You’re ahead of 97% of Game Devs if

You’re already ahead of 97% of game devs if you do this:

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆
• Read 100+ reviews each week, positive and negative (especially!)
• First-session friction, D1 choke points, why they’d return.

𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁-𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆
• FTUE completion, D0-D1 retention, time-to-first-win, rage-quits.
• Fix one friction per day.

𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝗱, 𝗱𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆
• No cheats.
• Note one dead click, one unclear prompt, one delight.

𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗗𝗔𝗨
• LTV (by cohort) > blended CPI.
• Ad ARPDAU + IAP ARPU – fees – UA > 0.

𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝟰 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸
• Ship notes, balance patches, live-ops bundles.
• No meetings. No Slack. Output > opinions.

𝗢𝘄𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿
• Content cadence, economy, analytics, or UA creatives.
• Prove it first. Delegate later.

𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗮 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗽 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗽
• 30–120s: Challenge → Action → Feedback → Reward.
• Cut steps that don’t teach or thrill.

𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻 <𝟯 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀
• Competence before monetization.
• First win buys the next session.

𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿-𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲
• Opt-in rewarded ads.
• Price ladder by intent.
• No early timers blocking learning.

𝗥𝘂𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗔/𝗕 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲
• Pre-register hypothesis.
• Primary metric (e.g., D7 ARPU).
• Fixed sample. Ship/kill rule.

𝗙𝗶𝘅 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘆
• Telegraphs, camera, latency, hitboxes.
• If it isn’t crisp, nothing else matters.

𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝟭𝟬+ 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗻𝘀
• Names in a doc.
• Ask what to build and delete.

Easy to get pulled everywhere.
Fundamentals win.

Talk to players. Watch cohorts. Protect the core loop.
Stay healthy enough to do it again tomorrow.

Your thoughts?