Driving Mobile Game Engagement: Factors and User Metrics

Abstract

This study aims to identify methods to drive engagement with a mobile game by exploring the factors that affect engagement through a literature review and in-depth interviews with experts, and applying Exploratory Factor Analysis. The data are collected from a survey of mobile game players of CV.X, a casual idle clicker game. This study finds our factors of engagement: aesthetics, felt involvement, game mechanics, and endurability. Managers can improve players’ engagement by creating an aesthetic aimed for usability of the game, having customization options, creating a cycle of goals and achievement to keep players interested, and creating mechanics that are interesting but not limited to unique and new designs. Keywords—engagement, freemium, mobile game