COMPETITIVE RESEARCH

I focused my competitive research on the main leading story-telling app. The goal for my Competitive Research was to understand different methods for user generated content and socialization, as Nicki Minaj: The Empire utilized these two features, which was new for Glu Mobile. My research questions included:

• How is user-generated content created and consumed?
• How do genres affect user interest?
• How do people socialize different within this app compared to Glu Mobile’s apps?

My findings illustrated Nielsen’s 1% Rule, which states that of all the virtual content, 90% of users consume content, 9% contribute to this content (through commenting, sharing, etc), while only 1% of usere create content. Users did enjoy forums, but they preferred to lurk over posting or commenting themselves. Within genres similar to Nicki Minaj: The Empire, users preferred romantic stories over stories filled with drama, especially when they were able to create their own avatars. Finally, users also enjoyed making content themselves, but were reluctant to share it.

According to these findings, I made the following recommendations:

• Allow users to easily browse user-created content
• Focus the story on romance
• Expand the character customization tool

DIARY STUDY

The goal for my diary study was to understand user behavior and progression through the game, using the beta version of the game. My research questions included:

• What features did players utilize the most?
• How do players connect with their character?
• How do players prefer to connect with other players?
• Do players enjoy creating their own songs?

My findings showed a preference for the story, but a lack of in-game energy to complete enough of the story to feel that they had made progress. There was also strong emphasis on character customization, praising the natural Black hairstyles offered. Additionally, though the idea of creating songs was applauded, there was a general lack of use, showing that this tool needed to be further optimized for better use, or conversely, to be left alone, as it may not have been worthwhile to focus on if users did not enjoy it. However, users did enjoy browsing user content, and would friend other players to follow their song creations without ever private messaging them.

The findings that I can share include: