Every time I have a conversation, I keep talking about how I use gamification mostly to learn from games. Seeing how games manage specific situations and apply them to everyday life in some way.
Today, I want to think briefly about how games manage player expectations, from how players know what they can expect from the game itself, to how to keep players informed throughout the match.
Attraction: what are you going to play?
When I was young, I often began to experiment with playing video games by reading reviews and reviews in magazines. This will get me interested at first, create buzz about what the game will be like, hints at what the game will be like, climax in graphics etc.
Now, this often happens online with youtube videos and websites. But, this is still all part of the experience, drawing players into the shiny new game. It’s about trying to introduce you to what or what You may be able to play.
After that, you will go to the store and see the game in its box. The art on the cover, screenshots on the back, and the story and the decorations are there for you to read while you’re considering a purchase. Only good chest art can sell the game to the average buyer!
All of this is now done via online stores like Steam or Xbox Live via videos and screenshots – however, the idea is the same. Once the player has made a decision to maybe Buy the game, give them more encouragement by showing them what or what To expect from the game.
Introduction and Instructions: Why and How to Play
Once you make a purchase, you’ll take your game home, open the chest and read the guide and anything else that might have been included in the game. Not only will the guide tell you how To play the game, but also would set the scene for Why You are playing the game – it offers a background story and interesting information about the theme of the game. In some cases, you may get a separate novel!
Games today have to do this mostly when you start playing, especially when you buy games online and never see a physical chest! You can usually download a guide of some kind, but games are able to provide that kind of information in tutorials and stories. The idea is the same again, giving you context and setting the scene – creating expectations about Why you play and how.
The Predicament: Misleading Expectations
At this point, you had a pretty good idea of ​​what to expect in the game. Back in the day, where all I did was read the manuals and look at the screenshots – there might still be a nasty surprise in the store when the game doesn’t look or play the way you expect. This wasn’t uncommon unfortunately because the rules about how games are marketed can sometimes be gray… The game often shows graphics from a machine with better specs than yours, for example, a Commodore Amiga compared to a C64 – and uninitiated will be caught Beginners, it ended up with a game that looked and played far below expectations. This could destroy your belief in the game, the magazine that featured it and the developers who made it!
However, the likelihood of this happening these days is much lower!
end of part one
I decided to split this into two parts, for a simple reason – this is too long – also, always make them want more!
But what have we learned so far so that we can pass it on? This just looked at things that happen before a player starts playing right. However, we have already made three main expectations
- what They are going to play
- What will the experience look like, what is it about etc.
- Why They are going to play
- What is the motivation for doing the tasks that the experience will provide. In games, this refers to the plot of the story, saving the alien planet from evil robots.
- This gamification has several meanings. It can be the narrative, it can be the motivation we focus on or it can be more realistic like mandatory training or learning to drive.
- how They are going to play
- What are the rules of the game and how do I play it? This is all about instructions and tutorials, giving the player enough information to start succeeding.
This all seems transferable to me! In the second part, I will look at how games manage expectations as they are played and how we can transfer them to games. Until then – Nanu nanu
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It was also published on Medium.