dev.log entry Teal
Option 2:
Took a different approach this week and tried out a new free mobile app game called Genshin Impact. Though the game is a free to play mobile app it is also available on PC and PS4(Which is what I play it on). The game is a combination of a Gacha style and Open-world style RPG. A Gacha game is sort of like gambling, with a RNG(Random Number Generator) you hope to get the character or weapon you desire. The open-world aspect of this game is very rare for free-to-play games so I really had to try it out. Unfortunately, I did get addicted pretty quickly, open-world games have been pretty popular with players since games like Mario 64(Which I would sort of consider open world since you can do pretty much whatever you want). But combining the newer sensation of Gacha games really caught the attention of a lot of players.
The game itself makes me feel great as I play it, I wonder the world, collect items, fight enemies and try my luck at the gacha(Though I’ve yet to get lucky...). Gacha games like to play on people’s addictions and desire for the best and to be the best. The game has gotten me in a similar way because I really want a certain character but I’m determined to keep it Free to play. There is a lot of chunk in this game too, there is a story and it’s not bad at all, but you can spend hours doing absolutely none of that. Which increases the potential play time exponentially. I would like to put this feature of so many side quests and so many things to do in a game I’m creating because then people won’t be playing it for a few hours and then put it down.
Option 3:
Pick one of these activities: snowball fight; staring in a school play; working at a theme park;> Now, brainstorm a game that could create this experience. List the parts of your experience are essential. List the aspects of your experience can be dropped from the game. Describe a game or list the key features of a game that would create this experience. Remember to reflect on this exercise for your dev.log
So for this I actually chose to do a snowball fight. I’ve played games where I’m in a school and I’ve played roller coaster tycoon many times. But I haven’t really played many games where snowball fight is one of the features. In order to begin thinking about this I thought about many different ways to implement this. It could be the beginning of a long detailed story where you play snowball with your friends or family then something happens. Or the game itself is focused solely on the snowball fighting, much like a FPS but with snow! Kind of family friendly like Splatoon. Or even with Splatoon it could be a level where you fight with snow. But then I decided to leave the virtual space and try and do a snowball fight with a board game.
Basically, including something simply like a snowball fight, working at a theme park or just setting up for a school play, these are all examples of something ordinary. It makes the game that you are playing more relatable, more human. (Even if some of us have never seen snow). The feeling of being ‘normal’ or doing something ‘normal’ may seem boring to an average player but also can the gaming experience more organic. At lot of games, such as Persona, have you living as a student while also doing wacky other adventures. Having a familiarity like school, even if you don’t like school, sets a sort of calming state. Like, yes I know what this is, I understand what this is. I think it can be important for games to have something like this, even if it’s small like eating something when your characters hungry.