This article is from WeChat official account:Roski (ID: tvsiji), original title” Voodoo case explained: Parkour type of game analysis and innovative ways to share reconstruction “, author: Rawski, drawing from the title: game” jelly Bean person “
On November 16, Voodoo held the second casual game live sharing class for developers in China. This live broadcast was jointly shared by Voodoo China Developer Relations Director Liu Yi and Voodoo Publishing Manager Quinn Campbell, who shared “Deep Design in Parkour Games”, hoping to be helpful to all developers.
The following is a compilation of live content:
Hello everyone, today’s sharing theme is the in-depth design in parkour games. We will share some tips to help developers design a parkour game that is different from the current market. In addition, we noticed that the market is increasingly demanding game depth, so I first introduce the different types of parkour games, and then discuss the role of depth and how to add depth.
1. Parkour game type: endless parkour, based on levels, more choices
As shown in the picture, there are three types of parkour games: endless parkour, based on levels, more choices.
The earliest appearance is endlessThe main problem with this type of parkour game is that there is no victory result. You can break your own record when playing this game, but you can only lose in the end. So endless parkour is not satisfying, and it is definitely not fast food. Fast food is a principle of hyper-casual games. So this is why the level mode parkour game appeared.
Level Parkour has two results, victory or defeat. But this type is relatively monotonous, which is why the latest parkour games have added different trade-offs. Players have different choices. They can lose, win, or super win. And this choice comes from the balance of risk and reward in the game.
2. Risk & return case and analysis
Before looking at specific cases, let’s take a look at a simple list of risks and rewards. The risk is that the player is more likely to fail, but the reward is also higher. So when players play games, they always ask themselves: Do you want to take this risk? Is the reward worth it? This will give the game a high replay value.
Fever mode and the “perfect” method: In “Helix Jump” players like to pursue the fever mode, but the risk is that they are more likely to fail during the pursuit, but the players are willing to take risks because the fever mode has high rewards .
Shortcuts and interactions with robots can be seen in Aquapark, because players can fly out of the slide or collide with the robot to clean the road ahead.
Energy activation is more typical and can be seen in many games. “Stack Fall” is a typical example, so I won’t go into it here.
How does it work? Each game has a different gameplay, and players can choose one of them. This choice is the most important. So what are these different gameplays?
Players can choosePlay easily, or play seriously, or be like an expert, such as collecting all the collectibles to reach the fever mode. If you are playing “Aquapark”, you want to challenge to fly directly from the starting point to the finishing point.
So in summary, each game will have different results. Because of the super victory results, players can continue to improve their skills, and then come back to play to pursue super victories.
There are several necessary conditions for these choices. First of all, the player cannot be forced to choose one of them, so that the player has no choice, and the core loop of the game has no depth. Simply put, the choices faced by players must be voluntary.
The second is that the choice the player faces must be very clear. The choice facing the game player in the picture is to clean up all the enemies on the platform, or to run over quickly regardless of the enemy. If this is not the case, it will make the game too complicated and not in line with the intuitive principles of hyper-casual games.
Finally, the result of each choice must be related to the gameplay. Each choice must produce different results among players.
The following are some examples of games with different ways of playing. Each game can be played casually and easily, or can be played with skill.
In “Aquapark”, you can simply slide down the slide. But if you want to play with skill, you can also choose to jump out from the slide and fall to the end of the pool.
In “Helix Jump”, players can choose a platform to play easily, or they can choose to align multiple platforms so that they can reach the fever mode.
In “Spiral Roll”, you can just avoid obstacles or pursue the highest score.
3. Depth & complexity explanation and case
The question we often encounter is whether we should choose depth or complexity when designing? What is the difference between the two? Let me explain.
There are clear choices for depth, and difficulty can be chosen. Under such circumstances, players need to weigh such choices. Players have to ask themselves if they want to take risks, and are the rewards worth the risk.
And complex games can have a second system, and there are many things to consider. This can make game players feel very numb. In addition, difficulty is not selectable. We have seen some poorly performing games. The only way they can move forward is to increase speed. If the only way to move forward is to increase speed, then the game may lack depth, making the player feel that the game is repetitive and has Punitive. This is not good, we hope that the game has tolerance and replay value.
《Stack Fall”Is a good example. This game can be quickly understood and is satisfying. And the visual effect is very good. Although the gameplay is simple, players always have choices. When playing this game, face three choices: pursue the fever mode? Do you want to pursue collectibles? Choose a different path? The success of this game proves that simplicity and depth can coexist.
To help developers ensure sufficient depth of the game, here are three key questions.
The first is whether the player has a choice. Can players only go from A to B? Or he can choose a different path.
The second question is whether these choices are voluntary. Players are forced to have only one choice, or are there other options.
The third is whether these choices affect the game. For example, the items collected by the player may have thrusters.
I believe that the developers considered the right questions during the process of consideration. Then it is possible to find the depth of the game.
Four, creative type in parkour game
When creating creativity, we have talked about whether we can follow the list, can we simply do micro-innovation, and how to do micro-innovation based on the games on the list. We will now createNewly divided into 2 parts.
The first type is micro-innovation/refactoring. It is an innovative model based on the original model.
The second type is breakthrough innovation. It is a completely different style that is different from too much.
Then what are the characteristics of the two methods, how to handle them, and what methods may be useful. Next, I will share with you.
1. Improve/refactor
The first type of improvement/refactoring, which is to do subtle or relatively small innovations. This is also easier for most developers to innovate in the early stages. So what ways can be improved? First of all emphasize that changing skins is definitely not innovation. This is the point we have always wanted to convey. Don’t do a lot of plagiarism in the field of ultra-casual games. Players will not accept this situation.
In the “Snake vs Block” game, everyone knows that snakes can grow longer when they eat, and they will die when they hit a wall. Put this kind of gameplay into the game, and at the same time turn the alternative obstacle into a progressive obstacle, this is an innovative gameplay. This is a simple improvement.
Also is the depth of innovative games. For example, “Draw Climber” and “Aquapark” will be discussed in detail later.
Another innovation is to improve control methods or physical effects. For example, “Bike Hill” and “Pokey Ball” are based on simple improvements to the original gameplay. Through such improvements, the original core experience is retained while increasing gameplay.
Improve the game by changing the visual sense, the effect of this method may be relatively limited.
Let’s talk about “Aquapark” specifically. The game is influenced by “Twisty Road” on the left, but it is not as simple as turning the ball into a human. First, the game is simplified in operation, and the screen is changed from horizontal to vertical. At the same time, multiplayer battles and double action were introduced in terms of depth. One is taxi racing and the other is flight mode. In addition, the game has been improved visually. Through these methods, the game feel is effectively improved.
2. Breakthrough innovation
Another way is breakthrough innovation. This is what we encourage everyone to do, and it is an innovative way to maximize the benefits. Take “Helix Jump” as an example. The gameplay is very fresh, and I have never seen it before. And the game incorporates a very suitable control method with clear depth. Players can choose to jump down layer by layer, or they can choose to jump down in layers at the right time to reach a professional mode. Such modes are very interesting, in-depth, and can be clearly seen by users. Simply put, the same gameplay can be played with different depths by different players. And there is a fresh sense of game and unique visual effects.
The combination of these elements is a breakthrough innovation. The benefits of this breakthrough innovation will be the greatest.
V. Conclusions and reflections
We have seen that breakthrough innovation and improvement and innovation based on the original model are characterized by different improvements. “Snake vs Block” just improves the gameplay and improves the game feel. “Helix Jump” creates brand new controls and greater depth, giving players a completely different experience.
This is what we want everyone to see, the biggest difference between breakthrough innovation and improvement innovation.
Speaking of innovation, we have a key question, I hope everyone can remember.
When innovating, you need to ask yourself some key questions: Has this gameplay been used? We said before that we hope everyone stays away from the list. The reason is that many developers will want to make the same products when they see the list, but this gameplay has already been used, and making products again is not a breakthrough innovation.
If you want to innovate, you need to ask yourself the second question: If the player has been used, can my version add new things?
Combine these two questions. When making new ideas, you need to ask yourself these two questions. These two questions may help you position yourself, whether your gameplay is innovative.
This article is from WeChat official account:Roski (ID: tvsiji), author: Rawski