I have been working on a game for about 4 months now. it has been going well but, it just isn’t fun to play despite being nearly done. Is it the fact that the game doesn’t have much content or, has it got something to do with the way i made the game?
I think quite a large number of people have the same question.
All help is appreciated.
Games don’t need to have a lot of content to be fun. Personally a game could lack content but as long as it revolves around a fun engaging community then its all good. That is just me though.
What makes a game fun is extremely subjective. Having a well made game is a place to start, use other games as a standard if you have to. If you have a good understanding of game development (lua, building, 3d design, sound design blah blah) but just can’t seem to make a fun game for your players then try looking into the mechanics. Players seem to like instant gratification. Rewards, daily rewards, XP drops, loot, constant “cliffhanger” style designs to keep players engaged. Looking at what is popular on the site, making something that kids find “fun” doesn’t seem too difficult but it all comes down to what you vision your game to be.
First and foremost i would go about designing something that you find fun, even if it means scrapping projects entirely. Development will become a lot easier if you find what you create fun and on top of that if you find your own game fun others are bound to as well.
I think this comes down to why are simulators fun and addictive when they have little content.
A game does not need content to be fun, to make a game ‘fun’ it should first have a stable community and a ‘game loop’ (if making an infinite game like a simulator), for example: pick up item, wait for inventory full, sell those items, repeat.
Another concept could be ‘comeback rewards’ or the feeling that they would get a bigger reward if they came back in, 12 hours for example, daily rewards could be used for this.
This question has been argued over for many years and is something almost every major game company has to face when creating a game.
There are many different approaches to making a game ‘fun.’ Fun is subjective, so it will never truly be fun for everyone.
One approach is one that is found on Roblox (primarily due to the structure of roblox - an online multiplayer game/live service) in which the player is put through a gameplay loop. The game should ease the player into the gameplay loop, and provide addictive content via rewards. This type of approach means that you might never have an ‘end’ to the game - as the idea is to hook the player by rewarding the player every time they perform basic game mechanics. As you can see, there doesn’t need to be content with this approach. If you look at Minecraft, its gameplay is very basic and repetitive, with its endgame not really being the end - and this game is one of the top games of all time.
Another approach is an enticing story. Why do people like movies? Why do people like books? They tell stories! With a story-based game, the driving force is the plot, where the player is too attached to the character(s) to leave. The gameplay doesn’t actually have to be super advanced, as long as the story is amazing. That is actually a very great way to make a fun game - although it does require a lot of talent for writing and cinematic story-telling. (These aren’t as common on Roblox, but there are definitely a few story-based games on Roblox)
These two approaches are different ways of creating ‘fun’ games. They are by no means the only methods, as ‘fun’ is not a concrete definition. A game could be fun due to jumpscares, or fun because of great game mechanics. Fun is subjective.
The best thing to do is start simple and take a look at what you find fun. Then choose an approach and form your game based on that.
This may not help you, but personally I find it hard to enjoy a game that I have had a hand in making. Something about designing the product and having seen it in the bare-bone stage then using it brings me no enjoyment compared the creation of the product.
Personally, I enjoy games that are different. On Roblox, these games are the ones with some advanced feature most people do not use. I suggest you get the opinion of others before you declare your game not enjoyable.