BioWare’s analytics manager talks SWTOR stats and their effect on design

If you’ve ever been curious about how data analytics impacts MMO design decisions, a new interview at SWTOR Network is worth your time. Alex Tremblay, manager of analytics for BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic, talks about everything from architecture and the speed at which statistics can be retrieved to examples of engagement stats affecting design.

“Our regular monitoring of PvE content turned up a substantial discrepancy in usage between the Czerka and other tactical Flashpoints,” Tremblay explains. “Working with design and QA, we developed a hypothesis as to the cause, tested and verified its veracity, and ultimately increased the reward per time spent to align them more closely with similar content. It allowed us to give players a broader range of experiences in the game to reduce content fatigue and add enjoyment to the gameplay experience.”