After careful consideration, I’ve decided to abandon an old project I was working on for a while for a new one to complete with several friends. This project I’m working on will be a farming game with many features from favorite games such as Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley, combined with the calm atmosphere of Animal Crossing.
While things have been a lot more fun and I’ve learned a lot more about developing, I’ve really had to think over the story aspects of the game. The game demographic is targeted at a younger audience (6-15) since it’s fairly light-hearted and cartoony.
That being said, let me get straight to the point, I think that a story-line and lore in the story might be a bit complicated for players on the younger side. However, I’m still unsure because everyone can enjoy an interesting story, with deeper lore. Would it be possible for younger folks to be invested in the story-line? Or should I just focus almost all my efforts on game-play rather than immersion or story?
Also, I’d like to add that this would mean a single-player game unless you’ve permitted friends to join your farm/city.
My Questions
Would lore matter in a game targeted towards a younger audience?
Would story and dialogue matter?
What advice do you have to make a project like this work?
Is there anyways you’d think I could make the game more social?
Thanks for any feedback or advice, don’t be afraid to ask any questions.
I was on the core development team behind Super Paper ROBLOX, which sounds somewhat similar to what your trying to accomplish. Lore was a massive part of our game and continues to be the shining quality even after the updates stopped rolling in.
We had users try to collect hidden trading “cards” which other uses can see in your inventory. Something like this adds a competitive social edge to the game as they all compete to see who can collect them all.
Hopefully this helps! If you have any other questions feel free to privately message me!
Lore in games are extremely important especially in a Story game like Camping. The reason why FNaF was so popular the time in 2014 was mostly because of the intricate lore connecting all of the games in the franchise (even if it was a bit too complicated and confusing in my opinion)
Story and dialogue do matter, yes. In a proper story, you have to make the characters feel human, so make sure that the dialogue they’re saying is something someone else in the story would say in real life.
My advice is to try to try to add something new to the game that differ from the two games you based it off of (Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley/Harvest Moon) and try to invent a brand new mechanic. Adding new mechanics in games will add something unique for the players to do.
Honestly, I don’t really have advice for this segment, though I think you can add something similar to Hypixel Skyblock where you can collaborate with other players and also visit other people, or even host parties similarly to how Meep City/Work at a Pizza Place works.
I also really like the idea of the game, something similar to Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing honestly sounds like a lot of fun! I hope the game takes off!