May - June Update

It’s been a while since I left an update on the blog, so I figured I would let those that are interested in on what I’ve been up to the past few months.

In terms of raw Game Development, I haven’t done too much. In regards to taking in different types of design methods that are in games, I have learned/experienced quite a bit. Something that I have been doing this Summer, is trying new game genres I’ve never tried before and seeing what makes them “fun”. These genres include MMORPGs, Turn-Based Games, and mobile Gacha Games (don’t really think this is a genre per se, but most of them do share similar mechanics).

Final Fantasy XIV

MMORPGs or Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games, seem to be mostly what they sound like, RPG type games with the ability to play in a world that is occupied with a large amount of real players. MMORPGs have always been something that I have wanted to get into, but I have typically been steered away from playing them due to their pricing models.

It is common for most MMORPGs to have a base price of admission, a subscription to continue playing, and the purchase of expansions in order to play new content. Where MMORPGs can excel however, is the amount of content they have to offer. The game I decided to play was Final Fantasy XIV, a game that has seemed to only get more popular as time goes on. In most MMORPGs the player will get the option to choose what class they would like to play as, these are typically a tank, healer, and damage (DPS) role with unique playstyles for each.

From what I can tell, most MMORPGs allow the player to change their role, or even have multiple roles once they reach a certain amount of progression within the game, this is useful if the player decides that a role isn’t what they expected, or if they want to try something new.

One of the biggest issues with MMORPGs in my opinion, is the amount of time that is required in order to get to a “good” spot in the game. Once the player reaches their max level, the game will then begin to offer more challenging content, as well as using many of the game/design mechanics they may have introduced earlier throughout the game, this is where the game can show it’s true potential. When that potential is sometimes hidden behind hours of gameplay, the player may not want to spend the time to get there in the first place, however, this can also make the player feel rewarded for the time they put into the game.

Another issue regarding time put into the MMORPG, is that due to the live-service model, some games may flourish, while others may fail. This can be very unattractive to players, especially those that may not have as much time to play a game as others do. If it takes a player the span of several months to get to the “good” spot in the game, and they then discover the game will be shut down in a few months, it may leave them feeling as if they had wasted their time. On the contrary, if a potential-player were to see that a game has been successful for a few years, they may feel as if they will be too far behind compared to Day One players, and the time investment may not be worth it for them.

These points are not to say that MMORPGs are horrible games however, many of the games within this genre have some of the largest player bases in gaming, as well as being very successful and profitable.

MMORPGs are great for players that might want a game they can “autopilot” on, and see progress for their characters over time, as well as allowing large groups of people to meet online and do whatever they may want to do within the game, such as playing through the game’s content, or even just using the game as a medium for communication.

Persona 4 Golden

Turn-Based Games are another one of the genres that I have been trying somewhat recently, games like The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, Persona 4 Golden, and Fate/Grand Order in particular.

Something I think Turn-Based games do well is allowing the player to think about their actions/strategy in depth compared to non-Turn-Based games. Personally, being able to strategize my moves and counter the enemy in Turn-Based games can be very satisfying and rewarding, however, this kind of gameplay can severely slow down the pace of the game at certain times.

In the games I listed, there will often be times where the player will need to “grind” or fight the same sets of enemies several times, this can get repetitive when the player may know the weakness of a certain enemy and will use the same attack which can lead to the same outcome every time.

One thing I like about Turn-Based Games is that they will typically do a great job at giving the player different ways to play. In games like Skyrim, the player may only need to decide what weapon they would like to use at the beginning of the game, and continue to use it throughout. In Turn-Based Games, different enemy types will typically force the player to utilize different playstyles, as well as being more aware to things like a stamina/magic resource like in Trails in the Sky or Persona. Fate/Grand Order (FGO), utilizes different enemy types to determine the efficiency of attacks, as well as different card (attack) types that specialize in different things such as damage or increasing your odds of landing critical hits on the next turn.

FGO is also a part of the third game genre I had listed, which are mobile Gacha games.

Fate/Grand Order

As I said previously, Gacha games are not technically a game genre, but many of them do share similar gameplay objectives or mechanics. Some of the Gacha games I have tried playing recently include FGO and Genshin Impact.

Both games are entirely free to play with the exception that obtaining new units/characters, require some type of premium currency that can be bought in large amounts, or gathered slowly over time. The acquisition of the new units is also never guaranteed on most rolls (with the exception of “pity” rolls), which means the player must essentially roll a slot machine or open a loot box in order to get the unit they want.

Depending on the personality of the player, this can obviously be very dangerous/harmful to those that are susceptible to gambling, and low rates of obtaining a rare character the player wants very much means that luck will typically not be on their side.

The opposite end of the spectrum of course is someone being lucky and being able to get the units they want with little investment, either financially or through time.

Gacha games typically include some form of “stamina” system where the player will only be allowed to do a certain amount of quests within the game. These quests typically take the form of grinding for specific items or materials that are then used to level up items in the game. Once a player runs out of stamina they may have other opportunities to “artificially” raise it, or they can wait for it to refill naturally over time.

This is one of the things I personally like the most about Gacha games, and why they work very well on mobile devices.

• pick up and play

• low time investment (sometimes)

• high time investment (sometimes)

The reason why a low/high time investment can exist for these kinds of games is due to the fact that many Gacha games hold “events”, where the player may be incentivized to do certain tasks during a specified day/week.

This means the player can have times where they may be playing very little, or a lot depending on their personal habits or their desires within the game.

Genshin Impact

As a result of playing these games, I have come to enjoy a lot of them. MMORPGs are still not my favourite kind of game, but I can still see why many find them enjoyable. On the other hand, I have found that many Gacha games and live service mobile games are more interesting than I had once thought and they are definitely something I would like to continue exploring.