ENGAGEMENT IN GAMES
- ep3g19
- May 6, 2021
- 4 min read
Developing a series of puzzle interactions for Anima Mundi is something that must be done with extreme attention to detail. Here I will be documenting my research into games from a User's point of view, focusing mainly on how to keep players engaged throughout.
What makes games so engaging?
"The surprising truth about learning, motivation and mystery" - Amy Jo Kim
My research will be based on how to grab people's attention and create an engaging experience.
NOTES:
"Progressive skill-building" - Keeping players engaged by helping them get better at something meaningful. This could be done through the use of rewards or some kind of point system. Also to ease players into gameplay so they notice improvement over time.
"Forget Points" - Think Character Transformation
In this article, Amy Jo Kim speaks about the importance in Character transformation over elements such as levels, leaderboards and other progress metrics. These are essentially ways for players to gauge where they stand and their point of success however, Kim states that they are meaningless. To create something truly engaging she recommends taking into account "character transformation, skill-building and empowering mastery".
I believe focusing on the intricacy of puzzles, the abilities of the player and the environment around them are the 3 main factors we should be focusing on for Anima Mundi. Making it clear to the player that they have evolved overtime, whether this is getting used to their own abilities or completing puzzles in a more comfortable manor, and to present this during gameplay. Anima Mundi's objective is to take players through a journey of 'Enlightenment and Self-discovery', which must be echoed during gameplay. The way to do this is to give players a sense of control, to put them into the shoes of the player and give them the power to interact in their environment. As we are developing a 2D mobile game, engagement will be most important when focusing on environmental design. Anima Mundi must be visually appealing and focus on the beauty of the game. We should focus on creating an environment that players are attracted to and give them a sense of urge to get stuck in.
"Games are built from systems and rules that engage you in a micro-world — a “magic circle” that’s shared by everyone playing the game. That’s the power and pleasure of a game — you get to take a mini-break from daily life, and spend time (together) in an alternate, simplified reality" - Amy Jo Kim
Games often offer players a method of escapism and distraction, and it's evident from this statement that players purposefully immerse themselves in an alternate reality and play for engagement. (Based on the idea of taking a break from daily life) Anima Mundi can assist this by giving players a place to escape to, and use visuals and sound to do so.
PUZZLE INTERACTIONS:
In terms of the puzzles, interactions must be integrated into the environment to ensure players are fully immersed and this way everything has a purpose. The placement of assets and the structure of the game will be taken very seriously. For players to want to continue playing Anima Mundi there also must be some kind of reward to encourage them to complete these puzzles and hopefully the whole game. The puzzles should be specific to the abilities they have acquired also.
Mastery - "The urge to get better at stuff".
"In a great game, mastering the ruleset is deeply pleasurable". Leaderboards and points aren't considered compelling unless players are personally improving. During the game there should be some kind of representation of success, instead of a typical point system or leaderboard shown to players at the end of the game. To encourage players overtime and have their progression made clear to them I will consider ways of doing this visually during gameplay. An idea could be a change to the environment after each puzzle is completed. As well as this, Purpose is extremely important. Players must have a purpose for playing Anima Mundi and therefore encourage them to perform well. Linking this to methods of engagement, I believe echoing this through the beauty of the environment would work best.
EVALUATION/REFLECTION
From this research I have a better understanding of elements to consider in terms of engagement and where to begin my thought process when creating the main series of puzzle interactions.
Within my first 'Puzzle Research' Blog, I researched into several different puzzle-based games and movies with a similar theme. This assisted my understanding of this genre of gaming and enabled me to begin brainstorming and sketching a series of puzzles for Anima Mundi.
This can be found here: Week by Week > Week 4
NEXT STEPS:
My next steps will be to finalise the puzzle interactions and discuss with the team which interactions we think will work best for our vertical slice and be most appropriate for both the game's objective and theme.
To include in our vertical slice, it's important to take into account the use of audio. This is extremely important when creating an immersive experience for players as they should be made to feel as though they are a part of the game.
- Sound effects
- Soundtrack
- Character audio
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