For Behaviour Interactive's Meet Your Maker, how should we balance encouraging user-generated content creation versus maintaining overall game quality standards?

Introduction

The core trade-off for Meet Your Maker revolves around balancing user-generated content (UGC) creation with maintaining overall game quality standards. This scenario touches on the delicate balance between fostering creativity and ensuring a consistent, high-quality experience for players. I'll analyze this trade-off by examining the product ecosystem, key metrics, and potential experiments to inform our decision-making process.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Based on the game's focus on user-generated content, I'm thinking player retention might be a key metric. Could you share how player retention currently compares between UGC levels and developer-created content?

Why it matters: Helps understand the current impact of UGC on player engagement Expected answer: UGC levels have slightly lower retention but higher replay value Impact on approach: Would influence the balance between quantity and quality of UGC

• Considering the game's revenue model, I assume it's free-to-play with in-game purchases. Is there a correlation between UGC creation and player spending?

Why it matters: Helps align our strategy with business objectives Expected answer: UGC creators tend to spend more on in-game items Impact on approach: Might prioritize tools and features that encourage UGC creation

• Looking at the player base, I'm curious about the ratio of content creators to consumers. What percentage of players actively create and share levels?

Why it matters: Helps understand the scale of UGC and its potential impact Expected answer: Around 10-15% of players create content regularly Impact on approach: Would influence how much to invest in creation tools vs. curation

• Regarding technical feasibility, are there current limitations on the complexity or size of user-generated levels?

Why it matters: Helps understand technical constraints on UGC quality Expected answer: Some limitations exist to ensure performance across devices Impact on approach: Might focus on optimizing within current constraints rather than expanding them

• Considering the game's roadmap, are there any major features or updates planned that could impact UGC creation or quality control?

Why it matters: Helps align our strategy with upcoming changes Expected answer: A level editor update is planned for next quarter Impact on approach: Would consider timing our changes to align with the editor update