Hi there!
See a few weeks ago I decided to stop making games, and instead just analyze for a bit, see which games works, what patterns there are within top experiences.
While I was doing this I realized something, Traditional metrics didn’t seem to matter! Some games in the top 100th have lower playtime than others, and same goes with retention and monetization.
So I kept digging, and I think I found why some games get 500 CCUs and others 1.1M CCUs: Simplicity!
The simpler a game is to understand, the best it will perform. This perfectly explains why games like dead rails, which might even seem like a goofy low quality game become such behemoths, while others that are really good but complex perform way worse.
So today I’d like to talk about simplicity, what I mean by it and how to achieve it.
(Or at least my take on it)
The key to success
So first let’s define what it is.
With simplicity I don’t mean having an empty game, or one that only require players to do one brain frying task(Like those “Climb ladder for Admin” type games), with simplicity I mean ease to understand.
Players can’t like games they don’t understand. This is something that can sadly make stop them from enjoying genuinely good experiences(Which affects retention, playtime, ctr, and other non trackable metrics like satisfaction)
How can you make your game simple?
Whenever possible you should try to do these three things:
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Use simpler ideas: There’s no way to get around this, if your idea is too complicated, there’s no way to simplify it down without making it feel incomplete. So whenever your thinking about your next game idea, make sure you can tell the whole premise in one line or ideally just a few words.
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Keep it basic: Don’t add anything the game doesn’t really need, I’ve seen many developers something they simply think “feels” cool to have, but isn’t actually required to have the full experience. If deleting it doesn’t make the game feel incomplete, you don’t need it.
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Introduction is KEY: Even if your concept is simple, you still might need some kind of introduction to the main mechanics and goals, and this is where you can make a massive difference. Your tutorial needs to either be non existing(Because the game is obvious) or less than 20-30s while also feeling like part of the game. A good tutorial will be the one in Dead Rails, it quickly(20-30s) teaches players to sell/buy items and the importance of fuel.
Hopefully those three pillars will help you make your game better and easier to understand.
Thanks for reading, Have a great day!