‘How Hyper-Optimizations Make us Spend More Money and Time’

The Ronneberg Lecture Series welcomes Spencer Brooks, co-founder at GG Games, presenting a talk about hyper-optimizations in the game industry.

You can’t spreadsheet fun, but that doesn’t stop the game industry from trying. Everyday data scientists are trying to measure, optimize, and “juice” the fun by analyzing massive amounts of data to keep you in the game longer. What started with simple spreadsheets is quickly turning into Skynet. These hyper-optimizations make us spend more money. The talk will explore core loop design concepts, measuring fun, the advancements in game optimizations, how over-optimization has led to an unhealthy game industry and the Flappy Bird effect.