Tuesday, May 16, 2006
What Makes a Good Casual RPG?
Okay - the term "Casual RPG" is practically an oxymoron. Computer Role-Playing Games are normally pretty intense, hard-core affairs requiring a great deal of commitment, familiarity with the genre (generally sword & sorcery style fantasy), and a head for stats that matches that of a hardcore baseball enthusiast.
But I know Aveyond has had some definite success amongst non-core gamers... particularly women who have never really played Role-Playing Games before. And Cute Knight was also designed to appeal to a first-time audience. So I was curious what they did to meet the demands of a "first-timer" audience.
Cute Knight Casualness
For Cute Knight, there were some comments from Papillon, the game's designer, on the RPGDX.NET forums. Some of her efforts included:
* Trying to avoid giving "too much" information, for fear of intimidating her audience in a sea of stats
* Using more everyday words instead of gamer terms. For example, "Outfit" instead of "Equipment" or "Inventory," and "Skills" instead of "Statistics."
A Casual Gamer's Take on Aveyond
I have a friend, Kelly, who generally only plays "casual" games (Chuzzle is a fairly recent favorite). She became addicted to Aveyond and played it to completion (I still haven't finished it yet!). So I asked her about what she thought, liked, and disliked about the game. Apparently she ALMOST quit on the game early on, but once she got past a level of confusion she thoroughly enjoyed the game and played it constantly for a couple of weeks.Some of her observations:
* She nearly quit at first because it seemed the game was following a script that didn't give her any options. I find this particularly interesting because common wisdom has it that new players are confused and intimidated by having too many options. At least in Kelly's case, that became a frustrating factor --- maybe because she felt she didn't have a copy of the script and didn't know her lines (or exactly what she was required to do next).
* She got annoyed killing the easier critters over and over again. If the fight would be trivial, the monsters shouldn't attack.
* Lack of mouse controls was frustrating at first, because she's very used to using a mouse in games.
* One frustration factor was "Wishing that my character would figure things out as soon as I do."
* Forgetting where she put her boat, and forgetting the details of certain quests was a frustration factor.
* She LOVED having lots and lots of choices as the game progressed.
* She also loved seeing all the different relationships between the characters play out.
* She enjoyed having the variety of experiences and ways she could interact with the world - like buying her own ship, buying a manor, getting PETS for the manor, flying around on a dragon, and getting optional characters to join her party (particularly a vampire).
* It didn't seem to challenging (which would be frustrating) or too easy (which would be boring),
The most interesting thing to me is that in general, her likes and dislikes match that of the hard-core gamers, too! We love having lots of options, but we hate getting confused about what we're supposed to do next. We (usually) like seeing the personal lives of our characters play out. We love having a variety of activities and ways of interacting with the world - even the useless, silly ones. And of course we like the challenge to be "just right".
Is A Pattern Emerging?
I don't know how successful the efforts were to make Cute Knight more accessible by beginners, but rumors have it that the game has sold fairly well. So I think the simplifications paid off.
And it sounds to me that there's not THAT big of a gulf between the hardcore and the casual with respect to what we enjoy and don't enjoy in RPGs. Our likes and dislikes are fairly universal.
Sounds like these principles could be wrapped into some kind of "Red-Line Analysis" for an indie RPG... "At what point did I get `lost' and unsure of what to do next?" "Were there any moments that made a particular NPC seem more 'real' to me?"
Fun stuff to ponder. Now if only there were more indie RPGs being made and finished!
Labels: Aveyond, casual games, Cute Knight, Game Design, Roleplaying Games
- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 10:28 PM (Permalink)
Comments:
Links to this post:
<< Home
While there might not be a difference in the types of things that turn off casual and hard core gamers, that doesn't mean you can actually treat them the same. If I read this right (possible but not given), it looks to me like the difference between the two groups is mainly depth of experience. Unfortunately, the things that are frustrating in a game are heavily affected by experience. The balance between too many options and not enough, for example, is going to be at a different place for both groups.
Casual gamers can be tricky in any situation. I got a few of them to play Gibbage as a test, and they're kicking and screaming at first.
It's only after they're confident that their lack of hardcore gaming skills won't make them look foolish playing it, that they settle in and really enjoy it.
But it's breaking that barrier in the first place that's the problem. Maybe games should become like Spore, and be dead simple to start with, and you very gradually introduce elements as the player progresses. So they start off playing Chuzzle and before they know it they're battling their way through Half Life 2...!
It's only after they're confident that their lack of hardcore gaming skills won't make them look foolish playing it, that they settle in and really enjoy it.
But it's breaking that barrier in the first place that's the problem. Maybe games should become like Spore, and be dead simple to start with, and you very gradually introduce elements as the player progresses. So they start off playing Chuzzle and before they know it they're battling their way through Half Life 2...!
Oh, I'm not contending that they can be treated exactly the same. You DO have to handle casual gamers differently. As in the example of Cute Knight - she made several changes to make the game "more casual" that might not be appreciated by a hardcore audience.
But the point is that you aren't comparing apples to oranges. The thresholds may be different, and what might be novel and exciting to a casual gamer might actually be old-hat to the hardcore. But from this IN DEPTH SURVEY of... um, one person for one game... (gee, that's enough research to qualify me to go onto Sixty Minutes as an expert...), it seems that the it's the same TYPE of things that players enjoy or get frustrated with, regardless of how hardcore or casual they are.
But the point is that you aren't comparing apples to oranges. The thresholds may be different, and what might be novel and exciting to a casual gamer might actually be old-hat to the hardcore. But from this IN DEPTH SURVEY of... um, one person for one game... (gee, that's enough research to qualify me to go onto Sixty Minutes as an expert...), it seems that the it's the same TYPE of things that players enjoy or get frustrated with, regardless of how hardcore or casual they are.
Don't forget my addiction to KOL. Now there is a GAME! I have ascended three times now.
And... I blame Jay for my knowledge of KOL, Chuzzle And Aveyond.
And... I blame Jay for my knowledge of KOL, Chuzzle And Aveyond.
>The balance between too many options >and not enough, for example, is >going to be at a different place for >both groups.
I must have been eleven, the first time I saw a text adventure. I spent hours playing at it... only to be able to go north, and nothing more. Eventually, I gave up, unable to figure out -what the choices were-.
I haven't touched a text adventure since -- Although I did see a graphical text adventure that was so kind as to give a list of acceptable words -- I think I might play that.
I must have been eleven, the first time I saw a text adventure. I spent hours playing at it... only to be able to go north, and nothing more. Eventually, I gave up, unable to figure out -what the choices were-.
I haven't touched a text adventure since -- Although I did see a graphical text adventure that was so kind as to give a list of acceptable words -- I think I might play that.
# posted by 
: June 15, 2007 12:08 PM
: June 15, 2007 12:08 PM
Yeah! Legend Entertainment (Bob Bates' old company) worked on creating graphic adventures that had both a text parser and a list of keywords that could be used.
I only remember playing one of them - Eric the Unready. But it was very, very awesome!
Post a Comment
I only remember playing one of them - Eric the Unready. But it was very, very awesome!
Links to this post:
<< Home
