It’s a given that large-scale digital games like Hearthstone can collect a lot of data. More interesting, I think, is how the designers interpret what they gather. What kinds of information do they use? How do they interpret the patterns they see?

Those questions make this post by Ben Brode, Hearthstone’s Game Director, worthy of study. He highlights particular statistics, and notes what they mean to the Hearthstone design team. It’s a great window into how professional designers running a major product grapple with both design problems, and the overwhelming amount of raw data that’s meant to help them address game issues.