What to measure
Learning paths through this topic
How many deaths does it take before a player switches to the easier setting?
The moment players lower the difficulty tells you where the game pushed them too far. This entry shows how to count the deaths that led to the change, and why only the earliest change should count.
Do random monster encounters really come as often as I designed them?
A designed chance per step and what players report ("it feels constant") can drift far apart. This entry shows how to measure the steps between encounters and compare them with what the design promises, ignoring steps where encounters cannot happen.
Which ending do most players get, and how many go back for another?
If you count every ending reached, the players who replay several times drown out everyone else. This entry shows how to count the ending a player met on their own initial run and how many dig further.
Do players skip my world by teleporting, or do they walk it?
If most of the distance is covered by teleporting, the landscape you built is barely seen. This entry shows how to put walking and teleporting on one scale so you can judge whether the world is too big or the trip too dull.
How much does a fight cost the player when healing happens during it?
Comparing health before and after a fight hides how hard it was whenever the player healed on the way. This entry shows which events to record so the cost of a fight is measured, not guessed from the leftover health.
Do players walk into each area too weak, too strong, or about right?
The level you planned for an area and the level players really bring are rarely the same. This entry shows how to compare them so that later visits by stronger players do not hide that the early ones struggled.
Which monsters do players run from even when they are strong enough to win?
Running from a much stronger monster is normal, but running from an equal or weaker one points at something annoying or unfair. This entry shows how to separate the two so you find the monsters that irritate players.
How do I spot players grinding the same monster over and over?
Hours spent in fights do not tell you whether players are exploring or stuck in a loop. This entry shows what pattern in the fight log marks real grinding, and which small interruptions must not break the pattern.
Do players ask for a hint on this puzzle, and how long do they try first?
A puzzle can be too hard, too vague, or simply abandoned, and the hint button tells those apart if you log it right. This entry shows the four outcomes to count and the one time that matters.
How long does each level really take when players pause or leave the game open?
A level that seems to take an hour may have taken ten minutes of play and fifty of a menu left open. This entry shows how to time the climb through the levels so that breaks do not make the slow parts look slower.
How long does a scene make the player just watch without doing anything?
A story-heavy game can lose people not through one long cutscene but through many small ones with no choice between them. This entry shows how to find the longest stretch where nothing the player does matters.
Do players ever run low on magic, or is the magic bar decoration?
A resource only shapes the game if it sometimes runs short. This entry shows how to find out whether yours matters, and why looking at what is left after a fight gives the wrong answer.