我是一名独资独立开发者，已经在 Unity 为《不稳定核反应堆》开发了超过 8 个月。

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4692090/Unstable_Nuclear_Reactor_Demo/

>It's an incremental hex-puzzle roguelite where you merge atoms into higher elements, trigger massive chain combos, earn radioactive coins, and manage your ring capacity to survive as long as possible.

它是一种逐步的六边形拼图 Roguelite，玩家可以将原子合并为更高元素，触发大规模连锁连击，获得放射性硬币，并管理环形容量以尽可能长时间生存。

I was struggling to understand why 45% of players stopped playing within the first 10 minutes, even though some played for 2 hours or more.

我曾苦恼于为何 45% 的玩家在前 10 分钟内就停止游戏，尽管有些玩家玩了 2 小时或更长时间。

Steam analytics wasn't giving me enough insight, so I decided to build my own analytics system.

Steam 分析没有提供足够的洞察，因此我决定自行构建分析系统。

I created a script to collect gameplay data, save it as JSON, send it to my API, and store it in an Excel file.

我编写了一个脚本来收集游戏数据，保存为 JSON 文件，发送到我的 API，并存入 Excel 文件。

>Players must consent to sharing their gameplay data and can refuse. Still, I collected 150+ gameplay records in less than 3 days!

玩家必须同意分享他们的游戏数据，且可以拒绝。尽管如此，我在不到 3 天内收集了 150+ 份游戏记录！

I also created a way to load player data directly into the Unity Inspector, allowing me to review individual sessions and follow players' actions step by step.

我还创建了将玩家数据直接加载到 Unity 检视器的方式，从而能够检查单个会话并逐步跟踪玩家的操作。

One important detail: I linked sessions using a persistent player ID to track returning players across multiple sessions. I was surprised to discover that many had returned more than 5 times!

一个重要细节： 我使用持久的玩家 ID 将会话关联起来，以跟踪多次登录的玩家。我惊讶地发现，许多人出现了超过 5 次的回归！

What did I discover?

我发现了什么？

Players were skipping tutorials, getting stuck, and placing atoms and tools randomly on the hex grid.

玩家跳过教程、卡住并随意在六边形网格上放置原子和工具。

Here's how merging works: leave a gap between two identical atoms, then place the Fusion tool in that gap to create the next higher element.

合并的工作方式是：在两个相同的原子之间留出间隙，然后在该间隙放置 Fusion 工具，即可生成更高等级的元素。

Many players were placing atoms next to each other without leaving a gap, filling their rings much faster, especially before unlocking tools like Blackhole and Swap.

许多玩家在未留间隙的情况下将原子相互放置，导致环形容量更快充填，尤其是在尚未解锁 Blackhole 和 Swap 等工具之前。

Interestingly, frequent players successfully progressed beyond Ring 2 into Rings 4, 5, and 6, with total playtime ranging from around 15 minutes to over 3 hours across their runs.

有趣的是，活跃玩家能够顺利进阶至 第 4、5、6 环，其单次游戏时长从约 15 分钟到 3 小时以上不等。

What did I change?

我做了哪些改动？

  • Added an Undo button so players can reverse their last move.

  • 添加了 Undo 按钮，让玩家可以撤销最后一次操作。

  • Improved the tutorials to guide players through the essential mechanics.

  • 完善了教程，引导玩家掌握关键机制。

  • Added tooltips explaining mistakes when players make them.

  • 添加了提示提示，在玩家犯错时解释错误。

Results

结果

  • Median playtime more than doubled.

  • 中位数游戏时长翻倍以上。

  • RestartGame rates dropped from 37.2% to 27.5%.

  • 重新开始（RestartGame）率从 37.2% 降至 27.5%。

I'm still collecting data, but the results are promising.

我仍在收集数据，但结果令人期待。

This reminded me that sometimes, you don't need to guess what's wrong with your game. You need to understand how players actually interact with it.

这提醒我，有时无需猜测游戏哪里出错，而是需要理解玩家实际如何与游戏互动。