(this is more of a discussion topic, but I will post it regardless because I have nowhere else to put it, I will try to shape it so that it better fits this category)
Roblox is mostly a platform built around multiplayer games, but, does anyone think we will ever have any well-made single-player games on Roblox that become popular with the community and be successful?
Yes, single-player games are not easy to monetize for developers, but it would give more room for creativity and give people on the platform a broader selection of games to choose from. Right now, many of the games on the front page need to be regularly updated with bug fixes and new content to keep players playing and keep the money flowing. From a person who is new to developing, won’t that get tiring? You are basically tied to this game that will eventually lose its wings from the players who held it together. (little cringe) I mean, won’t that be taking time away from other projects? Not saying that you hate working on your game, but won’t the creative juices in your brain become a little stagnant? But, I get that everyone has a different situation. This game might be your source of income, that making smaller, single-player games on Roblox obviously isn’t a feasible option. Or, simply put, you aren’t interested in making this type of game. It’s all blind assumptions at this point so feel free to correct me.
So, will single-player games ((let me add this) or games that heavily focus more on story, level/world design, more mature themes) have a home on Roblox in the near future? Sorry for the unorganized post, just wanted some thoughts on it.
To make this fit more to the game design support topic, if I ever make a successful multiplayer game, when should I stop working on it? Do I ever stop working on it? How do I handle the player base when I don’t meet their demands?
I think developers who want to, could give single player games a try, maybe it will work better now because there is a new AI game discovery sort called “Recommended for You”
If players like this kind of experience and Roblox picks up on it, they may be recommended more, spreading the genre around to those interested. This goes for any genre.
At the end of the day, I’d imagine a single player game would get popular from a deep story, touching the user in some way to want them to share it to others and share the experience. If you can make that a multiplayer experience you would probably be better off due to the nature of Roblox.
If a game is single player, it’s usually not too hard to make it co-op or at least partially co-op, and I see very few reasons not to do that. If the kind of game you are describing were to succeed, it probably wouldn’t be purely single player. Take Fantastic Frontier for example.
To answer the other questions…
When do you stop working on a successful multiplayer game?
When the updates stop keeping your game afloat or don’t create enough extra revenue to be worthwhile or you simply don’t have time for it anymore.
How do you handle the player base?
Observe them using an alt to see what they praise or complain about. Tell them to send in ideas. Also visit on your main and ask what people want. Some people are afraid to talk while the creator is present, and some people will only talk to the creator.
What if you aren’t able to meet their demands?
Then your game bleeds players, you make less Robux, and it could die completely. I also should mention that they may not even have “demands”, but rather expect you to consistently surprise them with new and interesting updates.
Yup that feature works pretty well, I already played some new games that wouldn’t regularly pop up on the front page! (Thank goodness for Mortum Metuallum)
Man, if someone does make a really good single player game with an interesting story, I’d be so happy. It would be opening up to something new in Roblox.
We should also build off of this Recommended sort by adding more ways to get smaller developers noticed without having to pour a lot of Robux into adverts. (I’ll list them here but since this is leaning on a different topic I’ll just blur it out)
A new search filter that can filter out the countless duplicates (or can put them more towards the bottom of the page)
A genre filter that actually filters games of that specific genre (surprisingly the genres don’t have any more function when clicked on)
Adding an official tag system to accompany it. (ex. multiplayer, FPS, etc.)
