and sustains players' attention.

This state has physiological markers, such as pupil size, heart rate, and facial expressions, which indicate the level of engagement with the game. Essentially, it reflects the game’s ability to impact players’ emotions and capture their attention during gameplay.

If arousal shows a rising trend, it indicates that the game is successfully capturing players’ interest and supporting the desire to keep playing.

Otherwise, if the arousal trend decreases, it indicates that players are losing interest and may soon leave the game or event. That can sound like a magical metric but we don’t share plain theory, all further information is gathered from games of different genres and can be implemented from hyper-casual to hardcore games.

Here are a few important points to note about an arousal level:

Arousal levels vary across game genres, but they generally rise when players are engaged and decrease when they face difficulties or the game becomes boring. This trend holds true for shooters, hidden object games, and match-three games alike.
Arousal can grow fast during certain interactions, especially when players feel frustrated and express their emotions. It’s important to keep the context in mind and ensure there are no rises where they shouldn’t be. This makes an arousal level highly effective for identifying these moments, second by second, throughout the entire tested flow.
People can’t maintain a high level of activation and focused attention for extended periods. On average, this focus lasts 20 to 40 minutes, depending on task difficulty. It’s important to provide breaks or remember that any information introduced around the 40-minute mark may be forgotten later without reminders.
Maintaining a consistent level of arousal is easier than trying to restore it after a significant drop.
Ads can distract the player experience, causing a significant drop in arousal and engagement. Delaying ads and offers for a few sessions can lead to better immersion, improved retention, and, from a long-term perspective, increased sales — allowing players to fully engage with the game before feeling motivated to make purchases.

What factors in games raise arousal levels?

While this list isn’t complete, our key observations across various games and genres align closely with the psychological theories we discussed earlier.

Challenge and Competition:

The Flow state, as described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, connects closely with arousal levels in games. When a game feels too difficult, players lose interest because they think they have little chance of succeeding. A similar drop in interest happens when the game feels too easy, with not enough challenge to keep them engaged. By tracking players' arousal at these key moments, we can identify exactly when engagement shifts. This approach provides a direct way to monitor player engagement, rather than relying only on indirect measures.
Challenge is a key element across all game genres, not just in Souls-like or PvP games. The real difference lies in finding the right difficulty level to match players’ interests and skill levels. Arousal levels and positive emotions play the same role across genres, as players are naturally drawn to games that provide their ideal level of challenge — whether it’s a hyper-casual mobile game or a new Souls-like title for consoles and PC.

Learning new mechanics:

In every game we’ve tested, we observe a similar trend: tutorials and new mechanics boost arousal levels when introduced and while players are learning them. From a neuropsychological perspective, this is linked to dopamine release, as well as activation of the Reticular Activating System (RAS) and amygdala — key players in memory, engagement, and skill learning, which are essential for positive emotions. Dopamine, released during the learning process, acts as a reward signal, reinforcing behavior and motivating continued engagement with new material.
Implementing new mechanics is common across all game genres — from character development in RPGs to new facilities in city-builders. And it was brilliantly executed in one of 2021’s most beloved games, It Takes Two, which won both Game of the Year and Best Family Game awards. This game tackled a major challenge for game designers: making gameplay enjoyable for both newcomers and experienced players. It Takes Two introduces a fresh mechanic in every location for players to learn and master while adding competitive minigames with entirely different gameplay along the way.

Novelty and Exploration:

Arousal and engagement can be heightened through new or unexpected elements that introduce surprise, mystery, or exploration. Otherwise, when a game becomes too predictable, players may lose interest. But how does this loss of interest work?
When a goal becomes predictable, our brain prepares for dopamine, and our body produces it even before the goal is achieved, which dilutes the ‘dopamine hit’ into smaller shots. Instead of a strong emotional response and heightened engagement with new and unfamiliar game objectives, this produces a milder sense of satisfaction. While this may suffice for some gamers, others aim for more powerful sense of success.
Novelty and exploration don’t necessarily make Open World games better or more profitable. The same sense of discovery can be achieved through story, narrative twists, or even deep lore. Making players feel like part of the world, with the ability to make impactful decisions and encounter surprises, is key. For example, in Ghost of Tsushima, players first encounter foxes as they guide them to hidden shrines, offering a sense of mystery and delight. This initial interaction feels fresh and engaging, creating a bond between the player and the game world. However, as players repeatedly follow foxes to similar shrines, the experience becomes predictable, and the excitement fades over time.
Similarly, in mobile games like Genshin Impact, early exploration of new areas and characters creates excitement, but repetitive tasks can reduce engagement if not refreshed with new content (really new, not the same predictable mechanics).

Social Interaction:

It’s no secret that social elements can boost arousal. What’s often overlooked is that these social effects don’t only occur through direct in-game interactions. They also happen outside the game. Feeling like part of a community is a powerful factor that should be considered when designing achievements and assessing potential risks.
A lot of games support community-building through features like competitions, clans, leaderboards, chats, and forums. Clash Royale and Brawl Stars, for example, have created strong communities by encouraging players to join clans and compete together. However, if you succeed in building a community, it’s essential to keep social group dynamics in mind.

Narrative and Emotions:

Neuroimaging studies show that watching or interacting with characters activates the same brain regions involved in our own emotional experiences. In essence, humans respond to digital experiences much like real-life situations and can even identify with characters. This bond enhances engagement with the game and fosters a desire to return to those emotions.
Story-driven games use this method to hook players. However, narrative can be added to almost any genre, creating the extra feel of progression or boosting the first session engagement. This leads to an immediate emotional connection and encourages players to continue for the emotional payoff.

The Power of First Impressions

Successful games that hook players from the very first session achieve this not by simply replicating popular mechanics but by tapping into the psychological and neurobiological aspects that drive player motivation. By understanding intrinsic motivation and addressing the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, developers can significantly influence how players perceive and engage with their game.

At its core, people choose to play games to experience specific emotions and fulfill personal desires, not just to pass the time. Focusing on elements that elevate arousal — introducing meaningful challenges, offering opportunities for learning, providing novelty and exploration, fostering social interactions, and crafting compelling narratives — helps tap into the fundamental reasons players stay engaged. It is important to remember that maintaining a growing trend in arousal is essential, and it’s a key to retaining players — once arousal is lost, it’s much harder to regain.

At Sensemitter, we are actively exploring new ways to help developers understand and enhance player engagement through innovative technologies. Here, you will find our massive study on the mobile hit Royal Match, where the insights discussed in this article and demonstrate how a science-backed approach can elevate game design and retention over the long term.

Want to learn more about how Sensemitter can improve your game? Contact us via this link.

How Royal Match redefined success without breaking trust

We recently published extensive research on the mobile hit Royal Match developed by Dream Games. With over 300 million downloads and $3 billion in revenue, according to AppMagic, it's redefining what's possible in the match-3 genre.

These amazing results inspired us to conduct full-scale research on how advanced emotion recognition technology combined with player behavior analysis works. Observing emotional responses and engagement metrics of new and experienced players alike helped us to identify the key elements that make Royal Match resonate with its audience.

In this article, we share our key findings from the study. The full analysis can be found by following the link.

Firstly, about our research

Our research team conducted an in-depth analysis of Royal Match’s design, gameplay, and player engagement. The study included a diverse group of participants divided into two categories: experienced players who had played the game for more than two months and new players who were familiar with competitors like Candy Crush or Gardenscapes but had never played Royal Match before.

All players were given a 20-minute free play session. During this time, the moderators didn't ask any questions to ensure that the players' reactions were picked up naturally. Questions might influence or even make the player hesitate to do something. Experienced players started where they had stopped, while new players began anew. Our emotional recognition technology tracked players' emotions in real time, capturing moments of excitement, frustration, and satisfaction. Afterward, players responded to specially designed questions based on our hypotheses and gave elaborative feedback about their experiences of what worked for them and what did not.

This careful mix of emotional analysis and personal insights has given the researchers a complete picture of what makes Royal Match so engaging.

*In addition to emotion recognition, Sensemitter tracks gaze direction to create heatmaps*

How does a new player feel playing the game?

When it comes to attracting new players, Royal Match excels in creating a welcoming and intuitive environment. While most mobile games start with heavy tutorials and aggressive advertisements, Royal Match uses much softer, inviting approaches: for instance, the gradual introduction of its mechanics so that players learn by playing rather than from an overdose of instructions.

Castle-Building Meta-Game: New players are particularly drawn to the castle-building feature, where they can decorate their castle using stars earned from levels. This provides immediate progress and visual satisfaction, blending gameplay with a rewarding sense of achievement during the first 20 minutes of gameplay.

Polished Design and Visual Appeal: The graphics of the game are full of color, animations are smooth, power-up effects are pleasing on the ears, which collectively create an emotionally captivating effect. The pacing — shifting between easy and challenging levels again — keeps the pace moderate and appealing for beginners.

“King’s Nightmare” Levels: These time-sensitive puzzles and unique mechanics, widely promoted through advertising, have become a hallmark of the game. Players appreciate seeing these recognizable elements directly in the gameplay, and many new users cite them as a favorite feature that sets Royal Match apart from its competitors.

Combined with these features, Royal Match ensures new players feel welcome and motivated to keep playing, offering a unique combination of accessibility, excitement, and satisfaction.

What keeps experienced players hooked?

Meanwhile, for those who have been playing Royal Match for longer, the game provides a more complex strategic experience. Regulars are very often coming back to build up their progress, lured by the interaction of the game's meta and by bonuses that grow in quantity if all daily challenges are completed.

Engaging Challenges: Different types of challenges attract and retain experienced players. First, there are leaderboards that introduce some competition, enabling users to rise through the ranks, satisfying their competitive urges. Besides, the game alternates between difficult and easy levels, thus balancing activity and rest.

Reward System: Generous rewards are in-game currency, power-ups, and bonuses. It is important in keeping players interested in the game. With consistent valuation of the players' time and effort, Royal Match builds a positive association and motivates players to continue their journey.

Strategic Gameplay: Advanced strategies like optimizing power-ups or beating the more challenging "King's Nightmare" levels add depth to the experience. Some players mentioned that certain levels may get repetitive, yet the variety in gameplay generally keeps them invested.

*What experienced players like in Royal Match*

The balance between challenge and relaxation

Royal Match stands out by balancing relaxation and challenge, keeping players engaged for a long time. Easy levels, with simple goals and calming visuals, offer a stress-free start for new players. At the same time, hard levels are introduced gradually as players progress.

The game goes from easy to hard and back again, almost in rhythm, so that the interest is maintained without the monotony. The hard levels provide an emotional high when accomplished, while the easier ones allow the player to take a breather and rebuild confidence. On higher difficulty levels, the challenge is even greater with multiple tasks to be performed in each level, with added obstacles like locked tiles or restricted moves. These elements demand greater strategy and focus, resulting in heightened player involvement during gameplay.

Moreover, special "King's Nightmare" levels introduce new mechanics and serve as milestones that test the player's skills and keep the excitement high. The ability to skip these stages gives players more flexibility and further enhances satisfaction and trust in the game.

By smoothly mixing these elements, the game appeals to a wide audience and keeps them coming back for more.

*Study graphs showing different degrees of arousal*

Non-standard approach to monetization

Unlike many of its competitors, Royal Match takes a player-friendly approach to monetization. The game avoids intrusive ads and doesn’t force players to make purchases to progress.
Here are the key points:

Balanced Monetization System: In Royal Match, in-game purchases are more like optional tools rather than a necessity. Players can buy extra moves or resources when stuck on a level, but they never feel pressured to do so regularly.

Generosity First: The game provides plenty of boosters, rewards, and in-game currency through chests, events, and tournaments. This ensures players rarely feel the need to make purchases, and when they do, it’s viewed positively due to the game’s initial generosity.

One Step to Victory: When players fail levels, they can often see exactly what move or moves would lead to victory if they buy more. That not only creates a signal for high winning chances inside the brain but also triggers similar dopamine release as winning, rising the arousal and pushing players to act — buy more moves. Actually, the value and the enjoyment of wining after such a close loss is much higher.

Limited-Time Events: Special time-limited events motivate experienced players to complete them before they expire. These events can be challenging, prompting players to purchase additional boosters, lives, in-game currency, or bundled special offers to avoid losing progress.

No Early Purchase Offers: New players are not bombarded by purchase prompts. This helps build trust and avoid frustration with the game. The game grooms the experience positively until spending options are introduced to the user.

Streaks and Leadership: Win streaks and leaderboards maintain intrinsic motivation. Players can keep their winning streaks running and move up the charts, so optional purchases appear rewarding but are not mandatory.

This approach builds a positive relationship between players and monetization, ensuring long-term loyalty.

Match-3 but not only

Beyond core gameplay, Royal Match keeps players busy with its castle-building meta-game. For new players, it is easy and satisfying to follow progress by decorating the castle. For experienced players, events and tournaments connected to the meta-game give them an opportunity to get exclusive rewards and add depth to the experience.

However, our research also highlighted areas for improvement and uncovered potential issues. Explore the full study for all the details!

Lessons for Game Developers

The story of Royal Match has some important lessons for game developers. First and foremost, it is a tale of respect for players' time and money. By avoiding ads and heavy-handed monetization, the game has built up a level of trust that many competitors lack.

Additionally, balancing relaxation with challenge is key to sustaining engagement. The game’s ability to cater to different player motivations ensures broad appeal and long-term success. Finally, delivering on promises — whether through gameplay features or advertising — creates a loyal and satisfied audience.

If you’re looking to learn more, the full Sensemitter report offers a deep dive into the secrets behind Royal Match’s success.

Want to learn more about how Sensemitter can improve your game? Contact us via this link.

Seasonal UA campaigns: best practices & creative testing

Creatives: the same old performers or seasonal visuals?

The first question to ask is: how do seasonal campaigns differ from regular ones? At first glance, it seems like the same process: you brainstorm an ad, check out competitors, create adsets, make a campaign, and that’s it. But it’s a bit more complex.

In terms of production, seasonal creatives aren’t much different. It’s the same process: idea generation, adapting successful formats, and regular testing. However, there’s one detail — holidays offer more freedom for experimenting with characters and atmosphere. Christmas and New Year, for example, allow you to play on viewers’ emotions, creating a warmer and more positive atmosphere.

Top performers always work, even during holidays

It often happens that top-performing creatives outperform specially prepared holiday ads during regular times.

The popularity of top performers can be attributed to the fact that they are already “warmed up” by ad networks and tested over time. Sure, you can create new Halloween-themed creatives every year, but what if an old Christmas ad still works? Marketing leaders sometimes say, “It’s like throwing away a Christmas tree — seems like it’s time, but it’s hard to do when it still looks great.”

Tip: Don’t be afraid to reuse successful creatives from the previous year. Include them in your new campaign with minor updates — it can save time and money.

When is it time to refresh creatives?

Any UA manager will tell you their daily job is micro-monitoring metrics and rotating creatives. This is the backbone of any campaign. Every day, you need to check what works, what doesn’t, where to boost performance, and when to switch off a creative that has stopped delivering results. This isn’t limited to seasonal campaigns — it’s a constant routine.

Creatives can start to “die” just a couple of weeks after launch, but that doesn’t mean they’re immediately useless. Some top-performing ads can run successfully for years. There are even examples of creatives delivering results for five years straight without losing their effectiveness. But, unfortunately, there are opposite cases where an ad quickly loses its magic and stops performing, even after two or three iterations.

Tip: Test creatives in small batches (3-6 creatives) to avoid overwhelming ad networks and to get more accurate results. Be ready to quickly replace creatives that start losing their effectiveness.

Planning seasonal campaigns is an art of balance. If you have a top-performing creative that consistently works, it’s tempting to keep it running and not invest in something new. But over time, all creatives can “burn out.” Ad network algorithms change, and no one can predict when a creative will stop performing. That’s why it’s crucial to continuously refresh creatives and test new ideas.

Our team’s experience shows that a good creative “takes off” immediately and across all key networks. If an ad performs well on one platform, there’s a high chance it will deliver results on others. This is the sign of a true top performer.

Tip: If you notice a top creative’s performance declining, try re-uploading it with minor changes — such as adjusting the opening frames. This can retrain algorithms and restore its effectiveness.

How much to spend on testing?

One of the main questions is how much money to allocate for creative testing. Every new idea requires investment, and the results don’t always meet expectations. On average, companies set aside specific budgets for tests, knowing that for every top performer, there are several failures. But that’s normal. Without testing, a company will stagnate, and eventually, all creatives will stop delivering results.

Tip: Aim for 75-100 installs per creative to gather statistically significant data. This will help you determine which creative to scale and which to turn off.

When to integrate Sensemitter for ad creatives analysis

By analyzing players' emotions with Sensemitter’s eye tracking and facial coding technologies, we provide valuable insights that can help you increas conversion rate into instal and click-trough rates. But in order not to brake an established workflows within user acquisition departments, with all our clients we usually discuss when it’s teh most effective to integrate us.

1. During the creative brainstorming phase: to support ideation with data. We provide additional data and analysis to back up your creative brainstorming, enabling your team to make more informed decisions and generate ideas based on evidence.

2. Before adding new creatives to existing campaigns: we streamline ad testing by evaluating creative concepts in batches, reducing guesswork, and enabling data-driven iterations instead of relying solely on trial and error. This way, you’ll identify the most effective version before A/B testing with traffic.

3. When you need to optimize underperforming creatives or campaigns: If a creative is nearly hitting the mark, we help pinpoint areas for improvement, turning a “good” creative into a top performer without starting from scratch. 4. Anytime you need the knowledge to build a best-practices playbook: Over time, we help build a library of best practices and insights tailored to your games and audience, allowing your team to learn from previous experiences and apply those insights to future projects.

Seasonal campaigns are a great opportunity for experimentation. Although top-performing creatives might outperform new themed ones, don’t hesitate to try new things. It’s important to remember that the market and audience are constantly changing, and what worked yesterday might not deliver the same results tomorrow.

Breakdown of fun and how it works in mobile games

As a game developer, whether you aim to create immersive gameplay, improve key product metrics, or maximize revenue, player satisfaction is essential for success. When players have fun and enjoy your game, it drives engagement and benefits everyone involved.

Today’s mobile game market is oversaturated, with every successful idea quickly copied, making it challenging to stand out. Achieving top success is no longer about luck; it’s the outcome of focused effort, thorough research, and data-driven strategies.

Many companies rely exclusively on product analytics, which only measure a feature’s performance after it’s launched. This approach to testing ideas can be slow and expensive. While analytics tools show how game metrics change after an update, they don’t reveal why users respond positively or negatively to a feature or provide insights on how to enhance it.

With this in mind, we developed a method to test any game content before implementation. This approach combines neuroscience with behavioral and emotional analysis, turning these insights into metrics that align closely with player engagement.

We adapted our emotion recognition methodology, originally designed for retail, to suit the unique demands of mobile game development. With these insights, developers can accurately analyze and refine the player experience to maintain high engagement. Here’s how we make it happen.

Understanding core metrics of emotional engagement

What does “fun” really mean?

When we analyzed an Overwatch-like mobile shooter, one of our respondents had their character hit by a train during a game session, resulting in a loss of match. Technically, this could be seen as a failure, right? However, the player was so excited by this unexpected interaction with the level design that their arousal spiked. Rather than feeling discouraged, they became more motivated to overcome the loss. Even though the situation was negative, what matters the most is that arousal increased. It shows that something was out there. This approach is used in Souls-like games, where players may feel frustration from challenges, but what matters most is that they are emotionally engaged.

To visualize emotional engagement, there is one key metric: arousal. Many of you can giggle at the name of that metric because it’s often being used in different contexts, but for scientists and researchers “arousal” is a valid and widely recognised term.

Arousal shows the level of emotional engagement of the audience during interaction with content, regardless of reaction polarity (positive/negative). Players' arousal is vital for immersion, gauging how effectively it captivates and sustains players' attention. And it directly correlates with retention.

Every game designer is familiar with this chart. It illustrates the balance between a player’s skill level and the challenge the game presents, representing the "ideal" flow of player progression. Now, compare it with the chart below, which shows what a successful game might look like based on our tests. While arousal can and should fluctuate, the overall trend needs to remain positive.

How it works?

We use the combination of three neural networks and the brainpower of human researchers to make it work. The first neural network assesses an individual’s emotional baseline and monitors changes in trackable emotions. It uses a neurophysiological scientific framework to transform emotional responses into arousal. Another neural network focuses on tracking gaze direction, while the third one aggregates second-by-second data into a report that humans can read.

Paul Ekman’s emotions classification serves as the basis for our arousal model development. We track seven emotions and convert them into one simple yet indicative metric: arousal.

As previously mentioned, the polarity of emotions is not a concern for us. Whether we manage to frighten or delight the player, the key is that we've captured their attention and kept them engaged. Every emotional response is valuable as long as it's not caused by a critical interface bug that makes the player lose progress.

Tracking these emotional reactions provides us with clear and objective data about players' perceptions, which we wouldn’t be able to obtain through participant answers or surveys alone.

It looks like we've successfully captured shifts in players' emotional responses. But how do we ensure the data we collect is reliable? The way we structure research plays a key role. We don't set specific goals but instead let players explore the game freely, measuring how they feel about your product. Our analysts then cross-check survey data for any meaningful correlations. Unlike traditional playtests, we don't heavily rely on questionnaires, as responses can be influenced by what participants think we want to hear. Emotions, however, don’t lie. In our methodology, we filter out emotional fraud - such as blinks or talking moments - to ensure the emotional response data is clean and reliable.

Hack game design

When we analyzed the first play session (FTUE) of an action shooter game, the test revealed an issue with the timing of introducing the battle pass. It was presented after the player had already received their first reward, which caused confusion. The player did not understand how the battle pass system worked, as its introduction did not coincide with the reward's context or explanation. While these tweaks might seem obvious, they can easily be overlooked due to a simple but crucial fact: games are made by people, and making games is hard.

Emotion tracking opens up many new possibilities. It allows us to understand why tutorial conversions fail, which competitor mechanics are more appealing, and which elements in the first play session engage users to stay. With these insights, we provide the opportunity to consciously shape the player experience.

Want to learn more about how Sensemitter can improve your game? Contact us via this link.

How we convert emotions into metrics

For this reason, we conduct non-ordinary playtests and ad creative tests. The problem of any questionnaire is, participants’ observations are filtered through their subjectivity, and we can’t access their experience directly. Were they angry at the train hitting the character, or were they aroused by it? Were they sad reading the dialogue, or were they aggravated? It’s hard to answer these questions yourself, and we don’t expect study participants to have this level of self-awareness.

The subjectivity of answers сomplicates turning them into actionable data. Moreover, it’s harder to connect them to metrics. That’s why we aim to scientifically break down players' experiences using AI neurobiological tools and behavioral research methodology. This way, we leave no room for guessing and connect all dots between emotional perception and metrics.

In this article, we’ll explain how we utilize the power of AI and who will benefit from our services.

How we Track Emotional Responses

We utilize quantitative and qualitative research methods. Quantitative research includes a huge number of participants. It’s required if you’ve already got hypotheses to check on a statistically significant audience. This method is used mostly in ad creatives analyses.

Qualitative research, on the other hand, doesn’t provide big numbers, but it digs deeper into players' perceptions. Our researchers ask participants a wide range of questions, gathering not only their emotional responses on core mechanics and meta, but also feedback on interface usability. It’s needed to form hypotheses and is mostly used in playtests.

Now let’s move to the research itself. Everything starts as usual: we record user interaction with the object of study and then ask a series of questions.

Then, the magic happens. Apart from playtests, we armed ourselves with two powerful neurobiological AI research tools:

facial coding
eye tracking

Each tool follows its purpose. Eye-tracking lets us create heatmaps that follow where users are looking, defining their points of attention. Heatmaps are used in ad creatives & ASO analysis, where it’s important to ensure that players pay attention to certain details and are not disturbed by flickering popups.

Facial coding is the most powerful tool in our arsenal. It tracks emotional responses, showing us where players' attention weakens or sharpens, which enriches our analyses with valuable insights.

Are players intrigued by the new mechanic or simply unable to understand the flow? Are prizes in Battle Pass appealing enough to join the run? Are players engaged enough to buy a bundle on this stage of the game? Answers to these questions can be found in this research. Let’s dig a little deeper.

What Exactly do we Track, and How to Convert it to Relevant Metrics

In a nutshell, facial coding works like this: we observe how players perceive the object of study during an interaction, collect the participants' data, and build an arousal curve. Arousal is the level of emotional engagement of the audience during interaction with content.

Let’s split the process stage by stage.

First, we measure a regular player’s facial expression to find its neutral state. Then we analyze their reaction throughout their interaction with the object of study with face-scanning AI.

We recognize seven emotions: neutral, happy, surprise, anger, sad, fear, and disgust. Just like in "Inside Out."

These emotions we distill into the most important engagement indicators. Polarity of emotions isn’t of concern to us. Whether we managed to scare the player or please them, we hooked them on something; we kept their attention. As long as it’s engaging, every emotional response is good (if it wasn’t caused by a critical bug in interface making a player lose their progress).

Take Fall Guys' success, for instance. There are many frustrating moments out of players' control. Nevertheless, it hooks you on emotional contrast, drawing you into their core loop.

Base on highest peaks of those indicators we build an arousal curve. It helps to measure general level and distribution of engagement at different stages of interaction. When it drops lower than needed or rise extremely high, we examine the in-game reasons behind it and provide recommendations based on our observations.

Emotion tracking opens us up to many possibilities. Not only can we tell exactly how engaged they were during each second of interaction, but we can also tell whether they were frustrated, surprised, angry, or intrigued. For example, we examined LiveOps, in which a character was ultimately hit by a train. It seems like it should have aggravated players. But our data showed us that they were actually aroused by it, leaving no room for guessing.

How you can Benefit from Sensemitter

Our study provides us with clear, unambiguous data on players’ perceptions, which we wouldn’t be able to retrieve through participants’ answers. We can tell why conversion from tutorial fails, which game mechanic is more appealing, and which hooks in a first-play session engage players to stay. We can compare your mechanic with similar from your competitors and tell where exactly to look to improve its performance. And it’s only a tiny part of insights you might get.

Here we listed just several ways to utilize our service:

Eye tracking reports allow app publishers to find hotspots that lead to better engagement. With the help of heatmaps, developers can simplify navigation, choose the most appealing placement for products in the in-app shop, etc. Moreover, eye tracking paired with emotional feedback can tell publishers if their monetization strategy is clear and appealing.

Improve the game’s mechanics and complexity levels to maintain optimal engagement, immersion, and interest.
Clarify the scoring system, navigation, and communication of achievements.
Test hypotheses for boosting user acquisition and retention.
Build a research-based foundation for personalized in-app recommendations.
Assess the most suitable times for offering paid level-ups and items.

If you're thinking about how our tests can be applied to your products, let us know. We can demonstrate how our technology works, discuss which types of tests will bring you the best results, and devise a test plan to concentrate on the most important metrics.

Subconscious selling: mastering in-app purchases through neuro-marketing

However, our exploration extends beyond just this principle. This article is tailored to dissect how the understanding of subconscious decision-making, rooted in neuromarketing principles, can transform app interfaces into compelling platforms that subtly guide user behavior and purchasing decisions. Moving forward, we will elucidate the 'How?' - breaking down the cognitive and psychological concepts of neuromarketing techniques. We'll then bridge these insights with practical tactics and features that can be integrated into your app to effectively amplify in-app purchases, ensuring that every element of your app resonates with the subconscious inclinations of your users.

Understanding and applying neuromarketing principles

Delving into the realm of subconscious selling requires a deep understanding of user desires. It's about recognizing not just the explicit needs but also the subtle, subconscious preferences that drive user behavior within an app:

The magic 4 of human desires

Streamlining user interactions is paramount, as evidenced by the popularity of features that reduce effort and complexity. The convenience of one-click purchases and stored payment details exemplifies this trend, not just improving user experience but also guiding users towards making purchases more readily. (1)

This ease of use naturally dovetails into the human longing for recognition and status. Apps that integrate leaderboards or offer exclusive rewards tap into this need, not just providing a platform for achievement but also fostering a community where status can be showcased and celebrated.

Shifting the focus to the power of entertainment, it's clear that engaging and enjoyable content is pivotal. The staggering spending of over $70,000 by a gamer in "Fate/Grand Order" is a testament to the captivating nature of immersive app experiences. Such dedication underscores the importance of creating content that not only entertains but also holds the power to significantly influence user spending habits. (2)

Moreover, the drive to overcome challenges and solve problems is a fundamental aspect of user engagement. Apps like Candy Crush excel in this area by offering practical solutions within the game, such as boosters or extra moves, addressing user frustrations and enhancing the overall experience. This approach not only provides immediate relief from in-game obstacles but also enriches the user's journey, encouraging continued interaction and investment. (3)

In essence, understanding and catering to these core desires — convenience, recognition, entertainment, and problem-solving — can lead to more profound engagement and, ultimately, a more successful app.

Cognitive biases: beyond the obvious (4)

Cognitive biases subtly shape how users interact with and perceive content within apps, guiding their decisions in ways that may not always be immediately apparent. These biases, extensively studied by Daniel Kahneman, represent the quirks of human judgment and decision-making, often leading us away from rational, calculated choices. By delving into the specifics of these cognitive quirks, developers can tailor their apps to align more closely with natural user inclinations, optimizing the user journey from initial engagement to potential purchase:

The art of framing

Framing is a potent tool that can significantly enhance the perceived value of a product or service. It effectively influences user perspectives, shaping their appreciation and understanding of the product's worth. When developers present pricing information or the benefits of in-app purchases, the way this information is framed can significantly impact the user's decision-making process. For instance, emphasizing the savings or exclusive benefits a user gains from a purchase, rather than just the cost, frames the purchase as a positive value proposition.

Moreover, framing can be used to highlight the uniqueness or time-sensitive nature of an offer, creating a sense of urgency or exclusivity. For example, presenting something as a "Limited Time Offer" or an "Exclusive Deal" frames the purchase as a special opportunity, encouraging users to act swiftly. Similarly, framing an in-app purchase as part of reaching a goal or completing a collection within the app can give the purchase a sense of purpose, aligning with the user's in-app achievements and progress.

The anchor's hold

Anchoring powerfully shapes user perceptions and decision-making by setting a reference point where subsequent judgments are compared. In the context of app design, this cognitive bias can be strategically used to guide user behavior and choices. For example, presenting a higher original price next to a discounted price for a feature or item within an app creates a reference point, making the discounted price seem more appealing. The initial number serves as the anchor, and users tend to base their valuation of the deal relative to this anchor. This technique can influence users' willingness to spend, encouraging transactions by making offers appear more valuable to the anchor point. Whether it's pricing, feature selection, or any other choice point, anchoring helps to shape the value landscape in users' minds, subtly guiding them towards desired actions.

Confirmation bias and its impact on app interaction

Confirmation bias refers to our tendency to favor information that confirms our existing beliefs, often overlooking evidence that contradicts them. In the context of app usage, this means users are likely to notice and remember features, content, or feedback that align with their preconceived notions about the app. For instance, if users believe an app is user-friendly, they might focus on and highlight features that support this view, while overlooking aspects that suggest otherwise.

Understanding this bias is crucial for app developers and designers, as it influences how users perceive and interact with the app. By anticipating and aligning with users' expectations, developers can craft app features and content that reinforce positive user perceptions. Moreover, addressing potential negative biases by presenting clear, positive information can help gradually shift user opinions. For instance, if an app's initial user feedback suggests difficulty in navigation, developers might counteract this confirmation bias by prominently featuring a simple, welcoming tutorial during the first app launch. This direct, positive reinforcement can help reshape users' early perceptions, transitioning their view towards seeing the app as user-friendly and intuitive.

From theory to practice: strategies for increasing in-app purchases

Moving forward, let's bridge theory with practice, offering developers and UX designers concrete strategies and features. These actionable insights are grounded in a deep understanding of user psychology, aiming to create intuitive and engaging apps:

Targeted marketing (5)

After decoding the core human desires, developers can harness targeted marketing to craft user experiences that deeply resonate. This process involves analyzing user data and behavior to tailor app content, features, and promotions, ensuring a personalized approach that aligns with individual user needs, preferences, and the psychological underpinnings revealed through neuromarketing insights.

For instance, if data indicates that a user enjoys challenging puzzles, the app could emphasize the introduction of new, complex levels or features tailored to puzzle enthusiasts. Similarly, for users motivated by status, the app could showcase exclusive badges or leaderboard rankings. Targeted marketing in this context is about creating a personalized journey, where each user feels the app understands and caters to their unique preferences and motivations, ultimately enhancing engagement and encouraging in-app purchases.

Special offers and discounts

Limited-time offers, discounts, and bundle deals effectively tap into the cognitive bias of scarcity and also play on the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). Scarcity bias makes users value these offers more because they perceive them as rare and exclusive (framing). The ticking clock of a flash sale or the unique appeal of holiday discounts introduces urgency, compelling users to act swiftly to secure their gains before the opportunity vanishes.

FOMO, or the fear of missing out, further amplifies this effect. It's the anxiety users feel when they worry about missing out on rewarding experiences that others are enjoying. When an app presents a deal as a "limited-time offer," it not only signals scarcity but also suggests that others are taking advantage of this offer, intensifying the user's fear of being left out. This combination of scarcity bias and FOMO can be a potent strategy for UX designers and developers, nudging users toward making quicker and more frequent purchases to avoid the regret of missing out on a valuable opportunity.

Freemium model (3)

Leveraging the commitment and consistency bias, the freemium model, particularly successful in game apps, encourages users to gradually invest more in the experience. By offering the game for free and charging for advanced features or bonuses, it encourages users to gradually invest more in the experience. A notable example, mentioned for a second time in this article, is Candy Crush. Starting as a free download, it hooks players with its engaging gameplay. As players progress, they encounter challenges that can be eased by in-app purchases, prompting them to buy for a smoother or more enhanced gaming experience. This model has proven highly effective, turning Candy Crush into one of the most financially successful mobile games.

In-app rewards (6)

Developers create a sense of ownership and value towards the app's content by rewarding users for their engagement and time spent within the app, capitalizing on the endowment effect, where users value items more highly if they own them or have worked to earn them. A prime example is the language learning app Duolingo. It effectively uses in-app rewards like experience points, streaks, and virtual currency to encourage daily usage and lesson completion. These rewards create a sense of progress and investment in the learning journey, significantly enhancing user engagement and retention. The success of Duolingo's reward system is evident in its high user engagement rates and positive reviews, making it a leading app in the education category.

Social proof and reviews (7)

Social proof leverages the bandwagon effect, where users are influenced by the actions and approvals of others. Positive reviews and high ratings can reinforce users' belief that the app is good and worth engaging with (confirmation bias), while seeing friends or influencers endorse the app, can further validate their choice to use or purchase within the app.

Instagram is a stellar example of an app that harnessed the power of social proof to drive its growth. By highlighting user engagement, popular posts, and follower counts, it taps into the desire to be part of a larger community and experience what others enjoy. The social proof inherent in seeing friends and influencers actively using the app encourages new users to join and engage. The success of Instagram's approach is well-documented, as it has become one of the most influential social media platforms.

Multiple payment options (8)

Offering multiple payment options and reducing friction in the buying process aligns with the principle of reducing the cognitive load (desire for convenience), purchasing as straightforward and hassle-free as possible. By providing various payment methods and simplifying the checkout process, apps can significantly lower the barrier to making a purchase, catering to the user's desire for convenience and immediacy.

Amazon's mobile app is a prime example of this strategy in action. With features like 1-Click ordering and a wide array of payment options, Amazon removes the friction from the buying process, making it seamless for users to move from decision to purchase. This user-friendly approach is a significant factor in Amazon's success in e-commerce, as it directly addresses the common pain points in online shopping.

Having delved into the principles of subconscious selling, their integration into your app can be transformative. To truly harness their potential, A/B testing is essential, providing a data-driven approach to understand and cater to user desires. However, to fully grasp the depth of these desires, a profound insight into users' emotions is crucial. This is where Sensemitter's platform becomes invaluable, offering an advanced emotional analysis that can significantly elevate your A/B testing results. By tapping into this rich source of user emotion and behavior, you can fine-tune your app not just to meet user expectations but to deeply resonate with them, creating a more satisfying user experience.

Google Play’s neuro-marketing play: elevating app metrics

Unlike questionnaires that usually represent general positive and negative attitudes, neuroscience focuses on a variety of real-time emotions. Below, let’s explore how neuromarketing allows Google Play to learn more about their consumers’ behaviors and decision-making patterns.

Neuroscience as a Marketing Tool

The human brain has a complex interplay of neural and cognitive processes. Even when we can’t explain the logic of making a specific decision, there is always a reason behind it. Neuromarketing helps to understand such reasons and use this information to enhance user experience. That, consequently, often improves app metrics.

Indeed, neuromarketing is not about manipulation. The data collected during such research aims to make apps more convenient. It also makes it possible to offer purchases in a timely and appropriate manner.

Neuroscience lifts the veil of cognitive and emotional biases. When filling out standard questionnaires, respondents may forget minor yet essential details or unconsciously make their answers more rational. At the same time, neurotesting allows researchers to gather real-time data on emotions and reactions. An EEG (electroencephalogram) cap or just a web camera helps to identify emotions and micro mimics that would otherwise remain imperceptible for the focus group. Finally, the results are translated into measurable data and reports.

What’s Involved in Neuromarketing Research

Modern neuromarketing technology requires only a web camera and special software to analyze the participants’ behaviors. It can track and monitor facial expressions, gaze direction, and changes in physical characteristics like heart rate, among other attributes. As follows, researchers gain insight into users’ emotional state, stress levels, and engagement. Eye tracking also provides information about both the most noticeable and elusive elements of design.

The results of such tests contain perception evaluation data and attention heatmap with second-by-second scores. Emotion detection shows the milestones of increased and decreased engagement. This can also emphasize the moments when one is ready and excited about making a purchase and when such offers feel annoying.

How Neuromarketing Helps to Evaluate and Improve Apps

Google Play has 2.5 billion monthly users and millions of apps and games. There is a fee for developers who offer paid services or in-app purchases, so Google Play invests in different tools that help apps improve and succeed, creating win-win outcomes. Some of these tools track emotional feedback, shedding light on how users actually feel while using an app or playing a game.

These tools connect changes in mood and perception to particular moments of the game, so it becomes possible to observe the influence on emotions and decision-making. Afterward, analytics can suggest personalized ways for improvement based on that data.

Here are a few situations when neuromarketing research can be beneficial:

Improving the game’s mechanics and complexity levels to maintain optimal engagement, immersion, and interest.
Clarifying the scoring system, navigation, and communication of achievements.
Improving the app UI/UX or overall look to make it suitable for chosen audiences.
Testing hypotheses for boosting user acquisition and retention.
Building a research-based foundation for personalized in-app recommendations.
Assessing the most suitable times for offering paid level-ups and items.

Modifications in a number of small design elements and processes transform into an overall better experience. This, in turn, may positively affect user satisfaction with the product and, in the long run, revenue.

How It Works

A neuromarketing test involves several steps. While they may differ from client to client, the basic ones are the following:

Identifying the goals and current parameters. Researchers gather current metrics as well as strong and weak points. They define what the client aims to find out through this test.
Creating a focus group. Based on the client’s requirements and the specifics of an app, a focus group can vary in size and include people of similar or different demographics. It’s possible to choose participants based on their location, age, gender, and other characteristics.
Conducting a test. A web camera monitors the interaction between a user and an app. It tracks emotions, concentration level, tension, and attraction, and this data is used for creating attention heatmaps.
Analyzing results. The results of neuromarketing tests have a second-by-second nature, showing how users respond to any change on the screen. While respondents make decisions subconsciously, charts allow analysts to find the correlation between actions on the screen and points of motivation and frustration.
Preparing recommendations. Results are presented in a detailed and visual form that allows researchers to suggest changes that can improve user experience, retention, and app promotion.

How Emotional Feedback Tools Identify the App’s Weak Points

The key parameters of the app’s success include retention rate, session duration, and the number of in-app interactions and purchases. The emotional state may affect each of these characteristics, and neurotesting explores what potentially creates tension and what can help relieve it.

Speaking in more detail, neuromarketing focuses on the following emotions:

Happiness. Measuring the level of enjoyment when the user performs certain actions or faces certain stimuli. Changes in this parameter show how UX solutions and game mechanics influence attractiveness.
Interest. Surprising and innovative elements of the gameplay contribute to excitement and engagement. If used reasonably, they reduce monotony and therefore improve retention.
Stress. This element is about tracking anger, irritation, and frustration. If these feelings are too intense and frequent, it may lead to decreased engagement. However, adequate amounts of stress help feel the energy of challenges and achievements to the fullest, making the game more appealing.
Concentration. Focus and concentration are recognized as increased sadness. Emotional feedback tools monitor the moments when users achieve a sense of flow and become better immersed in the game. However, excessive and prolonged concentration may cause a loss of interest in continuing the game.
Engagement. Engagement represents a complex balance of interest and stress. Whether the game’s logic is too predictable and dull, or it’s too complicated to comprehend quickly enough, this will affect the metrics.

In addition to estimating involvement through emotional feedback, neurotesting monitors intentional and unintentional gaze. With modern programs, accuracy can be less than 50 pixels, which allows testers to create detailed heatmaps.

Three Key Unconscious Biases Affecting App Use

Loss Aversion

Due to loss aversion, people tend to focus more on what they can get rather than what they may lose. In the app use, it can occur as:

Greater willingness to use the discount or accept another similar offer if it’s exclusive or limited in time.
Reluctancy to delete a paid account even if they use it way less often than usual.
Higher engagement and interest if they can earn rewards or do specific actions to maintain their achievements.

Anchoring Effect

According to this bias, any initial information seems more reliable. For example, after seeing the most expensive pricing plan as a default one, users have a higher tendency to consider a cheaper option. This bias also makes it important to monitor UX and bugs. If users face glitches at the very beginning, they may perceive all the features as inconvenient.

Reciprocity Bias

After receiving something valuable from the app, be it a free trial or a bonus, users may want to reciprocate. They may spend more time using the app, leave a review, or become more loyal to the offerings of paid features.

These are only the three examples of biases, but many other cognitive processes affect users' decisions. With the help of neurotesting, it’s possible to measure the influence of different features and make the whole process more convenient and advantageous for both users and developers.

Examples of Solutions Found via Neurotesting

Neurotesting evaluates different parameters and scenarios, so a large amount of data allows analysts to notice more connections and causal links. Final recommendations may be related to the overall design, particular UI elements, difficulty level, sales mechanics, and more. For example:

Adding new characters and spaces to maintain appropriate tension if the game flow is monotonous.
Clarifying the scoring system through UX and text explanations to reduce frustration.
Introducing customization (for example, character’s appearance or weapons) to support engagement.
Increasing or decreasing the difficulty of puzzles based on emotional feedback.
Offering in-app purchases at specific moments when users find it most helpful or appealing.
Expanding or narrowing the assortment in the in-app shop to boost interest or avoid frustration, respectively.

Aside from mechanics, design and UX solutions can affect the success of an app. Neurotesting allows publishers to assess such parameters too. Based on research and reports, developers may receive recommendations like:

Making the sign-up form larger and easier to access.
Replacing unattractive color combinations.
Reducing the number of registration steps.

How Eye Tracking Heatmaps Can Help?

Ethical Aspects of Neuromarketing Tests

The key principle of neuromarketing tests is informed consent. To ensure transparency and awareness, Google Play refers to its official neurotesting partners, such as Sensemitter. The company gathers focus groups and safeguards the respondents’ rights. Before participating in a study, candidates receive full information about the used techniques, the purpose of the research, and the privacy policy.

Summing Up

Neuromarketing is a modern way to dive deep into people’s decision-making mechanisms. It makes it possible to understand how specific actions and visuals affect emotional state. As a result, such data allows for natural improvement of apps and services.

Developers may use the information about the most engaging mechanics to increase session duration. An enhanced balance of challenge and relaxation may increase the retention rate. With neurotests, you can see what users actually feel during the game and understand which elements contribute to conversion and which ones decrease it.

Ready to start your journey toward data-driven improvements? Contact Sensemitter to learn more and plan a neurotesting session for your app.