1 00:00:01,469 --> 00:00:03,759 I never finished Doom. 2 00:00:03,759 --> 00:00:05,410 And I love Doom! 3 00:00:05,410 --> 00:00:06,410 It’s amazing. 4 00:00:06,410 --> 00:00:09,210 It’s got some of the best shooter combat in years. 5 00:00:09,210 --> 00:00:14,290 But I just lost interest at a certain point and never ended up finishing it. 6 00:00:14,290 --> 00:00:19,019 Whereas other games, games I don’t even like as much as Doom, have kept me utterly 7 00:00:19,019 --> 00:00:21,359 rapt until the very end. 8 00:00:21,359 --> 00:00:26,160 And this has left me wondering about how games can do better to keep their players engaged. 9 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:28,999 That’s the word i want to use here, by the way. 10 00:00:28,999 --> 00:00:34,110 I’m talking about engaging games, not addictive games - which I don’t think responsible 11 00:00:34,110 --> 00:00:36,620 designers should be trying to craft. 12 00:00:36,620 --> 00:00:40,550 So I’m not interested in games that are designed in such a way that players can’t 13 00:00:40,550 --> 00:00:44,650 stop themselves, and I won’t be talking about games that use psychological tricks 14 00:00:44,650 --> 00:00:50,760 like skinner boxes, daily rewards, resource decay, loss aversion, and the like. 15 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:52,130 This isn’t that video. 16 00:00:52,130 --> 00:00:56,870 Instead, I want to talk about fun things that games can do to make you want to keep playing 17 00:00:56,870 --> 00:00:59,860 - but without completely hijacking your brain. 18 00:00:59,860 --> 00:01:04,540 So this is Game Maker’s Toolkit, I’m Mark Brown, and here’s how to keep players engaged 19 00:01:04,540 --> 00:01:08,220 (without being evil about it). 20 00:01:08,220 --> 00:01:14,570 A crucial factor is pacing, which describes the rhythm of the gameplay you’ll be experiencing 21 00:01:14,570 --> 00:01:19,270 and is paramount to making sure a game doesn’t become boring or repetitive. 22 00:01:19,270 --> 00:01:24,040 So if we take a game like Uncharted we’ll see that it has lots of different types of 23 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:27,040 gameplay, which are often called pillars. 24 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:33,610 That includes combat, climbing, puzzles, cinematic set-pieces, and even non-interactive stuff 25 00:01:33,610 --> 00:01:35,500 like cutscenes. 26 00:01:35,500 --> 00:01:40,470 What you’ll notice is that Naughty Dog swaps between these pillars constantly, never lingering 27 00:01:40,470 --> 00:01:42,490 on one type of gameplay for too long. 28 00:01:42,490 --> 00:01:47,310 And what that means is as soon as you start to get bored of, say, shooting enemies, the 29 00:01:47,310 --> 00:01:51,750 game will switch to something else entirel., and hopefully regain your attention. 30 00:01:51,750 --> 00:01:57,580 But you can also consider the intensity of each pillar, as a puzzle is often much calmer 31 00:01:57,580 --> 00:01:59,100 than a frenzied firefight. 32 00:01:59,100 --> 00:02:04,250 And it’s important to move fluidly between different intensities, as spending too long 33 00:02:04,250 --> 00:02:09,060 on calm gameplay can obviously be boring - but, at the same time, trying to keep the game 34 00:02:09,060 --> 00:02:14,240 at max intensity for too long will lead to exhaustion or desensitisation. 35 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:17,410 So Naughty Dog modulates these moods carefully. 36 00:02:17,410 --> 00:02:22,340 Look at how we go from calm puzzle solving and climbing, to an intense firefight through 37 00:02:22,340 --> 00:02:23,340 the city. 38 00:02:23,340 --> 00:02:28,020 Then a slightly calmer exploration of the train yard, followed by rising intensity as 39 00:02:28,020 --> 00:02:34,920 you fight your way along a train, leading to a very intense cinematic moment. 40 00:02:34,920 --> 00:02:39,510 But that all leads to the calmest section of the entire game as you recover in the Tibetan 41 00:02:39,510 --> 00:02:44,730 village and explore a puzzle-filled mountain with Tenzin, before it all kicks off again 42 00:02:44,730 --> 00:02:47,099 with an intense siege back at the village. 43 00:02:47,099 --> 00:02:51,910 Uncharted 2 has some of the best pacing I’ve ever seen in a game, and personally I found 44 00:02:51,910 --> 00:02:55,390 it almost impossible to put the game down when I first played it. 45 00:02:55,390 --> 00:03:00,709 Now, of course, this sort of cinematic pacing is a lot easier in a tightly controlled, linear 46 00:03:00,709 --> 00:03:04,590 experience, than an open world game where the player can do whatever they want. 47 00:03:04,590 --> 00:03:08,550 But making sure the player has lots of different types of activities they can do, so they can 48 00:03:08,550 --> 00:03:12,970 modulate their own fun if they get bored, will certainly help. 49 00:03:12,970 --> 00:03:17,560 Pacing is not just about how well the developer juggles its gameplay pillars, but also how 50 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:23,950 often it introduces entirely new ideas - whether that’s areas, mechanics, enemy types, and 51 00:03:23,950 --> 00:03:25,170 so on. 52 00:03:25,170 --> 00:03:30,620 The Mario games are wonderful at this, as you never know what to expect from stage to stage. 53 00:03:30,620 --> 00:03:35,099 So even though there’s not such a diversity in types of gameplay - it’s mostly just 54 00:03:35,099 --> 00:03:40,080 platforming - by consistently introducing novel new ways to play, the game really keeps 55 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:44,310 players engaged and keen to see what’s in the next level. 56 00:03:44,310 --> 00:03:49,710 Novelty can work even better when paired with mystery, anticipation, and foreshadowing, 57 00:03:49,710 --> 00:03:54,080 which is when you tease a player about something new coming up so they just can’t stop playing 58 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:55,690 until they see what it is. 59 00:03:55,690 --> 00:04:00,269 Take a game like The Witness, where you come out of the starting area and, if you’re 60 00:04:00,269 --> 00:04:04,400 like most players, you’ll quickly stumble upon this door which features a puzzle that 61 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:07,810 is essentially impossible to solve with your current knowledge. 62 00:04:07,810 --> 00:04:12,880 It really sticks in your head, though, and you’ll need to know what’s behind that door. 63 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:15,640 This sort of stuff can keep you playing for ages. 64 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:20,010 Remember when you saw Sen’s Fortress in Dark Souls, and just knew you had to see what 65 00:04:20,010 --> 00:04:21,810 was behind that giant door? 66 00:04:21,810 --> 00:04:26,910 The mystery of what’s around the next corner is one key reason that makes the Souls games 67 00:04:26,910 --> 00:04:29,180 so damn hard to put down. 68 00:04:29,180 --> 00:04:33,500 Metroidvania games do this well, also, as a game like Hollow Knight quickly establishes 69 00:04:33,500 --> 00:04:37,680 that you will be getting interesting new powers, but it doesn’t tell you what they are. 70 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:42,310 It just teases you with things in the environment that you can’t bypass yet, leaving you to 71 00:04:42,310 --> 00:04:45,900 anticipate what cool new ability you’ll be getting next. 72 00:04:45,900 --> 00:04:50,190 The thing about giving players new stuff is that each drop is an exciting motivation to 73 00:04:50,190 --> 00:04:55,750 stay engaged, but this burns out rather quickly and the player needs another one soon after. 74 00:04:55,750 --> 00:05:00,030 But if you tease the player, you can get them excited before you’ve even dropped the new 75 00:05:00,030 --> 00:05:03,550 content, which increases the amount of time you can go before dropping new stuff. 76 00:05:03,550 --> 00:05:05,090 It’s economical! 77 00:05:05,090 --> 00:05:08,940 Perhaps the most obvious place for mystery, though, is the narrative. 78 00:05:08,940 --> 00:05:14,210 Traditional media uses cliff hangers and unanswered questions to keep you turning the page or 79 00:05:14,210 --> 00:05:19,560 watching after the adverts, but it's surprising how few games really nail this. 80 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:23,660 But every now and again I’ll play something like Firewatch, which is a game about a man 81 00:05:23,660 --> 00:05:27,830 who works at a fire lookout tower and gets embroiled in a thriller that will keep you 82 00:05:27,830 --> 00:05:31,060 going until you find out exactly how it ends. 83 00:05:31,060 --> 00:05:33,479 And yes, the ending is satisfying. 84 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,680 You just didn’t get it. 85 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:41,260 Now, one of the most compelling things a game can do is let you make progress towards a 86 00:05:41,260 --> 00:05:43,070 long-term goal. 87 00:05:43,070 --> 00:05:48,120 Give someone a level cap they can work towards, or a map full of collectibles they can find, 88 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:49,890 and they can be stuck in for weeks. 89 00:05:49,890 --> 00:05:52,480 But let’s dig a bit deeper into that. 90 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:57,039 So a game that does this really well is the charming farming sim Stardew Valley which 91 00:05:57,039 --> 00:06:02,580 comes with an implicit long-term goal - you start with a messy patch of land and no money, 92 00:06:02,580 --> 00:06:06,690 but in time you’ll have transformed the land into an incredible farm that makes you 93 00:06:06,690 --> 00:06:08,180 loads of cash. 94 00:06:08,180 --> 00:06:12,720 And it’s that dream that can sustain many hours of toil, hard work, 95 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:16,250 and, to be honest, kinda repetitive gameplay. 96 00:06:16,250 --> 00:06:17,699 So why does it keep us going? 97 00:06:17,699 --> 00:06:21,500 Well, I think it’s cool that you can make your farm however you like. 98 00:06:21,500 --> 00:06:25,520 You get to express yourself, set your own goals, and build something you are really 99 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:26,699 proud of. 100 00:06:26,699 --> 00:06:29,850 The game has lots of short term goals to keep you going. 101 00:06:29,850 --> 00:06:35,180 Smaller rewards like the community centre and important milestones like adding buildings 102 00:06:35,180 --> 00:06:39,570 or improving your house give you something immediate to shoot for on the way towards 103 00:06:39,570 --> 00:06:41,170 the longer term ambition. 104 00:06:41,170 --> 00:06:46,380 There’s also a huge element of planning, as you must think long term about decisions 105 00:06:46,380 --> 00:06:51,260 when it comes to different crops and animals, seasons, romantic partners, and so on. 106 00:06:51,260 --> 00:06:56,180 You’re not just trudging mindlessly towards the goal, but making strategic choices to 107 00:06:56,180 --> 00:06:57,520 help you get there faster. 108 00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:00,639 There’s also the thrill of exponential growth. 109 00:07:00,639 --> 00:07:05,229 In the game you’ll make a bit of money, so you can buy more seeds and better tools. 110 00:07:05,229 --> 00:07:10,039 This lets you make more money, to buy even more stuff, so you can go on to make loads 111 00:07:10,039 --> 00:07:11,229 of money. 112 00:07:11,229 --> 00:07:16,979 This positive feedback loop is at the heart of lots of engaging games, such as looting monsters 113 00:07:16,979 --> 00:07:19,430 and upgrading your character in Monster Hunter. 114 00:07:19,430 --> 00:07:24,370 There’s also something really fun about optimising the system in Stardew Valley. 115 00:07:24,370 --> 00:07:28,919 You start out by watering every crop by hand, but eventually you’ll come to have sprinklers 116 00:07:28,919 --> 00:07:30,699 that do the hard work for you. 117 00:07:30,699 --> 00:07:35,960 A game that does this sort of thing wonderfully is Factorio, which tasks you with building 118 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:36,960 factories. 119 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:41,789 You start out by digging up resources manually, but eventually create machines to do it for 120 00:07:41,789 --> 00:07:42,789 you. 121 00:07:42,789 --> 00:07:46,169 And while those machines initially need to be fed fuel, you’ll eventually have them 122 00:07:46,169 --> 00:07:49,590 powered by natural resources that don’t run out. 123 00:07:49,590 --> 00:07:54,200 Maybe its just a thing that appeals to programmers, but the desire to create an optimised system 124 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:57,150 that works on its own is very potent. 125 00:07:57,150 --> 00:08:01,889 One final reason we like long term goals is that players can fantasise about what it will 126 00:08:01,889 --> 00:08:04,300 be like when they finally reach that point. 127 00:08:04,300 --> 00:08:08,310 An example is a skill tree in a game, where the player isn’t just ticking off these 128 00:08:08,310 --> 00:08:11,500 skills because it’s something to do - but because they’re looking forward to the day 129 00:08:11,500 --> 00:08:15,990 when they can use all of these skills, to absolutely wreck shop and make light work 130 00:08:15,990 --> 00:08:18,810 of stuff they found difficult at the beginning. 131 00:08:18,810 --> 00:08:24,160 Oh, and speaking of difficulty: Another huge motivator is a compelling challenge. 132 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:29,440 A game that is constantly pushing you to show your mastery of the game, in varied and interesting 133 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:32,440 situations, can really keep you going. 134 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:35,409 This requires pitch-perfect difficulty, though. 135 00:08:35,409 --> 00:08:39,649 As we talked about in the Resident Evil 4 episode, players only get into an engaging 136 00:08:39,649 --> 00:08:44,180 flow state when they meet a challenge that isn’t so easy as to be boring, but isn’t 137 00:08:44,180 --> 00:08:46,519 so difficult as to be stressful. 138 00:08:46,519 --> 00:08:51,779 Resident Evil uses dynamic difficulty to keep players in that sweet spot, but for most games, 139 00:08:51,779 --> 00:08:56,279 a finely tuned and fiercely play-tested difficulty curve is the way to go. 140 00:08:56,279 --> 00:09:00,050 Remember, though, that failure isn’t a bad thing. 141 00:09:00,050 --> 00:09:05,241 Some of the most engaging games like Tetris and Spelunky are filled with failure, but 142 00:09:05,241 --> 00:09:09,399 people will keep coming back if the runs are relatively short, if they feel a sense of 143 00:09:09,399 --> 00:09:13,749 getting better each time, and if they know the next session will be markedly different 144 00:09:13,749 --> 00:09:17,870 from the one before - often due to random generation of some kind. 145 00:09:17,870 --> 00:09:21,939 Also, note that there are different ways to challenge a player, so its not always about 146 00:09:21,939 --> 00:09:25,989 having a constant stream of reflex and skill checks. 147 00:09:25,989 --> 00:09:30,519 Consider challenging a player’s problem solving skills, or spatial awareness, or decision 148 00:09:30,519 --> 00:09:35,339 making for a mental stimulation to balance out the more physical challenges. 149 00:09:35,339 --> 00:09:40,800 So, those are the factors that I’ve found really work on me, and can help explain why 150 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:42,730 I’ve found certain games irresistible. 151 00:09:42,730 --> 00:09:48,429 For me, nothing gets me going quite like a game filled with novel experiences, that are 152 00:09:48,429 --> 00:09:51,139 teased through mystery and anticipation. 153 00:09:51,139 --> 00:09:56,290 Games like Dark Souls and Metroid and The Witness are impossible for me to put down. 154 00:09:56,290 --> 00:10:00,410 But it also helps me understand also why I didn’t stick with other games. 155 00:10:00,410 --> 00:10:06,089 As good as Doom is, the pacing is way off with long stretches of high intensity combat 156 00:10:06,089 --> 00:10:11,489 that gets pretty exhausting, and there's just not as much novelty as, say, Titanfall 2. 157 00:10:11,489 --> 00:10:14,189 But different things will work for different players. 158 00:10:14,189 --> 00:10:19,350 Maybe you need competition with other real-life gamers or rewards you can show off to other 159 00:10:19,350 --> 00:10:20,350 people. 160 00:10:20,350 --> 00:10:21,859 I dunno, I don’t know you. 161 00:10:21,859 --> 00:10:26,589 So in the comments below, think about the last game that you found totally engrossing 162 00:10:26,589 --> 00:10:30,100 and tell me why you think you just couldn’t put it down. 163 00:10:30,100 --> 00:10:31,839 Thanks for watching! 164 00:10:31,839 --> 00:10:36,839 One of my goals with GMTK is to get you thinking about why you like the games you like, and 165 00:10:36,839 --> 00:10:39,480 hopefully I’ve given you some food for thought here. 166 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:44,339 As always, this show is only possible thanks to my incredible Patreon backers. 167 00:10:44,339 --> 00:10:44,919 Go team!