Based on some preliminary research (and some meditation on the subject), replayability is an element to a game that is both hard to implement and a fairly unsound business strategy. An article from gamastura talks about this briefly, as well as the fact that no matter how replayable a game is, technology will eventually outstrip it and people will move on to bigger and better things. All that aside, the goal of this game, and really any game that I want to make, is replayability.
There are certain tricks you can do to help create replayability, some of them (but certainly not all) is giving the player a multitude of tactics, branching storylines, and rewards for replaying the game. I will examine each of these tricks briefly, by using some of the games that I have played over and over again, most notably Tetris for the NES, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (TMNT) from the SNES game, Metal Gear Solid (MGS) for the PS1, Final Fantasy VIII (FFVIII) for the PS1, Mass Effect (ME) for the Xbox, Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines (VTMB) for PC, Diablo for the PC, and Skyrim for the PC.
Tetris
Tactics: Tactics remain the same from one playthrough to the next
Tactics: Tactics remain the same from one playthrough to the next
Story: No story exists, and no changes are made in the story due to player choice.
Reward: A high score system, however if I remember correctly, the game reset the score everytime the game was shut down or exchanged.
Analysis: HOW IS THIS GAME STILL POPULAR!?!?! despite all of the elements that I have hightlighted here being absent, this game is still more popular than its contemporaries like Pong or Oregon Trail. Perhaps this is because it is meant to be an arcade game, replayable and simplistic, lacking any of the future complexities that games and arcade games will gain over the years.
TMNT
Tactics: The four available characters to play TNMT allowed you to choose from better reach or attack by their character choice (if I remember correctly), but for the most part the differences were just different color models. Completing the game with different characters didn't change the gameplay as much, though completing it with a different character gave the player a sense of minor accomplishment.
Tactics: The four available characters to play TNMT allowed you to choose from better reach or attack by their character choice (if I remember correctly), but for the most part the differences were just different color models. Completing the game with different characters didn't change the gameplay as much, though completing it with a different character gave the player a sense of minor accomplishment.
Story: The story does not change due to player choices, and therefore storyline branches are absent.
Reward: Aside from a high score mechanic in a minigame, the main campaign does not give rewards to the player based on replaying the game. Perhaps constantly replaying makes the game easier to conquer, but other than that does not create a strong enough challenge for the players.
Analysis: Part of the replayablity of the game is due to the larger franchise this game is part of. One of the reasons why I enjoyed this game so much now is because it is easy to beat and gives me a sense of accomplishment. Add that with nostalgic import and you have a game that is moderately replayable.
MGS
Tactics: As an action game MGS allows you to play with different tactics by allowing the character to use different bonus items based on the previous gameplay. Being allowed access to different tactics entailed actually replaying the game.
Tactics: As an action game MGS allows you to play with different tactics by allowing the character to use different bonus items based on the previous gameplay. Being allowed access to different tactics entailed actually replaying the game.
Story: The game allows the player to have to endings, based on whether or not the player decides to save one character or another. This choice does not affect gameplay during the playthrough.
Reward: The game rewards the player in a multitude of ways. 1) it gives a ranking, or nickname, based on the player's performance 2) it gives the player a special item to help the player on a second playthrough and 3) it unlocks an alternate costume for the main character.
Analysis: There are a multitude of ways in which this game rewards the player for playing again, and is perhaps one of the main reasons why I played it so much. The key seems to make it easy enough to allow the player to complete the game, and then giving the player an item to invite him or her to play again with a different and more broken mechanic to use.
FFVIII
Tactics: Not much for tactics, aside from having a different combination of characters available to play on a different playthrough.
Tactics: Not much for tactics, aside from having a different combination of characters available to play on a different playthrough.
Story: As a JRPG, the game pretty much has a linear storyline that doesn't offer much in variety in its endings.
Rewards: No rewards are given for completing the game, aside from perhaps allowing the character to discover better tactics on a second playthrough, creating a greater chance of success, as well as creating many opportunities and side quests for the completionists playing.
Analysis: Part of the reason why I played this game so much wasn't because of its items and missions to complete and gather to complete the sets, but because of the storyline, artwork, cut scenes, gameplay, and simply because if I tried hard enough I could be successful. My style of gameplay is based on just grinding until I get what I need with mindless repetition, and this RPG helped me in that aspect.
ME
Tactics: ME allowed you to actually create your main character, with different cosmetic changes to the models and voice acting, and a set of character classes to choose from. ME's main source of replayability is built into the first decision of character class: if you choose one class, having a balanced team means having one or two different character combinations to your main team.
Tactics: ME allowed you to actually create your main character, with different cosmetic changes to the models and voice acting, and a set of character classes to choose from. ME's main source of replayability is built into the first decision of character class: if you choose one class, having a balanced team means having one or two different character combinations to your main team.
Story: The story doesn't change much from the player's decisions, aside from a character becoming unavailable. This is certainly crippling if that character is essential to the primary team, but I don't recall having to lose a significant member of my team and having to work around this deficiency.
Rewards: The game allows you to carry your previous character into a new game, allowing you to gain more experience and create a stronger character on the next playthrough of the game. It also rewards players for having a character that is imported from the previous game into the sequel for ME.
VTMB
Tactics: Much like ME and Diablo, at the character start the player was given an option to play one of seven available bloodlines, with two gender models. This choice greatly affected gameplay, as certain clans, like Nosferatu, were given different advatanges and disadvantages to deal with while traversing through the game world. On top of that, other clans, like Malkavian, were given alternate dialogue options which changed the tone in which the game is played. Like Diablo, each clan also allowed the player to embrace different tactics, with the clan choice giving an overall theme as to how the game is played. Finally, the game also didn't award the player for the number of creatures killed as much as whether or not the objectives were completed, thus rewarding the player for finding alternate ways to complete each mission regardless of style of play.
Tactics: Much like ME and Diablo, at the character start the player was given an option to play one of seven available bloodlines, with two gender models. This choice greatly affected gameplay, as certain clans, like Nosferatu, were given different advatanges and disadvantages to deal with while traversing through the game world. On top of that, other clans, like Malkavian, were given alternate dialogue options which changed the tone in which the game is played. Like Diablo, each clan also allowed the player to embrace different tactics, with the clan choice giving an overall theme as to how the game is played. Finally, the game also didn't award the player for the number of creatures killed as much as whether or not the objectives were completed, thus rewarding the player for finding alternate ways to complete each mission regardless of style of play.
Story: The game has multiple endings, and the choices the character makes throughout the game affect the final outcome of the game, allowing the player to experience multiple endings.
Rewards: Aside from granting the player foreknowledge on the placement of items and enemies, this game does overtly award the player to play again.
Analysis: I like the idea that the player is rewarded the same amount of experience regardless on how the mission was accomplished. This creates a beginning and an end, and allows the player the option to fill in the blanks as to how to complete the mission. The disadvantage of this is that if the player chooses to play more combat oriented, then the player is not awarded for being combat oriented. This is perhaps where Skyrim and other Elder Scrolls games succeed while others fail; Elder Scrolls rewards the player for being better at what they are doing, while VTMB only awards the player for completing the missions.
Diablo
Tactics: Diablo gave you different characters with different skills and character models, and, especially in the case of Diablo II, each character gave you separate tactics with which you could play the game. Not only that, but the difficulty of the game required the player to replay the game and earn more experience before proceeding to the next level, and the game had different settings (including a hardcore setting with permadeath) which changed the gameplay experience. On top of that, Diablo had multiplayer support, allowing the player to compete online with other characters, much like other popular MMO games that would soon enter the market.
Tactics: Diablo gave you different characters with different skills and character models, and, especially in the case of Diablo II, each character gave you separate tactics with which you could play the game. Not only that, but the difficulty of the game required the player to replay the game and earn more experience before proceeding to the next level, and the game had different settings (including a hardcore setting with permadeath) which changed the gameplay experience. On top of that, Diablo had multiplayer support, allowing the player to compete online with other characters, much like other popular MMO games that would soon enter the market.
Skyrim
Tactics: Skyrim and ME are similiar in that you can make cosmetic changes to the central character of their stories, but where ME has different classes to choose from Skyrim allows you to pick between different races. Aside from a couple dialogue changes from picking an alternate race, the initial character choice doesn't affect the player much as he or she progresses through the game, especially in the later levels when the majority of the character skills are maxed out, and with the addition of the legendary mode allows the character all the perks to be accessed.
Tactics: Skyrim and ME are similiar in that you can make cosmetic changes to the central character of their stories, but where ME has different classes to choose from Skyrim allows you to pick between different races. Aside from a couple dialogue changes from picking an alternate race, the initial character choice doesn't affect the player much as he or she progresses through the game, especially in the later levels when the majority of the character skills are maxed out, and with the addition of the legendary mode allows the character all the perks to be accessed.
Story: Aside from a few side quests, the main story and the story of the game overall does not change based on the character's decisions. Different items are dropped based on the player's decision, and of course with Skyrim's massive open world, quests can just as easily ignored (and indeed it is normal to have five or six open quests in various stages of completion).
Rewards: There are no rewards for playing the game a second time, aside from the experience of reexperiencing the gameplay and story again.
Analysis: Skyrim's appeal comes not from its bugginess, modding, sparse storyline, and mal-formed questlines, but from its theme: EPIC exploration. The environment and atmosphere invites the player to look around, to see the sights and walk around. Looming trees, mountains, and monsters makes the player's eyes be drawn up as well as down, creating a large breath-taking atmosphere for the player to experience again and again.
Final Thoughts:
What makes a game replayable is the audience into which the game is tailored to. Flappybird, Angrybirds, Tetris, and TMNT are or were all popular because they catered to the casual gamer market. I, however, am not interested in the casual game market, because the survivor-horror genre as well as the RPG are nearly impossible to create tailored for the casual gamer. This means I have to find surivor horror rpg's that have replay value. That's peachy.
What makes a game replayable is the audience into which the game is tailored to. Flappybird, Angrybirds, Tetris, and TMNT are or were all popular because they catered to the casual gamer market. I, however, am not interested in the casual game market, because the survivor-horror genre as well as the RPG are nearly impossible to create tailored for the casual gamer. This means I have to find surivor horror rpg's that have replay value. That's peachy.
Allow the player flexibility in the tactics they can choose. While Skyrim offered many tactics, they weren't very well balanced. On top of that, after a certain level, Skyrim becomes less of a "let's continue to use this successful tactic" and more like "let me grind this other skill up for me to use". ME, VTMB, and Diablo all gave a variety of styles of play for each character to use, thus giving the player a multitude of choices to make on each playthrough.
This makes me wonder, should I design the game so that the player is forced to play a more balanced character, or reward the player for playing a character that has picked a tactic and is successful at it? The pros to making a balanced character is that it is in theme with the survivor horror genre: success should be viewed with mixed, complicated emotions. Keeping the player off-balanced on on his or her toes is what a survivor horror genre is supposed to do, thus forcing the player to make well-rounded characters instead of specialized ones. Making a specialized character, however, allows the character to experience each level a little differently, thus making replayability more enjoyable. Hmmm... I'm going to have to think about this one.
Finally, this game should reward the player for playing again. Perhaps allowing the player to replay the game with the same character, much like what ME and Diablo has done. I'd want to avoid goofy game-breaking rewards, as that would break the atmospher of tension and fear that I want to create.
This balanced character vs specialized character is going to be a hard thing to reconcile.
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