In my previous blog post I discussed one of the components of a game; building a core game mechanic. In this blog I will continue with the reaming points and finalize with a conclusion.

Easy to learn and fun to play

The reason as to why a person would play a game is to enjoy it. Games like chess have been played for hundreds of years and it is still popular today, part of this success is because it is accessible, yet it has plenty of depth. This should also be true with games. By having a game that is accessible it allows for a larger influx and retention of users to the game. Games which are incredibly complex and require a large amount of knowledge and time about the game itself usually have a large drop off of the amount of users it keeps. In contrast having an incredibly easy game with no depth will make players lose interest rapidly. An example of a game that goes against being easy to learn and is successful is the Souls games, where the player is given minimal information on how to play the game and traverses different environments which are tough to get through and have unforgiving enemies, this contrast of a very high skill level and depth of the game balances well with the sense of satisfaction when completing a task. This shows that although, designing a difficult and stressful games for most people can prove to be very successful if it is the goal of the developer to make a complex game for hardcore players.

 

Reward the player

Everybody loves receiving treats. Rewards are a great way to motivate the player or to congratulate them on completing a certain task or defeating a certain enemy, it gives the player a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. “Even in the earliest games one can see this principle at work. 1970s arcade games like Pong, Gun Fight, and Space Invaders had a scoring system that would encourage players to play again in hopes of getting a better score and/or doing better than a friend” (GameDesigning, n.d.). Microsoft’s Xbox consoles have benefitted immensely by introducing the Achievement system, where every single game has a list of achievements and a score attached to it, it has become such a successful reward system that it drives players to purchase games and play them in order to obtain all achievements. Similar to the rewards programs offered at shops and other businesses. Another way to reward the player is by having special in games items, interactions, events, cut scenes, levels among other things. This drives the player to attempt to obtain those rewards. But the act of rewarding the player should be done in an organized manner so that the rewards do not lose their value or importance to the player.

(Xbox, n.d.)

Conclusion

To conclude there are many aspects of a game that end up creating the complete experience and the importance of each is highly dependent on the game itself but for the most part the three key aspects highlighted over the course of this and my last blog post are very important in a game and can result in a very enjoyable experience that people will want to share with others.

 

References

GameDesigning. (n.d.). The three primary principles of game design. Retrieved from http://www.gamedesigning.org/career/game-design-principles/

Xbox. (n.d.). Retrieved from xboxachievements.com