Data is everywhere. The trick is finding signals through the noise.

Taxonomy is the new superpower: a human-machine hybrid that goes beyond surface metrics to reveal hidden patterns, emotional tone, and meaningful insights.

The Blue Prince and the Puzzle of Player Emotion

In the last couple of months, Blue Prince has taken the gaming world by surprise. Developed by Dogubomb and published by Raw Fury, it didn’t have a flashy AAA-level development budget or a major marketing push. It wasn’t a sequel, prequel, reboot, or spiritual successor to an existing hit IP. And yet, it’s quietly earning that coveted combo of critical acclaim and customer applause.

With breakout hits, it’s unfortunately common to see surface-level analysis give rise to a surface-level takeaway: “Roguelike puzzle-adventures are so hot right now! Stop developing battle royale shooters and start building roguelike puzzle-adventures!”

This is how the industry ends up chasing shadows. One title does well, and suddenly everyone’s pivoting to the most obvious genre label attached to it. But genre alone rarely explains success. It’s a question game studios ask themselves every day: how do we replicate success, not just in mechanics or monetization, but in meaning?

That’s where Lumos comes in.

Why Lumos Sees What Others Don’t

If there's one key differentiator that separates Lumos from other data platforms and tools, it's this: Lumos doesn’t look at games the way a spreadsheet does. It sees games the way players experience them.

Powered by an innovative, deep, and continuously evolving taxonomy built and maintained by Gameopedia, Lumos doesn’t just track raw data, it interprets those metrics to provide users with real, actionable insights. 

We don’t stop at genre labels. Lumos breaks games down into structured layers, identifying every ingredient in the recipe. Beyond primary and secondary genres and sub-genres, we also tag games for genre-specific mechanics, story structure, narrative themes, gameplay loops, monetization methods and perhaps most importantly, emotional tone or vibes. 

This gives Lumos the ability to identify combinations of features, mechanics, and emotional resonances that are often overlooked. 

More importantly, it highlights the hidden patterns that define a game’s identity. 

A Deeper Look at Blue Prince

Let’s go back to Blue Prince for an example. A basic analysis would place it in the puzzle-adventure genre with roguelike elements.

Lumos goes further. It identifies the presence of inventory-based puzzle mechanics, which is a rare feature in adventure games and only found in 10% of titles. It also notes the absence of NPC interaction, a genre staple present in over 55% of adventure games.

This combination of an uncommon inclusion and a notable exclusion reveals a specific emotional experience. Players aren’t guided by dialogue or exposition, but by exploration and environmental storytelling.

Gameopedia’s taxonomy doesn’t just explain what Blue Prince is. It helps explain why it feels the way it does—and why that resonates so strongly with players.

This is the kind of structured insight that can inform design decisions before a single line of code is written.

Why This Matters for Game Studios

When your team works with taxonomy-powered insights, you're no longer just reacting to trends. You’re understanding why they exist and spotting new ones before they emerge.

Instead of another dashboard, you get clarity and confidence. Lumos is a framework to make faster, smarter decisions across every part of the studio, from concept to live ops.

What’s Next?

In our next post, we’ll go deeper into how Gameopedia’s taxonomy is built and how it powers Lumos to deliver strategic intelligence tailored to every role in the studio.

Because data is everywhere. But wisdom is rare.