Retention, or why the user will return to the game? Continuation

Hi, Habr!

This is a continuation of the first part of the article about what tools exist to influence the retention of a game. I also recall that the concept of "retention" is more applicable to the active phase of work and the development of a social or mobile game. It is unlikely that the same mechanisms apply to cases where we pereprohodim games that were played 5 years ago.

In the previous part, we looked at a set of tools to influence retention, among which were the introduction of characters and the plot component, ratings, interaction with friends, and so on. It's time to enlarge this list!

Game layers

The game should provide space for “strategic” decisions, but this space should be expanded gradually. No matter how interesting the game loop (game loop) is, sooner or later it will get boring, so the player must be provided with other game “layers”. In this case, the user's interest will be maintained and he will remain in the game.
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Look at the picture below - on the left the progenitor, the ideological inspirer of evil birds. Crush the Castle. The game is popular, but no more. On the right is the famous Angry Birds. The first game is not particularly pulling back, there is no need to rerun the mission. Well, the stars that have not been received in the second game are beckoning.


Maybe it's all about the stars? No, not only, but the stars are important.

What is the matter? Most likely, the fact is that although the game revolution in both games is about the same, in Engry Birds there is a “second bottom”.

Wait, what is a game revolution? In general, this is the main repetitive game mechanics. In terms of game development from the point of view of programming there is the concept of a game cycle (also game loop), it is described in the article “Game cycles or ElectroCardioGam” . Here is a quote from there:

Each game contains a sequence of calls for reading user input, updating the game state, processing AI, playing music and sound effects, drawing graphics. This sequence of calls is performed within the game cycle.

In comparison, the game turn I want to highlight in a separate term, describing them repeated actions of the player, not the program. Here are some examples of game turns:

• Aim from a slingshot → shoot a bird on the construction of pigs and blocks → get into blocks and move / destroy them → assess the result to aim with a slingshot.
• Plant corn → wait a while → harvest the crop and sell everything on the market → plant the corn with the money.
• Correctly turn the figure → drop it into the “glass” → watch how the lines are removed → get a new figure from above, assess the situation and turn the figure in the right way.

If the question of the game revolution will interest you, dear reader, then I will write a separate article on this topic. Just write me about your interest in a personal message.

So back to adding game layers. So that the game was not boring and shallow, the game turns are expanded with the help of game layers.

For example, an additional game layer in everyone's favorite game about the opposition of birds and pigs - getting stars and opening new levels. You must admit that it is boring and quickly boring to just shoot birds by designs. But the stars give the game depth and interest.

In a variety of social farms, the game layers are additional buildings that facilitate or accelerate the game revolution. The quest system is also a game layer. It directs the player and provides the opportunity to choose whether to plant the necessary plants and receive a bonus, or to plant any other plants (perhaps more economically profitable) at the player’s own discretion.

In Tetris, an additional playing layer is the acceleration of falling figures. Even the assortment of pieces gives the player an extra depth of play.

So, the game layers allow you to make the game more diverse and more interesting, to look at it from the other side. For retention it is important that these layers be - then the player is interested in exploring them. The user will return to the game again and again not for routine actions, but in the search for and realization of themselves in other game layers.

And here is an example of a deliberate simulation of the game coil from Magic Land developers (Magic Land):


Square arrows show the game turn, rounded arrows show the game layer.

When creating game layers, you should follow these simple tips:

1. Do not confuse the addition of a game "layer" with the creation of a separate game turn

The game layer is always based on the game turn, thereby deepening it, forcing it to serve other purposes, while the game layer itself is a dummy without a game turn. Getting the game layer, the user does not learn again, but masters the “addition”, already skillfully operating with the game turn - there we bring additional interest. Creating another game turn, we switch the user's attention and create a new interest - this way is much more risky, because the new interest will not necessarily satisfy the players.

A good example of the differences can be seen in space rangers. The main game turn in this excellent game - equipped the ship → flew from the planet → shot the pirates / transported the cargo / robbed the merchants → got a profit and equipped the ship better than before. But many users didn’t like arcade and text mini-games that were woven into the main game revolution. At the same time, the creation of a global enemy in the person of Mahpela is the addition of a game layer. After all, now to the list of "shot pirates / transported cargo / robbed traders" is added "shot aliens / beat off the system."


On the left, turn-based strategy, you can even see the button “end the turn” in the lower right corner.
On the right is pure arcade. Do you think these are two different games? No, it's all "Space Rangers" !

2. It is necessary to carefully introduce game layers, which, according to their dynamics, differ from the dynamics of the game turn.

Imagine that in your favorite tactical shooter (for example, take X-COM ), the chance of hitting a fighter against an opponent additionally depends on the user's ability to quickly and accurately aim. Imagine such a gameplay - we bring the fighter to a vantage point, cover the rear, count all the opponent’s reaction options, press the shooting button and ... Now we need to aim for 3 seconds and aim the trigger as if we are playing the new Call of Duty. I think this game would be a failure. And why?

That's because the game turn of tactical strategy differs in dynamics from the dynamics of the game layer. The dynamics of the game as a whole - measured, there is time to think. The dynamics of the game layer, in turn, is fast and reactive - because of this discrepancy, these two game mechanics are not combined.
This example is hypertrophied for better understanding, but you can find similar inconsistencies, for example, in the new Cityville 2 from Zingy. Together with the consistent and measured development of the city, the user has to “time and quickly click” to get game bonuses. Such a mechanism does not add a bit of retention.


To get a bonus for collecting taxes, you have to click clearly and in time exactly when the pointer is in the "blue zone"

3. The game should allow players to find the best solution of the many possible

The game layer is an additional plane of freedom for the player. You should not limit it and lead the user "on rails." At the same time, you should not make a broad, but equivalent choice - in this case, the player will not be interested in choosing from, in fact, the same path in different wrappers.

Smart Dive

This item is paired with the previous one, but for a certain narrative logic, I singled it out separately.

In order for the user to return to the game, each time you need to please him with new tasks and challenges, that is, add a game layer after layer. The smooth addition and unfolding of game mechanics is called smart immersion. It is important to observe a certain balance in the "layering" speed. An overly quick game mechanic addiction will result in the player becoming confused. A too slow addition will naturally make the game boring. And we are talking about both constant updates and opening up additional features in the game with the player's progress.

Many game developers take this moment into account when they start, when the game is still fairly simple, but then they forget about new users without blocking many possibilities in their path. Try to enter into some long-playing social farm - one million of all kinds of small-scale game layers crash on a new user (you) right after training. And this applies not only to farms. But the fact is that the developer focuses on the target audience of updates and downloadable content - on users who have already mastered the basic mechanics. In this case, the developer rarely thinks that this content can confuse the novice.


Empires & Allies from Zingi. This is how much everything falls on the head of a poor player at a time.

Hunger

The user should not get fed up with the game, and the feeling of hunger for the game itself will lead him back after a while. This element appeared relatively recently and is inherent in games on social networks.

It would seem, why the user is to be excommunicated from the game, because he may leave it and not return. However, the very fact of limited stay in the game increases the value of the time spent in it. The player is not fed up with the game, she does not bother him. For a single player, there are frequent cases when, after a sleepless night, a tired, jaded player closes the game in order to remove it later in the evening. Even the fascinating gameplay and unfinished plot does not save in this case, because the player just got tired, he too received a lot of positive emotions.


It is very annoying ...

Despite the fact that this tool is effective, there are great risks in it - complete weaning from the game can repel the player if such a barrier looks artificial. This is especially noticeable in social farms - the main obstacle in many such games is the limited amount of energy. Out of energy - go drink coffee, work and come in an hour or two .

But there are other, “soft” incarnations. A mild excommunication may take the form of some substantial bonus that disappears after a certain time. Instead of a gross restriction, you can only make a message to the player: “Hey, it’s more profitable to play a little, but often!”.

In the World of Warcraft ( World of Warcraft ), one of the most popular MMORPGs in the world, this is implemented using the Rested Bonus system.

Blue strip - gained experience. A small pointer in a couple of sectors shows how much more you can gain experience "on discounts."

Unpredictability and elements of chance

The user must be thrown up at least some surprises during the game, so that he does not feel the "mechanistic" gameplay. Which is better: a game of chess or eagle / tails? Of course, this is a matter of taste, but for the purpose of preserving and increasing retention it is important to find a middle ground between the complete predictability of the game and complete coincidence. An excessive level of randomness will damage that the player does not feel its importance and importance; an excessive level of predictability will lead to a rapid satiation of the game.

Adding elements of randomness to logically constructed games leads to a lot of positive moments. For example, if an action needs to spend a unit of energy, then it is possible to return it with a certain probability to the player. This gives him an ephemeral hope of only one unit to go a long way to his goal. This, even if an imaginary opportunity spurs the player to return to the game almost every 5 minutes in the hope that it is this, the last unit of energy that will allow him to reach the end of the task or get a new level.

The same is with the loss of things, resources, damage. A small scatter gives the game liveliness and hope, which the player realizes by entering the game again and again.


How many dropped out. The Butcher has truly deep pockets!

The element of chance together with the non-linear gameplay can generate interesting situations that players lighten up on blogs, tell friends. If the game provokes many similar situations, this creates additional informational support.

Emotional response

The game world should be glad that the user is back in the game, happy with every action of the player and every achievement. Daily visitation encouragement systems can now be found in every game - if a player enters the game every day, he will eventually receive an exciting bonus! Providing such emotional explosions when a player gets a serious prize is very important for motivation. For example, does the player want to get a new level, will he enter the game every hour and spend the accumulated energy in order to only get a new figure on the level indicator? If you encourage the player to replenish energy, give money and open up new opportunities, the desire to achieve a new level (and therefore return to the game) will be much stronger.


I was congratulated. Trifle, but nice!

In addition to real prizes, you can simply praise the player during his game. It is not necessary to put all the benefits on the rails. Well, a nice word and cat like.


In XCOM, the mission was not injured by any of the operatives. And although they give nothing for it, they praise me on the radio and tell me what a great commander I am.

Mystery and perspective view

From the very first minutes in the game, the user must understand that he still has much to discover, explore and do. Curiosity is the engine of this process. By showing the player undiscovered locations, inaccessible opportunities, we provoke the player to their early achievement. By this we set some strategic, global goals for the user. In addition, by showing perspective in the form of “an improved tractor will be available from level 12” or “for obtaining the next level you will discover a new special ability” we give the player a real motivator and answer the question “why do I need another stupid level?”

The new shooter about giant humanoid robots clearly explains why the user levels:


Do not get me a new radiator to level 8 ...

Other pleasures for retention

There are a few more tools that can not be said. Many of them seem obvious, so we will not dwell on them as the previous ones.

Delaying start and training. According to statistics, it takes about 20 minutes to “tighten” the player. In order for a player to return to the game, he needs to provide what he does not want to lose and for what he will return later. This may be a pair of initial levels, a pair of unlocked items or a bonus expiring after a certain time.

Technical excellence. The game should be stable and easy to use, it should work comfortably, load quickly. The download speed of the game should not go off-scale.

Localization. If possible, the game should speak to the player in his or her own language. This is less relevant for local products, but for global products it is an important factor in increasing retention. So, the French, in view of the peculiarities of their mentality, are unlikely to return to the game in English.

Interesting game turn. The mechanics of the game, its main stage should bring pleasure thousands, tens of thousands of times in a row.

Wow factor . The game should in the first minutes cause any emotions to the user. Simply put, it should "hook".

Feeling of completion. This item is specific to social games - this game should give the user a sense of completion. Leaving the game, the user wants to be sure that he did everything he could and leaves the game in “good condition” - his protagonist is safe, vegetables are ripening on the farm, all tribute is collected, the weapon is cleaned and the spaceship is ready for any moment the start.

Instead of conclusions

Instead of conclusions, I would like to appeal to all game developers - make good interesting games, take care of your every player and always be one step ahead. Come up with more mechanics and tools to keep users in the game, show originality in approaches. The tools outlined above should serve as an inspiration and basis for you, but not the magic instruction “How to rivet another game without straining your brain and make a billion”.

Well, I will try to keep this list up-to-date and, I hope, I will soon write a separate article about your extraordinary invention!

Microshoe trap

I am now at a crossroads - there are many more topics on which I have material, experience and the desire to share it with you. And I want to know, what would you be interested to read after a while? Here are more topics that I want to highlight:

1. Virality, virality (virality).
2. Monetization of social games and everything about it.
3. Game coil and game layer: from, A to Z.
4. Creating a puzzle quest-style game (puzzle adventure). From idea to release in many parts (including a detailed description of the code architecture, the process of drawing scenes and characters, the creation of a game script).
5. Hybridization of games, or how to mix two dissimilar Ira?

Just leave a comment or reset the topic number with a personal message - I really wonder what the Habra community prefers to read about.

See you again!