Why Survival Games are Boring (Pt2)

TLDR

The appeal of the open world with survival elements will always have a place in the gaming community. But to reach the larger player base there is a certain set of design principles that must be intentionally pursued in the design and development process. 

The 3 pillars

Though for a minority of the audience the simple enjoyment of surviving is enough, to retain a solid demographic your survival game must contain one of these 3 items

• Astonishing Tech: Minecraft, No Man's Sky. Though not able to stand on its own entirely presenting something truly remarkable, like a near infinite procedural generating world or a expansive universe with no loading time in between planetary transition, in a manor that is enjoyable, refined, and directed is a sure way to catch peoples eye.

• Goals and proper incentives: Don't Starve. The next item that helps to stand out is a directed and focused approach to game design. In the case of don't starve having clears upgrades that you can get and new characters that you are working to unlock as you play its hardcore survival mode.

• High content density: Fallout, FarCry, and Tomb Rider. Though often considered to be in a class all of their own, high content density provides an engaging package that appeals to a wide audience. This goal is not usually obtainable by smaller development studios.

Other Things that Help

Listed in no particular order of importance and can be implemented differently based on you game. Please note that a solid design base is still required to produce a top quality game and no amount of additional features can fix lazy or poor initial design. 

• An interesting twist: Don't Starve, The Forrest. With an open world it is easier then ever to add a mysterious and hidden aspect to your game. If you are trapped in the wilderness then what put you there or are things truly as they seem?

• Engaging characters: Fallout. As humans we enjoy interesting characters and understanding how people survive in adverse conditions. Even when not using a whole suit of NPCs and quest, a few well designed characters can help to engage the player. If you are striving for the feeling of isolation then audio logs or journals can be used to great effect in showing the helplessness of a situation (see context)

• Carrot on a stick: Tomb Raider. Not to be used exclusively, the carrot on a stick can be used to great effect to encourage progression in the player who sees goals just ahead of them. In the example of Tomb Raider there are artifacts scattered throughout the landscape to encourage exploration and solving more complicated puzzle tombs.

• Reliance on solid gameplay: Destiny. No game, no matter how pretty or big, will stand without fun moment by moment gameplay. The time spent in making interesting enemies and weapons that create player choice will always pay off over eye candy content made only to fill space.

• Community engagement: More then ever these days a game is defined by their community. It is in your best interest to give them the best tools you can to engage and interact in a meaningful way. Many games, like Day Z, require other players to help you to truly do well; or do best when older players can teach newer players the mechanics and nuances of your game.

• Good villain: FarCry being the best example of this, a compelling villain can be a very powerful motivator. Even acting in the background can give more motivation for the player to survive. Some sort of payoff is recommended if the villain is heavily involved in the game.

• Engaging story: The Long Dark. Possibly the most resource intensive of the player engagement strategies, a story does not have to use the set piece design of a modern shooter. In The Long Dark a story is told over the radio with the player finding clues to the story around the world.

• Unique premises: With some developers banking all they have into this one point, a unique premise is only effective if the game itself is engaging and enjoyable. Be sure to fully utilize interesting gameplay opportunities you can have with a unique premises to insure that you do not end up with a boring reskin of another game.

• Meta progression: progression outside of the immediate play session can help create a connection to your game. Unlocking things that a player gains regardless of server, session, or death can help to alleviate "rage quit" and give the player a personal connection to their character.

• Context: The mystery of a strange world can be fun, but context through audio logs or suggestive environment can help to sell immersion to the player and make them feel invested in the world they are in.

Summery

In the last section we outlined many of the issues that drive people away from survival games. In this section we have drawn from both triple A and independent titles to discover features that should be added and focused on in the development of survival titles. None of these are golden bullets that will magically make your game better but should be considered to improve wider appeal. You will never make a game that everyone will enjoy. But that fact should never stop you from making the game that you have always wanted to play. Best of Luck in design.

Respectfully,

Gabriel 

How to visit a company

The Problem (Why Visit?)

So you have graduated with your degree and have been doing your best contacting and getting to know people in your field. You have applied to dozens of places online but only a fraction have even acknowledged your existence by sending you a generic job denial email. So what do you do? You tried to "network" in collage but nothing panned out. Most places you have visited are not even offering jobs. However, there is much more to be gained through visiting companies then a binary yes or no. When executed properly, visiting companies can help you meet new people, learn more about your industry, gain business skills, and encourage yourself to keep pursuing other opportunities.

Though more traditional jobs may not require this approach, chances are if you are reading this you may be trying to get into a more difficult industry to approach like acting, film, or video game design. 

How to do it

The first and most important part is to actually do it. This is strange advice because of the obviousness of it, but it can be very intimidating to decide to visit a company that you respect and want to work for. Though people say that "you can only make a first impression once", any impression is better then not making one at all. 

So now that you have decided who to visit, you need to find the companies location. In my case, in the game industry, I went to a helpful site that listed every game studio in any city (link). The best place to find the address of the company is under their “about” section, at the bottom of their website, or look on Google for larger companies. It is also not a bad idea to check the street view of the companies address to insure they have not moved; or plan to visit several companies that are in the same area of town so you do not wast your time going to an old location that the company is no longer at. 

After planing a trip, which you should expect to be the first of many, what should you bring? Though it varies based on occupation here are some items that should cover your basis.

• Resume: Make sure it is updated and list your contact info and portfolio info in an easily noticeable spot.

• Paper an writing implement or be comfortable with taking notes on your phone. This will be needed to remember the answers to the questions that you will ask (See questions sections).

• Business card (bonus): Though great to have, do not let the lack of business cards stop you from visiting companies.

• Portfolio info: Should be on your resume. However, a physical presentation such as a small book or folder of some of your best work can be a massive bonus when showing your skills.

In terms of what to wear do not let this be a limiting factor. It is recommended that you dress appropriately for your job and not wear anything vulgar or offensive but do not let the fact that your best jacket is at the dry cleaners stop you from making your trip. 

The Really Important Part

Questions: So after visiting one location that was closed you have finally encounter a human being that is asking you why you are standing menacingly in front of their office as your sweaty hands slowly saturate the fresh resume you printed out for this trip. In this situation, though getting a job would be the best outcome, there is a series of question that will help you out even when moving onto other companies. 

• Are there any positions available? And let them know why you are asking. For example: "My name is Gabriel and I am looking to learn more about the gaming industry and was wondering if there was any positions available at your company?”

• Who are you? Make sure to get the name of the person you talk to. Not only does this give a small connection for you and the people of the company, but if you get called back or see other members of the company most people will ask who first spoke to you. This is also a good time to introduce yourself and make sure they know your name.

• Is there someone else that I should talk to? It is not likely that you will talk to the main manager the first time you visit. So ask who you should get a hold of or if there is a better time to stop by to see the people you can get the right information from.

• Is there other places where I might find available positions? Though it is possible that they know of positions open at other companies this is not what you are trying to find out. The real prize is events that people in their field know about where there will be more people in their field. This is even more important in entertainment or creative fields then in more traditional companies. Through traditional companies will most likely will know about job fairs or places that you can learn about the skills they need.

• Can I leave you my resume? This can be a non verbal question by holding your resume, and is a good way to pursue the person you should be talking to. You can ask "Who should I give my resume to?" which will most likely give you the name of the hiring manager.

No Soliciting (signs)?

The original intent of these signs is to discourage unwanted sales men and people looking for donations. But in some cases job hunting or applying for positions are specifically mentioned on the signs. Being mostly a personal issue in whether or not to ignore these signs, it is an option to go in and ask what the "proper" way to find a job is or who you need to contact to set up an appointment to use the "proper" channels. Another option is to mention the sign in your follow up email to your visit. 

A Quick Disclaimer

Though visiting companies is a great way to network, be respectful. These are real companies that you are visiting no matter how casual the atmosphere and they have other issues to attend to. That being said most people that work at these companies (at least in the game industry) are extremely kind and helpful. When they turn you away it is not out of malice or a need to see you fail, but a simple lack of positions or having no need of the particular skill set that you provide. So be bold and ask for the things you need to meet the right people and find a job. 

Best of luck and good hunting!

Why Survival Games are Boring (Pt1)

TLDR

There are many underlying issues game developers that design modern survival games face. Many of these core issues drive away large sections of the player base from the survival games. Here I will outline and condense the issues within the survival genre. In part 2 I will address how to better appeal to more casual fans within the survival genre.

Series Overview

In this part I will be addressing some of the problems people find with survival games and how these problems were established. In the next section in this series I will outline how to fix some of these problems to produce survival games that are more interesting and engaging for the general populace.

Disclaimer

As someone who has played a lot of survival games and put hundreds of hours into Minecraft I understand the appeal of survival games. The ability to come home and play a slower based game or something that requires more thought than a twitch shooter can be relaxing and enjoyable. However, with the exception of a few smash hits, survival games have remained in their niche only played by the highly dedicated. So why is there such a disconnect between the main stream player base and the appeal of survival games? I will be analyzing mostly first person survival games because that is where my experience and interest is. I will also be drawing from many games that people consider non survival games because there is a great deal that survival games can learn from these titles, (IE. Fallout, Farcry, and Tomb Raider).

The spark that started a fire

Though always lingering in the background the explosion of survival games truly started with the introduction of Minecraft. Seeing the massive success Minecraft had with a limited development budget caused independent developers to pour into the scene to get a chunk of this newly discovered market. However, many developers have taken a misdirected approach in designing their games making many survival games boring and lacking substance.

The Pitfalls

So you have a massive world and pretty environment, however many developers make fundamental mistakes that can hinder the enjoyment of their game limit their demographic to the  hardcore survival players. Listed are some of the problems that these games can have listed in no particular order.

• Reliance on Boring Mechanics: Flat first person melee or one dimensional enemies that just walk towards you can limit the appeal of your game. Where games like Destiny show the power of solid and enjoyable gameplay is the core foundation in which any game should stand.

• Exploration alone to seed enjoyment: A small part of any audience will be happy for an extended amount of time simply wandering around and exploring the environment. But, for the rest of your audience some sort of payoff must be established. Exploration that is purely visual leads to a devaluation of exploration.

• No goal: Though games by their nature are meaningless a tangible goal is needed for most players to progress past the initial impressions and exploration. The goal can be very tangible, like a final boss level or story revival (Don't Starve or The Long Dark), or untangle, like seeing the amazing things that you can create or share with your friends (Minecraft). Survival alone is not appealing to many and several approaches to your goal should be available.

• Major gameplay oversights: Not being able to find your friends or having a situation where the player can be killed over and over when respawning are major issues that should be fundamentally addressed before releasing your game to the public.

• One way to play: Even if you create a solid play experience, to retain player interest you must have alternative ways to play the game. Even the most hard core of survival games should have a healthy amount of gameplay variety or different ways to approach the game. Though procedural terrain generation can be helpful it does it does very little if every environment you encounter should be approached in the same way. RPG worlds are only fun because you can play as many different classes and approach similar situations in wildly different ways each time.

• Zero progression: Though some people argue that this is a aspect of of survival that makes it tense and enjoyable, most players do not want to put hours into a game only to have it wiped out while they are offline or by other means. Though ways to insure items or locking them in the world can be helpful a meta progression system can help to maintain a sense of accomplishment in games that still utilize the hard core feature (Don't Starve).

• Area mistaken for content: A wide range of environmental area does not always transliterate to a wide range or gameplay options with players engaging enemies and harvesting materials in the same manner regardless of environment.

• Lack of endgame: With this principle related to needing player goals, an end game is needed for most players to invest a significant amount of time into your game. The end game does not always need to be the same for every player. For example, in Minecraft players could strive for either the Ender Dragon, building massive creations, or creating crazy redstone creations. players are motivated by different thing so either different end games or having multiple reasons to strive for an end game will suit you much better than the urge to just stockpile items.

• Navigation: The mystery of an unusual land is nice but not being able to find the massive base you put hours into after respawning is extremely frustrating and can lead to detachment to the game. This problems is compounded by not being able to find your friends. Being able to upgrade the ability to navigate is not bad, but a basic ability to find critical spots, like your base or friends, is necessary for wide appeal.

• Only good as long as your friends play: In the same way MySpace is only useful if other people are using it, some games are only fun if they are being played by a lot of people. However, being able to attract a large audience on the hope that they will have fun playing with each other is highly unreliable for smaller studios and one should strive to create a game that can stand by itself and only gets better as people play it.

• Massive time commitment: Despite every other problem this is the one that trumps them all. Many survival games are complicated and require hours to learn how you "should" play in order to have fun. A huge commitment need is not the same as a large amount of content. RPGs like Skyrim have the potential for a massive amount of playtime but can be fun the instant you jump into the game. It does not require you to look up how you "should" play to have fun. Many people say that this is a staple of the genera with the unforgiving nature of these game a necessity to maintain purity. This may be the case, simply know that by doggedly enforcing the principle of harsh punishment for "improper" play you alienate a large section of your player base.

It is also possible to enforce even hardcore mechanics in a game while still rewarding player gameplay creativity. An example of this would be in Don't Starve where the player is rewarded with XP to unlock new characters when they die to try new ways to play.

Next Time

In Part 2 I will be talking about things that help to improve the survival experience.