When creating a new game, it is essential to have a plan, to have some strategies in place.

Mixi director of corporate planning and strategy for digital entertainment Langer Lee offers some strategies used by the company in his talk 'Entertainment and Beyond: Key Strategies for Successful Games' as part of Pocket Gamer Connects Digital.

Mixi's flagship title Monster strike is seven years old - globally 53 million downloads. 10 million multiplayer games played each day 18 billion total multiplayer sessions played.

30 per cent of users have played for at least three years, 43 per cent of current players are returned.

Key strategies

Lee insisted that "thinking about your target audience in terms of user behaviour" is a key strategy. It is crucial to understand your target audience when developing a game and choosing what features to include.

After picking your audience, you should ask yourself "Why would your users play this game with other friends?"

For Mixi, it is all about "bringing friends and families together." Ultimately, the firm wants to feel as though they are at a BBQ with friends and family, it is a way of bringing people together.

As a studio, ask yourself "what does your company aim to do collectively?" Furthermore, a clear purpose is vital – choosing what not to do is just as important as picking what direction you go in.

PG Connects Digital #1 is the best of our Pocket Gamer Connects conference in an online form, with an entire week of talks, meetings, and pitch events taking place from April 6th to the 10th. You can read up on all the tracks taking place through the week here.