And in that case, what makes a good game?

In an effort to figure out what exactly draws people to a game, I’ve read a lot online about RPGs, MMOs, etc., to hopefully impact Ashianae’s journey in a positive way. There is an amazing article on Gamesutra.com called “Rethinking the MMO” that can be found here. The article is good and provides information on the features and concepts required to run an MMO successfully. While the article includes a lot of information for someone who is willing to do a little reading, the most important aspect mentioned in the article is the game that is fun. I mean, one of the biggest game killers in game development can be a “boring game.” This leads to the question of “How can you make your game fun?” It’s a question that constantly bothers me, because while I can imagine that our game is fun and includes elements that tend to make games fun … how can you be sure that your concept will lead to a “fun” game and will it keep people engaged? ?

Two consistent responses seem quite evident in creating a fun game: a rich and deep environment, and an environment where “things” happen. The second may seem too easy to hold water, but in fact it is perhaps more important than the first. Depth is an important aspect of the game, but when even an encyclopedia contains such depth, it won’t be enough to make the game interesting and fun (unless, of course, you simply enjoy reading a full encyclopedia).

However, the aspect of making “things” happen, and making them happen frequently, is something that constantly seems to keep players entertained … and if you’ve established some depth in your game, then theoretically you should have more power. fire to do some worthwhile activities and games. In the game that we first started, and we continue to work here and there when there is time, it is an excellent example of the previous condition. AWRPG (the title of the server in Active Worlds) and Draeda (the name of the game) contain mind-blowing depth that includes pages upon pages of content written by developers, and books filled with history and events written by players. However, while this depth is something that makes the game very rich, the game clearly falls apart when few “things” happen, on a large scale. From what we’ve seen in its four years of running, more activity equals more players, more interaction, and more fun.

In fact, this can be seen in most virtual environments that I have come across, whether they are full games or not. Active Worlds itself (www.activeworlds.com) is experiencing an all-time low in the number of online payment accounts at the same time, in part due to a decrease in activity in the environment (at least, that’s my argument ). In all cases, you can typically track the number of active users down to the number of events that occur at any given time, and in turn, the excitement generated by those events. So the answer seems simple: make more events, make more “stuff” happen. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. In fact, even in large-scale games like EVE Online that draw thousands of players at once, I often get bored and lack * something * to do, even in an environment so deep that I can literally do whatever I want. . In many cases it seems that * something * doesn’t catch me and force me to interact in an engaging way. So the question is, what * things * have you seen and been a part of in online games that have made them fun, engaging, and something you didn’t want to log out of? Dig deep and see what comes to mind. For Active Worlds, a lot of those events were things like the AW version of Survivor, community awards, building competitions, social gatherings, etc. In our AWRPG game, many of those events were story events from around the world that drew people in and forced them to get involved.

What you think? Is creating a fun game the most important factor in developing a game and creating an online game? Share with us what keeps you involved in the games you play, plus, of course, the motivational routine to be the best. And likewise, what makes a game feel old? Is it the lack of new events or the total absence of events?