Making a game addicting (so fun that you can't stop playing it)...

Topic: Making a game addicting (so fun that you can't stop playing it)... (Read 885 times)

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dada

#21 July 08, 2010, 09:33:06 pm

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Quote from: Mateui on July 08, 2010, 12:59:58 pm

Alright, I'll concede that point, however addicting is a verb whereas addictive is an adjective. Since we're describing a game as having this quality, addictive is the correct term. We wouldn't called an attractive girl "attracting", now would we? (Sorry for taking this a little off-topic, this is just a huge petpeeve of mine. I blame this on addictinggames.com.. I think that's what's been spreading this. lol)

As fellow grammar nazi I feel I need to butt in here. You're right that you don't say "that girl is attracting [me]", but it's still syntactically a valid sentence. The difference with "this game is addicting [me]" is that this has some mainstream support and is generally accepted as an alternative. Valid syntax is never objectionable, except if it doesn't have any acceptance.

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Biggles

#22 July 08, 2010, 10:07:46 pm

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Quote from: Ragnar on July 08, 2010, 05:12:41 pm

sorry yeah I probably said it wrong but yeah I meant it more for RPGs and stuff since a lot of the stuff on here is made with RPG Maker 2003 XP VX?? I meant it less in the sense of 'lol metal gear solid game with more FMVs than actual gameplay' and rather 'don't magically expect your music/graphics to sound/look good in the context of a game, or your story to be better-written because little pixelated midgits on the screen are acting it out (case in point those 'RPG Maker movies' where you just watch people say shit in RPG Maker) well ok maybe not that but you should have a script written for the game and if you can't make someone care about the characters just by the text like in a regular book you shouldn't expect them to care because they have some extra dimension of being a little pixel dude. I think the 'games have an extra dimension than other media' thing is cheap basically, that's like Avatar thinking

oh yeah okay i get what you mean. it's pretty bizarre how often that whole 3D GLASSES YES trick works though. i mean, i remember watching the making of god of war and the combat designer i think is like MY STRATEGY FOR PLACING ENEMIES IS I PLACE THEM EVERYWHERE. the other thing that's really cheap is people thinking that more freedom or different choices in a game makes it inherently more fun. i guess a lot of people really dig the whole sandbox idea but i dunno. it's hard to bother making choices at all when it doesn't matter either way what you pick. games that focus heavily on plot/narritive/characters need strong scripts just to build player attachment, i think. not that that's the only reason to write one, but without it you might as well not have a game. if the choices people make carry no weight then there's nothing interesting or fun or meaningful about making them.

Quote from: Dada on July 08, 2010, 09:33:06 pm

As fellow grammar nazi I feel I need to butt in here. You're right that you don't say "that girl is attracting [me]", but it's still syntactically a valid sentence. The difference with "this game is addicting [me]" is that this has some mainstream support and is generally accepted as an alternative. Valid syntax is never objectionable, except if it doesn't have any acceptance.

time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana

Last Edit: July 08, 2010, 10:09:24 pm by Biggles

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thecatamites

#23 July 08, 2010, 11:06:50 pm

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idk i feel like making a distinction between "fun/addictive" and actually compelling where the latter has to do with what's already been said about a cohesive world and good design and writing etc and the former has to do with gross manipulative casino-psychology-level stuff like flashing lights and big numbers and a false sense of achievement/winning (can't quit now i've almost got the horns of icarus!!) but i'm not completely sure if these things are completely different at heart. it's not really a debate i want to get into though.
but yeah i guess the main things are a false sense of achievement followed with the promise of something good around the next corner. this article talks about that a bit and how stuff like that is apparantly really important for casual games but really i think the only difference between them and more XXhardcoreXX games has to do with the extent the audience has already internalised all the gross reward/punishment stuff. like all the garbage about score and achievements etc are so completely taken for granted that they have to be rendered in the most direct and ostentatious way possible to even be noticeable. incidentally this is why i think you have to renounce the idea of GAMES SHOULD BE FUN as anything worth striving for if you want to get anywhere remotely interesting :doom:

Last Edit: July 08, 2010, 11:08:22 pm by thecatamites

http://harmonyzone.org

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Renegade

#24 July 08, 2010, 11:14:51 pm

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World of Warcraft has 14 million players paying $15/mo to play. What makes it so addictive?

- Always choices of what to do next. It piles you up with so many quests, and quests off quests, that you never run out of something that needs doing.
- Competition: you want the better skills, the higher level, the better equipment, better mount and better pet than the next guy. And since there is always someone that is a bigger nerd than you, there is always a challenge of trying to get better.
- Human interaction: player vs player, groups, a variety of quests that require multiple people to play.
- Options: The sheer size of the game gives you a near unlimited ability to explore. You get to pick your race, and each race starts out in a different place.
- Free-roaming and non-linear with direction.

Hey, 14 million people can't all be wrong. I on the other hand, think that the quests are repetitive and unoriginal. And since I don't p lay well with others, I have no interest in anything but the exploration, which is stunted with hordes of shitty, never-ending, repetitive collection quests.

Sweet online game in alpha.
http://trisphere-rpg.com/index.php?refer=bucchus

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Vellfire

#25 July 09, 2010, 12:10:01 am

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Nah I'm pretty sure the reason people keep playing WoW is because you never have a sense of completeness ever. It makes sure that you've always got something that needs to be done, and so you never feel like you've got a good stopping point, which is a pretty cheap way to keep someone playing.

It's the difference between playing a game because you really like it and playing it because you feel like you have to to get things done. I said this on IRC but it's more of a task than a game.

I love this hobby - stealing your mother's diary
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Renegade

#26 July 09, 2010, 01:38:03 pm

It's coming along nicely...
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"It makes sure that you've always got something that needs to be done,"

Yeah, that's what I said.

"It piles you up with so many quests, and quests off quests, that you never run out of something that needs doing."

I just elaborated on more points. I know for a fact that the human interaction has something to do with it because A) I have friends that are addicted to playing the game together, and B) people use it as a social networking tool. So yes, there is more than one tool used for making it addictive.

"I said this on IRC but it's more of a task than a game."

When you break it down every game is a series of tasks. The only difference in regards to WoW from other games is that you can never complete them all. I wasn't in any way debating to say WoW is fun. In fact, I think its a great concept done wrong and completely ruined. I was just pointing out some of the tools they use to make it addictive.

Sweet online game in alpha.
http://trisphere-rpg.com/index.php?refer=bucchus

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Biggles

#27 July 09, 2010, 02:28:56 pm

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no actually "series of tasks" is only really a good model for the analysis of mmorpg games. breaking down pokemon, for example, as a series of tasks would be cumbersome and feel dumb. you can criticise pokemon in better and more interesting ways. mmorpg games are not typically better or interesting so comparing them to shopping lists and addictive drugs is sufficient.

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dada

#28 July 09, 2010, 09:21:17 pm

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Quote from: thecatamites on July 08, 2010, 11:06:50 pm

:doom:

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Vellfire

#29 July 09, 2010, 09:25:34 pm

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:doom:

I love this hobby - stealing your mother's diary
BRRING! BRRING!
Hello! It's me, Vellfire! FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER! ... Bye! CLICK! @gidgetnomates

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dada

#30 July 09, 2010, 09:28:10 pm

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:doom:

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Vellfire

#31 July 09, 2010, 09:29:04 pm

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:doom:

:freak:

what now, mr. sikma????

edit by omeg:
:doom:

:freak:

edit:

:doom:

:freak:

Last Edit: July 09, 2010, 09:35:50 pm by Vellfire

I love this hobby - stealing your mother's diary
BRRING! BRRING!
Hello! It's me, Vellfire! FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER! ... Bye! CLICK! @gidgetnomates

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Roman

#32 July 10, 2010, 01:09:50 am

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Quote from: Mateui on July 08, 2010, 12:59:58 pm

Alright, I'll concede that point, however addicting is a verb whereas addictive is an adjective. Since we're describing a game as having this quality, addictive is the correct term. We wouldn't called an attractive girl "attracting", now would we? (Sorry for taking this a little off-topic, this is just a huge petpeeve of mine. I blame this on addictinggames.com.. I think that's what's been spreading this. lol)

actually

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big ass skelly

#33 July 10, 2010, 01:28:57 am

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I recognise addicting as a legit word but it can still fuck off. Like that pencil says, it makes me scowl

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Thera Dratara

#34 July 17, 2010, 12:25:27 am

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The reason why games are fun is because you learn from them. A game is addicting when the challenges are at the precise level that they are not too easy nor too difficult. When a game has that kind of balance, it's considered to have flow(There's a flash game called flow that investigates this concept by allowing the player to indicate the difficulty).

If you're truly interested in game design, try to get your hands on 'A theory of fun' or 'The art of game design: a book of lenses' they're both invaluable. The science investigating what fun is and what games are and their effects on us, is called 'Ludology'.

sincerely,
a gamedesign student.

- Therahedwig

Thera's deviantart page

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skarik

#35 July 17, 2010, 01:02:36 am

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I wasted hours on flOw.

I made a few games I've wasted time on. Like c0re and Jurin'Gra.
c0re I try to beat my own high score so the developer of the game can actually be at the top of the leaderboards. -_-'
Jurin'Gra just is about 2 hours of gameplay. So if I want to test it. Like the whole thing. I spend about 5 hours.

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