The principles of midcore games success. Part 2: Hold

Hold is the basis of a successful F2P game. Players return to the game day after day, month after month, because the game has become a vital service. But to create such a motivator is the highest barrier for developers. Therefore, in this part I will tell how to overcome this barrier with a well-thought out basic cycle, a balanced economy and - of course - events.

This is the second part of the translation cycle about successful midcore games. Here is the first part , and of course do not forget to go to Michael's blog .

* Social mechanics, of course, are extremely important for keeping players and players progress, however I will leave them outside of this post, but I will definitely return to them in the following.
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the main goal

I think there is no better way to keep a player than to create a situation in which he would set tasks for himself. Such self-motivated players will enter the game many times during the day. Stop by to reach your goals. But how to create a base of such players? First of all, you need to encourage them for their progress and punish them if progress has begun to fall back.

So, the desire to improve something in your game will grow into a desire to progress. And the desire to progress is damn powerful, it will force players to set goals for themselves and work on optimizing their game. My opinion is that the desire to become better should be the main goal of the player. Because in a good f2p game the improvement of the game is equal to progress, and the progress is equal to the time spent in the game.

I personally divide the progress incentives into positive and negative. Positive promise the player that he will be better, reach the highest peaks. Negative punish, if progress gave back.

Positive incentives

A game store is one of the best ways to encourage a player’s desire to progress. For example, the price and conditions for unlocking a new unit create a very transparent target. It must be said that the location and order of closed units is also very important - the latter are the most valuable and desirable.


^{Unlocking new units is a transparent target for players. Moreover, each new unit promises to improve the results of the game.}

Negative incentives

Player progress should slow down exponentially. Timers will increase, and prices will rise, slowing and slowing progress. And at some point it seems that the next unit or price is not visible in the foreseeable future. It is then that a negative incentive and should tell the player: "Not one step back!".


^{A successful foray is a prime example of a negative stimulus. The player understands that his fortifications are not so good and he urgently needs to develop in order to protect himself.}

It is very important not to forget about social mechanics, during the development of incentives for progress. Because progress is not a variable that is easy to measure in numbers. But the opportunity to compare their successes with friends and other players, one way or another, will lead either to alliance or to war.

Subtasks

Subtasks are all the steps that a player needs to take to achieve the ultimate goal. I personally like to set up subtasks in an interdependent economy. For example, CoC stands out among other strategic games just such an economy. She gives you a transparent goal, but she hides how long it really is to reach it. Thus, the road to the goal seems to players simple and easily accessible. And only in the middle of the path they will understand how long the path is, but the players have already invested so much that there is no way to turn back.


^{Unblocking the next unit, at first glance, is simple - it is enough to improve Baraki. But first you need to improve the Town Hall. Oh, and the improvement of the Town Hall costs so much that it is impossible to do without improving the Gold Storage. It seems everything is logical? True to all this will take 21 days. A couple of raids and the deadline will double.}

There are two approaches to subtasks. The first is when a game designer almost leads the player along the path of progress. The second is to give players freedom. Yes, then the player's progress may not be optimal. However, the released progress gives developers information about how the average player develops, whether everything he does is true. And already this information “gives” the TK for the next update of the game.


<sup>Here is the game Kabam. It leads the player to the final goal through the rigid structure of the missions. This allows you to control the process of the game and optimize it.


Supercell uses an achievement system that binds the player to the base cycle even more. Yes, progress will not be optimal, but the players are given enough freedom to set tasks for themselves, and not only do what the game tells them.</sup>

Events

Regular events are a powerful tool that influences both short-term involvement and long-term retention. Because of its nature, events motivate the player to spend an incredible amount of time in the game for the short life of the event itself.

The typical duration of an event is measured in hours, a few days and, in rare cases, weeks. Usually, events are held for some experienced players. In general, an event is a spark that can support the player’s fading interest and create a long-term hold.

Any successful event has three common key points. First, it is a limited lifetime of the event. Secondly, the reward is unique only for the event, which is given only if the player managed to complete all the tasks on time and which cannot be bought. The uniqueness of the award is important for the involvement of players, and the inability to buy it adds status. Plus, the issuance of awards works well on hold, because, again, winning such an award will be something new for a veteran who is already tired of the game. Thirdly, it is very important that the event supports the basic cycle, instead of adding something new to it.

Example: Marvel War of Heroes

From time to time, in PvE quests, the player receives the Treasure (collection item). Each collection item is, of course, part of a collection that consists of six such items. As soon as the player collects all six, he receives a unique card. It turns out that a complete collection gives a reward plus protects this collection from robbery - free Treasure can be stolen, but the complete collection cannot be.


^{Players can steal the missing treasures, and, at the same time, cover the stolen goods with temporary shields.}

Of course, having one rare card is not enough - in card games you need at least two cards to turn them into one superpower. Therefore, the player wants to finish the collection three times - the first time to get the X card, the second time to get another rare card (this is the mechanics of the game), the third time to get the X card again, and finally, collect the coveted super power unit.

It is especially interesting that the player can steal from others, but others are allowed to steal from the player. The chain of thefts will end only when the collection is finished.

Why stealing in a game is an amazing way to monetize:

• The player needs to collect a collection very quickly, because someone lacks precisely those Treasures that are in his repository. And being quick means buying PvP energy, which is usually not enough.
• The player must have a strong attacking deck in order to successfully steal. That is, it would be good to buy a couple of decks, if you have not been able to overcome someone’s defense several times already.
• The player must have a strong protective deck to fend off thieves. That is, it would be good to buy a couple of decks if you are regularly robbed.
• Also, the player can set a temporary shield on the unfinished collection. Moreover, if someone tries to snitch a protected good, then he is automatically assigned a defeat. At the same time, the animation of the defeat is so degrading that the player wants to go and buy shields on their collections - only so that the robbers regret it.

Make every gaming session meaningful.

Hold is, simply, the most significant metric in the game. Successful examples in the industry hold players for months, motivating to play half a dozen sessions per day. The player, in total, spends no less than an hour a day on these games.

To achieve these indicators, developers must make sure that their players want to progress. Moreover, the path of progress must lie through an interdependent economy. By the way, I don’t spend time on so-called retaining chips at all, such as a daily bonus or pop-up reminders, because this is all plaster. Instead, I focused on the economics of the game and its balance.

In general, awaken in players the desire to become better and set goals to the horizon. And then decide for yourself, or you will lead them by the handle through the rigid structure of the missions, or give them the opportunity to set tasks for themselves. In any case, make sure that each game session, at least in small steps, but brings them closer to the cherished goal.