A brief analysis of the fun of the game

What makes players feel happy in the game? What provides players with the motivation to keep playing? Below I will explain from different aspects Let’s list the fun aspects of the game, which every planner must consider before designing a game. If you want to know more relevant information, please continue to pay attention to our fresh graduate training website.

Goal

No matter what game, the designer will set up some difficulties and obstacles for players to overcome. We usually call this process goals, and the goals can be divided according to time. Divided into short-term, medium-term and long-term goals, players should have clear goals at any time point in the game. Short-term goals can be daily tasks, completing dungeons, doing activities, etc.; mid-term goals can be developing skills, reaching a certain level, or obtaining a certain item; long-term goals can be understood as the top pursuit throughout the game. If your player loses his goal in the game and doesn't know what to do, he will soon be lost. Therefore, the goal must be consistent. After the player achieves a goal, he must design a new goal. Let him pursue it.

Competition and Showoff

Competition will exist in many aspects in the game, not just in combat. The amount of wealth and the splendor of appearance are all factors that trigger competition. As long as something is not done by one person, competition exists objectively.

The purpose of competition is to compare. When there is a gap, comparison provides an opportunity to show off. Showing off is a latent pursuit of human beings. Everyone will intentionally or unintentionally show off what they are good at and avoid their shortcomings. . Thinking back on the 10 years that I have been playing online games, I often see players using different types of equipment to travel through areas densely populated with players, blasting speakers for long periods of time, leveling up day and night, equipping themselves for announcements about the next world, etc. These are all... It reflects the player's pursuit of showing off. According to Maslow's theory, people have five major pursuits, namely physiological, safety, social, esteem and self-actualization. In the game, the last requirement is to show off or honor in the game. This is a very important requirement for players. Therefore, game design should provide as many ways for players to show off as possible to meet this need of players.

Social interaction and interaction

Since the birth of human beings, the need for social interaction has been solidified in DNA. In reality, we are social animals, even in virtual games, players are like this , they need cooperation and desire to have friends and partners. So social interaction and interaction are another part of my game that needs to satisfy players.

The social interaction of most games on the market today is horizontal, that is, strong? strong interaction, weak? weak interaction. Vertical interaction is not done well, or the effect is not as expected. Let me first talk about how I design vertical interaction:

a) Professional skills

First, you can design some professions with their own characteristics, such as human shields, output, treatment assistance, etc. The level design requires multiple people to form a team to pass the level. The skill design ensures that non-weak players must be able to develop 1-2 skills. The strength of the skill effect is related to the level of the skill itself and the attributes of the target party. Weak players can rely on strong players. Obtaining benefits also brings benefits to strong players. In this way, the advantages between strong and weak players are complementary and our design purpose is achieved.

b) Resources

Designing certain props in the game cannot be purchased directly with money, but requires many people to accumulate output through daily accumulation, and these props are strong players It is indispensable to design a supply and demand relationship chain between strong and weak players to generate interaction

c) Master-apprentice system

The master-apprentice (bringing new people) system is a game A system that is frequently used in China, but not many do it well. The main problem is that the revenue design of both parties is not done well, and there is no effective mechanism to solve the problem of building a trumpet band by oneself. By solving these two problems, the purpose of the master-disciple design will be basically achieved.

Benefits of vertical interaction:

(1) Give disadvantaged players a sense of presence and a goal to catch up and work hard, thereby increasing retention and payment rates.

(2) RMB players have something to show off and increase the ARPU value of the game.

(3) It can build a top-down social circle and improve the overall stickiness of the game. It can be seen that in MMO games, vertical interaction is more important than horizontal interaction to a certain extent. Good interaction design is very important for player retention. When you have a solid social circle in the game, even if the game itself is important to the players The fun is lost, because friendship and love exist, and it is not easy for players to give up. We plan to pay more attention to this aspect in future game design.

Surprise and randomness

I think surprise is also very important in games. Where does surprise come from? It is reflected through randomness. There is no playability without randomness. There is no doubt about this. You can think about why for yourself. But randomness alone is not enough, you also need dedication and effort. For example: In reality, if you spend 1 million to buy a wife, will you be surprised? No, because you already know the result. Without randomness, there is no surprise. Another situation is that you are not sure whether you can get this woman, but through your continuous dedication and hard work, you finally impress her and marry her as your wife. You also spent 1 million on this process. Both results are the same, but the final experience is completely different because of the different processes. Why is playing mahjong fun? This is also true!

Back to the game itself, the player directly spends money to get a prop, and there is no sense of surprise for him, but if we modify it, we get This prop has only completed the first step. It also needs to reach a random second step or even a third step that cannot be bought with money. If he completes the next two steps, even if he spends money, the sense of surprise will still be there. magnified countless times.

No MMORPG game should stifle the player's chance of success. Even in that era, "Legend" could only be considered average in terms of operation and graphics. Why it became so popular is because every ordinary player enters the game with a dream that cannot be realized in reality. They are eager to make it through hard work and luck. Be happy by being respected. The early legends met everyone's needs, so it became popular, it's that simple. Analyzing the deeper reasons, in reality everyone longs for social fairness and justice, and a fair chance to compete regardless of their origins. If they cannot see the hope of success, they will be disappointed or even despair, and their demands will also be passed on to In the game, if your game cannot meet their needs, then they will leave. No one wants to be someone else's green leaf and sparring partner all his life. Even if he is weak now, he must be able to see the way to success. Only by working hard can you stay in the game. To retain this hope, randomness must be inseparable. As for how low the probability of success is, players don't care, so even if it is only one in 10,000, it doesn't matter.

Nowadays, the strengthening gameplay of some web games is controlled by game currency. As long as there are game coins, the strengthening will be successful. Friends who have played it should have feelings. Will you be surprised during the strengthening process? ?No, maybe the process of obtaining game currency requires effort, but lacks randomness, so you are just numbly saving money? Strengthen such a cycle, and players will not have any emotional fluctuations during the cycle. This gameplay is a failure in my opinion. But it also has the advantage that the pursuit of game currency can last throughout the game process and become a long-term pursuit and goal for players. But I still add as many random elements as possible into my games, but I have to pay attention to the proportional distribution between effort and randomness. Whether it is three points for effort and seven points for randomness or half for each, it depends on you. Project positioning is a matter of opinion. ;