Documentation

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Introduction to Market Trends

Market Trends is Ludo.ai's advanced market intelligence tool designed to provide real-time insights into the gaming market's dynamics. Updated every 24 hours, it offers a comprehensive view of market movements, emerging opportunities, and established successes across various app stores.

The tool presents data through an intuitive dashboard interface that breaks down complex market information into actionable insights. It focuses on four key aspects of market analysis:

• Rapidly emerging trends that signal future opportunities
• Established market segments with proven success
• New release patterns indicating developer interest and investment
• Market positioning and performance metrics for different game categories

Market Trends helps game developers, publishers, and market analysts:

• Identify emerging market opportunities before they become mainstream
• Validate game concepts against market performance data
• Understand the current competitive landscape
• Track how different game styles and mechanics perform over time
• Make data-driven decisions about game development and marketing strategies

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Getting Started with Market Trends

Basic Navigation

• Access Market Trends from the sidebar menu
• View the main dashboard for immediate market insights
• Click on topics or "More" buttons to explore detailed views
• Use the sidebar for quick navigation between different views

Using Filters

You can find the following filters at the top of the dashboard:

• Source: Filter trends by specific stores
• Genres: Filter trends by specific game genres
• Locations: View trends in different geographical markets

All subsequent analysis and data shown in Market Trends will reflect your active filters, helping you focus on relevant market segments for your specific needs.

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Understanding Game Topics

What are Game Topics

Game Topics are AI-generated classifications that group similar games based on shared characteristics. Unlike traditional genre classifications, Topics provide a more nuanced and multi-dimensional view of the market by considering multiple aspects of each game simultaneously.

Topic Categories

Market Trends organizes Topics into five main categories:

1. Overall Topics
   • General game groupings based on comprehensive similarity analysis
   • Cross-dimensional patterns combining multiple game aspects
   • Broader market segments that represent distinct game types
   • Holistic view of game categories regardless of specific features
2. Game Mechanics
   • Fundamental gameplay systems and interaction patterns
   • Core loops and player engagement mechanisms
   • Progression systems and challenge structures
   • Player input methods and control schemes
3. Game Themes
   • Narrative settings and contexts
   • Story elements and world-building aspects
   • Thematic inspirations and cultural references
   • Environmental and atmospheric elements
4. Art Styles
   • Visual presentation approaches
   • Graphic design philosophies
   • Technical art execution methods
   • Aesthetic influences and artistic directions
5. Subgenres
   • Specialized game categories within broader genres
   • Hybrid game types combining multiple genre elements
   • Emerging game format variations
   • Niche market segments

Topic Analysis and Market Metrics

Topics are analyzed across two primary dimensions:

Charts Performance Analysis

• Exponential Growth: Tracks topics rapidly gaining new players day over day
• Chart Toppers: Measures topics with highest new player acquisition over 7 days
• Most Top-Chart Games: Identifies topics with most games in Top-200 Overall
• Uniqueness: Highlights topics that differ from other top-charting games

New Releases Analysis

• Growing Number of Releases: Tracks month-over-month increase in game releases
• Very Recent Releases: Measures new game releases over past 14 days
• New Game Topics: Identifies recently emerged topics in new releases
• Uniqueness: Highlights topics that differ from other recent releases

This dual analysis approach helps you:

• Identify both established successes and emerging opportunities
• Understand which topics are gaining traction with players
• Track developer interest and investment through release patterns
• Spot unique market positions that stand out from current trends
• Make informed decisions about game design and market timing

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Understanding the Dashboard

The Market Trends dashboard provides a comprehensive market overview organized into distinct sections that help you quickly grasp current market dynamics and emerging opportunities.

Overview and Purpose

The dashboard serves as your central command center for market intelligence, combining multiple views and metrics to provide a complete picture of the gaming market. It's designed to help you:

• Identify emerging opportunities early
• Monitor established market segments
• Track developer activity and market investment
• Understand market positioning of different game types

Dashboard Sections

Quickly Rising in the Charts

Located in the left section of the dashboard, this area highlights game categories experiencing rapid growth in popularity and rankings. These represent emerging trends that could become tomorrow's market leaders. Each topic shows:

• Representative game examples
• Relative growth metrics
• Visual samples of successful games in the category

Established in the Charts

Positioned in the middle section, this area displays game categories with proven staying power and consistent performance. These represent reliable, stable market segments with sustained player interest. You'll find:

• Long-term successful games
• Consistent performers
• Stable market segments
• Proven game formulas

Increasing New Releases

The right section highlights game categories seeing a surge in new game releases from developers. These represent areas where creators are actively investing resources, suggesting anticipated market opportunities. This section shows:

• Recent launch patterns
• Developer investment trends
• Emerging market segments
• New market entrants

Market Landscape

This visual representation plots games' chart position against their trend direction, providing a clear picture of the most relevant games currently in the market. The visualization helps you:

• Understand market positioning (Y-axis shows chart position)
• Track performance trends (X-axis shows trend direction as percentage)
• Identify market leaders and challengers
• Monitor competitive positioning

Reading the Graph:

• X-Axis: Represents change in downloads/players share over 7 days
• Y-Axis: Shows share of new downloads/players
• Position interpretation:
  • Top Right: High share and growing (market leaders)
  • Top Left: High share but declining (mature categories)
  • Bottom Right: Low share but growing (emerging opportunities)
  • Bottom Left: Low share and declining (struggling categories)

Topic Categories Analysis (Specific Trends)

The dashboard includes dedicated sections showing the fastest-growing topics in different categories. Each category lists topics sorted by growth rate, with progress bars indicating relative growth velocity.

• Game Mechanics: Trending gameplay systems and interaction patterns
• Game Themes: Rising thematic elements and settings
• Art Styles: Growing visual presentation approaches
• Subgenres: Emerging subcategories <br>

Top Game Topics Table

Located at the bottom of the dashboard, this comprehensive table provides detailed metrics for significant game topics, including:

• Power Index: Overall topic strength indicator
• Growth: Percentage change in market presence
• Player Share: Market penetration metrics
• Top Chart Games: Number of games in top rankings
• Variation in New Releases: Changes in launch frequency
• Recent Releases: Number of new games in the category

Navigation and Interaction

From the dashboard, you can:

• Click "More" in any section to access detailed topic lists
• Click on any topic to view its detailed page, which includes:
  • Topic description
  • Key characteristics
  • Games included in the topic
  • Related mechanics/themes tags
  • Options to compare to market or generate game ideas

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Topic List Views

When you click "More" in any dashboard section or category, you'll access detailed topic list views that provide deeper insights into market trends. These views offer different sorting options depending on whether you're analyzing chart performance or new releases.

List View Layout

Each topic in the list displays:

• Topic title
• Topic performance information on hover
• List of most relevant games with icons and screenshots
• Performance metrics for each of the games, along with release dates and developer information

Sorting Options

Chart Performance View Sorting

• Exponential Growth: Orders topics by those rapidly increasing their new player acquisition day over day
• Chart Toppers: Lists topics based on highest number of new players accumulated over the past 7 days
• Most Top-Chart Games: Ranks topics by number of games present in the Top-200 Overall
• Uniqueness: Highlights topics that significantly differ from other games in the top charts

New Releases View Sorting

• Growing Number of Releases: Orders by highest month-over-month increase in game releases
• Very Recent Releases: Ranks by number of new game releases over the past 14 days
• New Game Topics: Shows topics that have most recently emerged in new releases
• Uniqueness: Highlights topics that stand out from other recently released games

Topic Details

Clicking on the title of any topic opens a detailed view that includes:

• Comprehensive topic description
• Key characteristics and defining features
• Full list of games in the topic

Topic Actions

Compare to Market

This action takes you to the Market Analysis tool, where you can:

• Get a detailed Ludo Score for the topic
• See comprehensive market performance data
• Access historical trend information
• Analyze the topic's positioning against broader market trends
• Perform detailed competitive analysis

Generate Game Ideas

This feature helps spark creativity by:

• Generating unique game concepts based on the topic's characteristics
• Suggesting novel combinations of mechanics and themes
• Providing variations on successful formulas within the topic
• Offering innovative approaches to the topic's core elements

These tools help you:

• Validate market opportunities
• Find unique angles within established topics
• Get inspiration for new game concepts
• Make data-driven development decisions

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Using Market Trends for Game Development

Identifying Market Opportunities

Using the Dashboard

• Monitor "Quickly Rising in the Charts" to identify emerging game categories before they become saturated
• Study "Established in the Charts" to understand what makes a topic maintain long-term success
• Use "Increasing New Releases" to spot where developers are placing their bets

Leveraging Topic Categories

• Review Game Mechanics trends to identify which gameplay systems are gaining traction
• Track Game Themes to spot rising narrative and setting preferences
• Monitor Art Styles growth rates to align visual development with market trends
• Use Subgenres analysis to find successful niches within broader categories

Validating Game Concepts

Using Compare to Market

• Get a detailed Ludo Score for your chosen topic
• Access comprehensive market data and historical performance
• Understand competitive positioning and market saturation
• Analyze growth patterns and player acquisition trends
• Identify market risks and opportunities through detailed metrics

Generating and Refining Ideas

• Use "Generate Game Ideas" to explore variations within successful topics
• Combine insights from multiple trending topics to create unique concepts
• Study topic descriptions to understand key characteristics players expect
• Review related tags to identify complementary features and themes

Leveraging Market Analysis Tool

For a deep dive on a certain topic or theme, make sure to try the Market Analysis tool.

• Compare multiple topics to understand relative market positions
• Get detailed competitive analysis for your chosen segment
• Access historical trend data to identify seasonal patterns
• Validate growth potential through detailed performance data

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Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Data not loading: * Refresh the page * Clear your browser cache and cookies * Try a different browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.) 2. Slow performance: * Close unnecessary browser tabs and applications * Clear your browser cache and cookies

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How often is the data updated? A: Market Trends data refreshes every 24 hours

Q: Why do I see different numbers for the same topic in different views? A: Different views use different time windows and metrics for analysis

Q: What if a topic shows high growth but low market share? A: This often indicates an emerging trend worth monitoring

Q: Why might I see fewer games in a topic than expected? A: Topics only include games that meet specific similarity thresholds

Getting Help

If problems persist, contact Ludo.ai support for assistance or join our Discord server: [https://discord.gg/FmTPyugsrR](https://discord.gg/FmTPyugsrR)

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Getting Started with Market Analysis

The Market Analysis tool is your gateway to understanding the gaming landscape for your concept. It's designed to help you evaluate game ideas by analyzing market trends, competition, and potential. Here's how to begin your journey:

1. Start by entering a search term or keywords related to your game idea in the search bar. Think about the core elements of your concept - genre, theme, gameplay mechanics - and use those as your starting point. You can also choose one of your game ideas or game concepts as your input.
2. Once you've entered your search terms, click "Add to Analysis". The tool will then create a topic based on existing related games, giving you a snapshot of the current market.
3. To fine-tune your analysis, adjust the search options:
   • Source: Choose between App stores (iOS/Android) or Steam, depending on your target platform.
   • Country: For mobile game analysis, select a specific region. The default is the United States, but you can explore other markets if that's your focus.
   • Reach: This setting determines how broadly or narrowly the tool interprets your search. Set it to "Balanced" (default) for a general overview, "Focused" for a narrower set of highly relevant games, or "Wide" for a broader set of somewhat relevant games.

You can analyze up to 5 topics simultaneously, allowing for rich comparisons. If your initial analysis seems too broad or narrow, don't worry - you can easily refine it:

• Try adjusting the Reach setting to see how it affects your results.
• Refine your search terms. For example, instead of just "puzzle", try "puzzle + fantasy" for a more specific niche.
• Experiment with different keyword combinations to find the sweet spot for your analysis.

Keep in mind that the tool uses data that is updated daily, ensuring you're always working with current market insights. This dynamic approach allows you to track trends and make informed decisions as the market evolves.

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Understanding the Ludo Score

The Ludo Score is at the heart of the Market Analysis tool. It's a comprehensive rating on a scale of 0-100 that represents your game concept's market potential. Think of it as a quick snapshot of how well your idea might perform in the current market. The score is calculated using four key metrics:

1. Chart Dominance (0-100%): This metric reflects how well your game concept aligns with top-performing titles in the market. A high score here indicates strong commercial potential - your game idea resonates with what's currently successful.
2. Trend Potential (0-100%): This forward-looking metric indicates the likelihood of your game becoming a rapidly rising star. It measures how similar games are currently trending, helping to predict potential viral growth. A high score suggests your concept is riding a wave of increasing popularity.
3. Newcomer Impact (0-100%): This assesses how your game might compete among recent releases. It's particularly useful for understanding if your concept has the potential to stand out in the current market, where it would be entering as a newcomer.
4. Creative Edge (0-100%): This metric evaluates your game's uniqueness and novelty. It highlights the potential for your game to stand out from existing titles, regardless of their market performance or release date. A high score here suggests your idea brings something fresh to the table.

The final Ludo Score is a weighted average of these four metrics. While a higher score generally suggests greater overall market potential for your concept, remember that each component provides valuable insights. A game with a moderate overall score but a high Creative Edge, for instance, might still be worth pursuing if you're aiming for a niche market. Use the Ludo Score as a starting point for deeper analysis, not as the final word on your game's potential. It's a tool to guide your thinking and prompt further investigation into the market landscape for your game concept.

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Interpreting Market Analysis Graphs

The Market Analysis tool provides a suite of visual representations to help you understand market conditions. These graphs are your window into the competitive landscape, trends, and potential opportunities for your game concept. Let's explore each one:

1. Market Landscape Plot: This scatter plot gives you a bird's-eye view of how your concept fits into the current market.
   • The X-axis represents game similarity to your concept. As you move right, games become more similar to your idea.
   • The Y-axis shows the popularity index of similar games. Higher points indicate more popular games.
   • Each point on the plot represents a game. Look for clusters to identify trends.
   • Games in the upper-right quadrant are both similar to your concept and popular - these are your potential competitors.
   • The lower-right quadrant shows games similar to yours but less popular. This could indicate potential opportunities if you can improve on existing concepts.
   • Color-coding distinguishes between different analyzed topics, allowing for easy comparison.
2. Weekly Topic Popularity Over Time: This line graph tracks the popularity of comparable games over time.
   • The X-axis represents time, while the Y-axis shows the Average Popularity Index.
   • Each line represents a different topic or game concept you're analyzing.
   • Look for overall trends: Is interest in your type of game growing, declining, or stable?
   • Identify any seasonality: Are there regular peaks and troughs that might indicate seasonal interest?
   • Spot sudden spikes: These could indicate events or releases that sparked interest in similar games.
   • Compare between concepts to see which have been consistently popular over time.
3. Game Releases Over Time: This line graph shows the number of similar games released over time.
   • The X-axis represents time, while the Y-axis shows the number of game releases.
   • Each line typically represents a different topic or game concept you're analyzing.
   • Look for overall trends: Is the number of releases increasing (growing market but more competition) or decreasing?
   • Identify release spikes: These could indicate times when your type of game was particularly popular with developers.
   • Pay attention to recent trends on the right side of the graph to understand current market saturation.
4. Game Similarity Distribution: This stacked bar chart shows how similar other games in the market are to your concept.
   • Each bar represents a topic or game concept you're analyzing.
   • The color scale ranges from dark (high similarity) to light (low similarity).
   • The height of each segment shows the number of games falling within that similarity range.
   • A large dark segment suggests many very similar games, indicating potential market saturation.
   • More light colors might suggest your concept is more unique in the current market.

Use these graphs in combination to gain a comprehensive understanding of the market landscape for your game concept. They can help you identify trends, spot potential competitors, recognize market gaps, and ultimately make more informed decisions about your game's development and marketing strategies.

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Refining Your Game Concept and Decision Making

The Market Analysis tool isn't just about providing data - it's about helping you make informed decisions to refine and improve your game concept. Here's how you can leverage the insights from the tool:

1. Identify underserved niches:
   • Scan the Market Landscape Plot for areas with few similar games but high popularity.
   • Consider how your concept could be adapted to fill these gaps, potentially capturing an underserved audience.
2. Balance innovation and market fit:
   • If your Creative Edge score is high but other metrics are low, think about ways to incorporate some familiar elements that align with market trends.
   • The key is to maintain your unique selling points while improving market alignment. This balance can make your game both innovative and marketable.
3. Refine your target audience:
   • Analyze the characteristics of similar successful games to understand potential player segments.
   • Use this information to adjust your concept and shape your marketing strategy. You might discover unexpected demographics interested in games similar to yours.
4. Iterate and compare:
   • Don't be afraid to run analyses on different versions of your concept.
   • Small tweaks can sometimes lead to significant changes in market potential. This iterative process can help you optimize your game idea.
5. Inform feature planning:
   • Identify popular elements in successful similar games. What features seem to resonate with players in your target market?
   • Consider incorporating trending features that fit naturally with your concept, enhancing its appeal without compromising your vision.
6. Support investment decisions:
   • When you're deciding between multiple game concepts, use the Market Analysis tool to evaluate their relative market potential.
   • This data-driven approach can help you prioritize development resources, focusing on the ideas with the strongest market alignment.

Remember, while the Market Analysis tool provides valuable insights, it should complement rather than replace your creative vision and understanding of your target audience. Use it as a guide to refine your ideas and make informed decisions, but don't let it stifle your creativity or passion for your unique game concept.

It's important to note that chasing trends mindlessly is rarely a winning long-term strategy. By the time you release your game, the market may have shifted. Instead, consider using trending topics as creative sparks and combining them with novel elements. The Market Analysis tool can also help you reveal niche opportunities that larger players may have overlooked.

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Analyzing Multiple Topics

One of the most powerful features of the Market Analysis tool is the ability to compare up to 5 different game topics simultaneously. This comparative analysis can provide rich insights and help you make more nuanced decisions about your game development. Here's how you can leverage this feature:

1. Evaluate different concept ideas:
   • If you're torn between several game ideas, analyze them all side by side.
   • Compare their Ludo Scores and individual metrics to see which concepts have the best overall market fit.
   • This can help you prioritize which ideas to develop further or which to pursue first.
2. Understand competition across related genres:
   • Analyze how your concept performs against similar games in different categories.
   • You might find that your puzzle game concept has less competition in the fantasy genre than in the sci-fi genre, for example.
   • This cross-genre analysis can help you position your game more effectively in the market.
3. Identify promising hybrid concepts:
   • Compare topics from different genres to spot potential for innovative combinations.
   • You might notice that both your "match-3" topic and your "city-builder" topic have high Trend Potential scores. This could inspire you to create a unique hybrid game combining elements of both.
   • Use these insights to create game concepts that blend popular elements in novel ways.
4. Assess market saturation:
   • Compare the Game Similarity Distribution charts for different topics.
   • This can help you identify which game categories might be oversaturated or underserved.
   • If you see a lot of dark bars (high similarity) in one topic but not in another, it might indicate where there's more room for a unique entry.
5. Track evolving trends:
   • Analyze multiple related topics to see how trends shift over time.
   • Use the Weekly Topic Popularity graph to compare trend lines for different concepts.
   • This can help you anticipate future market directions and align your development timeline accordingly.
6. Benchmark against successful games:
   • Include topics based on popular games similar to your concept.
   • Use their metrics as benchmarks for your own game's potential.
   • This can help you set realistic goals and identify areas where you need to improve your concept.

By leveraging the multi-topic analysis feature, you can gain a more comprehensive understanding of the market landscape. This holistic view can inform your decision-making process, helping you refine your game concept, identify your unique selling points, and position your game effectively in the market. Remember, the goal isn't just to follow trends, but to use this data to find the sweet spot where your creative vision meets market opportunity.

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Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues while using the Market Analysis tool, here are some common problems and their solutions:

1. Too few games in analysis:
   • First, try using broader or more common keywords. Sometimes very specific terms might not yield sufficient results.
   • Double-check that you're searching in the correct store (App stores vs. Steam). The game you're looking for might be platform-specific.
2. Too many unrelated games in analysis:
   • If you're getting an overwhelming number of results that don't seem closely related to your concept, try setting the Reach to "Focused". This will narrow down the set of games to those most relevant to your search.
   • Add more specific keywords to your search to hone in on your particular niche.
3. Unexpected Ludo Score:
   • If your Ludo Score seems surprisingly high or low, take a closer look at the individual metrics (Chart Dominance, Trend Potential, etc.) for more detailed insights.
   • Try comparing your topic to similar successful games. This can provide context for your scores and help you understand where your concept stands in relation to established titles.
4. Graphs not loading:
   • First, try refreshing the page. Sometimes a simple reload can resolve display issues.
   • If that doesn't work, try clearing your browser cache and reloading the page.
5. Unable to add more topics:
   • Remember that you can analyze up to 5 topics simultaneously. If you're trying to add a sixth topic, you'll need to remove one first.
   • To remove a topic, look for a delete option near the topic name in your list of analyzed topics.

If you've tried these solutions and are still experiencing issues, don't hesitate to reach out to Ludo.ai support, and join our Discord server: https://discord.gg/FmTPyugsrR