The First 10 Telemetry Events Every Indie Game Should Ship
Most indie teams wait too long to add telemetry. By the time numbers appear, launch is close and changes are expensive.
You do not need a huge analytics stack to get useful signals. You need a small, clean event set that answers three questions fast:
- where players drop out
- where progression stalls
- where your economy or UX creates friction
This guide gives you the first 10 events worth shipping in almost any indie game, plus naming conventions and implementation tips that avoid messy dashboards.
Telemetry rules before you add any events
Keep your foundation simple:
- use consistent snake_case names
- attach a session id and build version to every event
- track timestamps in UTC
- avoid collecting personal data unless truly required
If your events are inconsistent, your charts will be noisy and hard to trust.
Event 1 - session_start
Fire when the player enters playable state (not just app boot).
Why it matters: this is your denominator for most funnel metrics.
Useful properties: session_id, build_version, platform, device_class.
Event 2 - session_end
Fire when the session exits gracefully or times out after inactivity.
Why it matters: lets you compute average session length and identify unstable builds with high crash-like exits.
Useful properties: session_length_sec, reason (quit, disconnect, crash_recovered).
Event 3 - tutorial_step_completed
Track each onboarding milestone rather than one generic tutorial complete.
Why it matters: onboarding drop-off is usually step-specific, not whole-tutorial.
Useful properties: step_id, time_since_session_start, input_device.
Event 4 - first_core_action
Capture the first time a player performs your game-defining action:
- first shot
- first card played
- first puzzle solved
Why it matters: validates whether players actually reach your intended fantasy quickly.
Useful properties: action_type, time_to_first_action_sec.
Event 5 - level_started
Fire on level load or encounter begin.
Why it matters: forms the top of your level funnel and helps compare intent vs completion.
Useful properties: level_id, difficulty_tier, party_power (if applicable).
Event 6 - level_completed
Fire when level success conditions are met.
Why it matters: completion rate by level reveals pacing spikes and balance issues.
Useful properties: level_id, attempt_count, completion_time_sec, deaths.
Event 7 - level_failed
Track meaningful failure states, not only game over screens.
Why it matters: failure clustering shows where difficulty or UX friction is too high.
Useful properties: level_id, fail_reason, checkpoint_reached, time_alive_sec.
Event 8 - economy_spend
Trigger whenever currency is spent, including soft and premium currencies.
Why it matters: shows whether sinks are attractive and whether pricing is aligned with earning rates.
Useful properties: currency_type, amount, sink_id, balance_before, balance_after.
Event 9 - economy_earn
Track major earn sources with source labels.
Why it matters: without earn context, spend data is incomplete and can mislead design decisions.
Useful properties: currency_type, amount, source_id, source_context.
Event 10 - store_or_upgrade_viewed
Fire when player opens your shop, upgrade panel, talent tree, or equivalent progression menu.
Why it matters: separates conversion issues from discovery issues. If nobody opens the panel, pricing is not the first problem.
Useful properties: entry_point, time_since_session_start, current_progression_stage.
Minimal event schema that scales
Start every event with a common payload:
{
"event_name": "level_completed",
"timestamp_utc": "2026-03-27T18:05:33Z",
"session_id": "a1b2c3",
"player_id_hash": "p_93ad...",
"build_version": "0.9.4",
"platform": "steam_windows",
"properties": {
"level_id": "forest_02",
"attempt_count": 3,
"completion_time_sec": 512
}
}Keep common keys identical across events so dashboards and SQL queries stay maintainable.
Implementation pattern for Unity and Godot teams
Create a tiny wrapper and call it from gameplay code, not UI text scripts.
- Unity: central
TelemetryService.Track(eventName, props) - Godot: singleton/autoload
Telemetry.track(event_name, data)
Batch sends at intervals or on scene transitions to reduce network overhead and avoid frame spikes.
Related reading:
Common mistakes that make telemetry useless
- event names change every sprint (
levelFinish,level_complete,finished_level) - no build version in payload, so regressions are hard to isolate
- only success events tracked, no failure context
- no QA validation of event firing before release
Treat telemetry as part of the feature definition, not post-launch cleanup.
Quick QA checklist before shipping
- all 10 events fire in one normal test session
- event payload includes required common keys
- level id and economy ids match design docs
- duplicate events are deduped for retry scenarios
- dashboard charts refresh within expected latency
If this checklist fails, fix instrumentation before tuning game balance with incomplete data.
FAQ
Do I need all 10 events on day one
You can phase in, but ship at least session, onboarding, level funnel, and one economy pair before public playtests.
Should I track every button click
No. Start with high-signal gameplay and progression events. Add UI micro-events only when they answer a real decision.
Can I use only one analytics provider
Yes. One stable provider is better than multiple fragmented pipelines early on.
How often should I review telemetry
At least weekly during development and after every playtest milestone or live patch.
Final takeaway
These 10 telemetry events give indie teams enough signal to improve onboarding, pacing, and economy decisions without overengineering analytics. Ship this baseline early, keep naming strict, and validate events like any other gameplay system.
If this was useful, bookmark it and share it with your design and programming leads before your next milestone review.