"At Boomlagoon we're focused on creating engaging character driven titles that are fun to play with friends," opened Tuomas Erikoinen, Boomlagoon's founder and creative lead, speaking at this year's Pocket Gamer Connects conference in Helsinki.

It's a stance that Erikoinen believes gives Boomlagoon a competitive edge, as once players are invested in a game's characters and story, they're more likely to come back for more. It's all about retention.

"The characters, the world, and the story behind them are something the players can connect with. They're something users find easy to relate to," he continued, in reference to the studio's latest game Monsu (pictured right).

"Once we are able to establish this connection, this bond, between the player and the character, the player automatically wants to see the entire story.

"This allows us to build brands that engage and retain the user beyond the core game mechanics."

Not just a game

Building a game around strong characters that have distinct personalities help imbue a game with identity, explained Erikoinen: an identity that can then be used to forge a brand.

"From a business perspective the characters allow us to think about different monetisation methods beyond the individual games, looking towards other digital products, but also non-digital products."

"Once we find a character and a world that we believe is globally appealing, we can start to dig into those game mechanics and merge them into a more character driven game."

"This whole approach lets us think about creating whole product families beyond those individual games." 

Pocket Gamer Connects is the biggest mobile games show in Europe, which brings together the best speakers and delegates from across the industry and from all over the world.

To-date, Pocket Gamer Connects has been held in London and Helsinki, and the show will be heading back to the UK in January 2015. To find out more about the latest show, head on over to www.pgconnects.com.