# GAMEOPS06-BP01 Monitor key game metrics to identify player trends and patterns, and use the information to improve the game
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 In addition to game client system usage, app usage, exceptions, and crash data, capture game telemetry data that is sent to a game backend system. This data should represent player activity so that you can understand how players interact with various features in the game. 

 **Level of risk exposed if this best practice is not established:** High 

## Implementation guidance
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 Depending on its implementation, game clients can collect telemetry data at predefined game features or locations in a game world. The data is sent to the backend ingestion service for processing. If the backend service is unreachable, the clients can store the data locally on the local device until the backend service is available again. The game designers use this telemetry data to review how players are playing the game, and if there are anomalies in the game. 

 For example, player movements and interactions with items in a map can be extracted from telemetry data and plotted as a heat map of activities in-game by players over a set window of time. Such data assists the game designers identify the need to balance various elements in the game, such as the power of a weapon, the power of an in-game character, or the complexity of a map. The raw telemetry data is generally stored and then processed to extract analytics that can be visualized by analysts. 

 The [Game AnalyticsPipeline](https://aws.amazon.com/solutions/implementations/game-analytics-pipeline/) solution implementation assists game developers launch a scalable serverless data pipeline to ingest, store, and analyze telemetry data generated from games and services. The solution supports streaming ingestion of data, allowing users to gain insights from their games and other applications within minutes. 

 For custom game telemetry data ingestion, storage, processing and analytics, AWS also offers a number of [specialized services for big data processing and Analytics](https://aws.amazon.com/big-data/datalakes-and-analytics/). 

### Implementation steps
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+  **Capture game telemetry data:** Collect data on player activity, system usage, exceptions, and crashes to understand player interactions and identify issues. 
+  **Implement telemetry collection:** Use predefined game features or locations to collect telemetry data and send it to backend services, storing locally if the backend is unreachable. 
+  **Use AWS analytics solutions:** Use AWS services like the Game Analytics Pipeline for scalable data ingestion, storage, and analysis, as well as specialized big data processing and analytics services.