Over the past few days of testing my new game, Mini-Bot Arena, a few people have said that the game isn't really entertaining. I'd have to agree with them.
The game is somewhat fun, and it helps that it's a side-scroller, but it just doesn't have any real entertainment in it. Of course it's always enjoyable to blow up your opponents and brag about it, but that's the only thing that keeps a player going. I add a new weapon every few days to keep things going for it. Perhaps a whole new game theme would help?
Anyways, I'm open to (or pleading for =) suggestions on things I could add to make it just plain more fun. Constructive criticism is obviously welcome.
If you haven't played it, you can connect to it any time at byond://Cinnom.Mini-BotArena. Playing it should give you an idea of what I mean.
ID:154490
 Jul 28 2001, 10:09 pm
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On 7/29/01 8:50 am Zilal wrote:
I tried to get into the game last night but couldn't manage to, for some reason. Well, its not really fun, i think u should have teams, and they go around looking for things, say...maybe...the crystal robot energy of life or something like that. And, it gives upgrades. Have Levels also. As in Level 1 etc. | |
On 7/29/01 8:56 am Sariat wrote:
On 7/29/01 8:50 am Zilal wrote: I've thought a bit about having objectives other than blasting your friends to pieces. One person gave me the idea of making a sort of obstacle course to get through, which I think sounds pretty good. Kinda like a Mega Man game (which really makes use of the side-scrolling). Levels sounds good (going through a single obstacle course over and over could get boring). | |
On 7/29/01 9:05 am Cinnom wrote:
On 7/29/01 8:56 am Sariat wrote: And, have competitors also. like a green time a red team, and they are shooting for the best time/points | |
I don't quite see what's so fundamentally flawed about the game model. You talk about the fact that the game is simple as if it were a bad thing. Not every game needs a persistent world with traditional RPG advancement and a multitude of goals to explore; in fact, the fewer that do, the better. Having played the game, 3 comments:
1.Combats take too long between two bots with high energy levels. 2.The arena seems to be a little too much based on precision jumping. The bots also seem to jump a bit too high, making it quite easy to dodge and thus prolonging fights even longer. 3.The powerup collection scheme isn't particularly fun. I'd enjoy it much more if it were customizable bots with the ocassional powerup. I'm in the minority, though, as I can tell you right off the bat that a traditional RPG-style leveling system would be more popular. If you feel like making an interesting, unique game, make it so players customize their bot in advance rather than building power as they play; if you just feel like pandering to the masses, give it a level system. | |
On 7/29/01 10:08 am Leftley wrote:
I don't quite see what's so fundamentally flawed about the game model. You talk about the fact that the game is simple as if it were a bad thing. Not every game needs a persistent world with traditional RPG advancement and a multitude of goals to explore; in fact, the fewer that do, the better. Having played the game, 3 comments: I guess I can (once again) lower the energy levels bots have/can get (The original started at 700. Yikes). The reason for the high jumps is because it can be VERY hard to jump on something when you're getting lag bursts. The jumps were quite a bit less (if you go in again some time while I'm in, I can show you), but after testing on the server I immediately increased them, because it was almost impossible to land on something. I guess I can turn those single platform spots into double/triple platforms, and then decrease the jumping again. I like the customizing idea, since that would make for different bots being good and bad against each other. I'm against the RPG-leveling idea. This game isn't an RPG, it's an action side-scrolling shooter. But the occasional increase in power would be something to think about. | |
I guess I can (once again) lower the energy levels bots have/can get (The original started at 700. Yikes). Holy cow. The reason for the high jumps is because it can be VERY hard to jump on something when you're getting lag bursts. The jumps were quite a bit less (if you go in again some time while I'm in, I can show you), but after testing on the server I immediately increased them, because it was almost impossible to land on something. I guess I can turn those single platform spots into double/triple platforms, and then decrease the jumping again. Yeah, but I mean contrast the right side of the arena to the left side. The right side has those big solid steps; the left side has little platforms. Lots of them. The right side is MUCH easier to navigate. I dunno, you could also add in things like elevators, ramps, or stairs that would give upward mobility independently of jumping ability. Also, the arena could stand to be a little more horizontally oriented; that would decrease general mobility and keep the action more focused, which is one of the big issues right now. I like the customizing idea, since that would make for different bots being good and bad against each other. I'm against the RPG-leveling idea. This game isn't an RPG, it's an action side-scrolling shooter. But the occasional increase in power would be something to think about. I just say cut down powerup frequency to a small portion of what it is now and let players pick around 4-6 of the "permanent" powerups at the start to customize their bots. The powerups seem to be about balanced enough that you wouldn't have to modify them too much if it was based on customization rather than gratuitous powerup collection. | |
Um, I played it for about two minutes before I quit because: 1) People were shooting at me, and I didn't know why, or what to do about it. (If there was information in the start somewhere for this, I missed it.) (Suggests providing a little start room for entering players. New ones at least.) 2) No point. I jumped around for a little bit and shot at other people, but couldn't see a reason or benefit to anything I was doing. That was the main reason I quit. | |
On 7/29/01 10:45 am Foomer wrote:
Um, I played it for about two minutes before I quit because: The alert that comes up when you login happens to be all the info you need, though I'm going to extend that, and put it all on a web page. | |
the main thing that bugged me was:
1. i could not stand on crates. 2. like the others said, what is the point? 3. jumping was a bit annoying suggestions: 1. stand on crates 2. more graphic notices, (when you get a new gun, it shows up on your robot) 3. customizable robots 4. the ability to use a jet pack, and float in the air for a certain amount of time(jet fuel!) | |
On 7/29/01 9:44 am Sariat wrote:
cut... And, have competitors also. like a green time a red team, and they are shooting for the best time/points Try a BYOND side scroll Counter-Strike! Just to prove that it can be done... | |
The alert that comes up when you login happens to be all the info you need, though I'm going to extend that, and put it all on a web page. Nobody reads the pop-up in Miner League, either. | |
I haven't had a chance to try out your game yet (to be honest it sounds kinda fun, but I guess I'll reserve judgment, heh), but I'm struggling with this same problem with my latest project. The real question is, how to keep (or make) it fun? I got to thinking, and clearly one of the most fun and popular BYOND games around (excluding the whole DBZ crowd since I know little about those) is My Life As A Spy.
So, what is it about MLAAS that makes it so fun, and makes people consistently come back for more? I'm talking on a fairly general level here, nothing too specific like "bugging devices are really cool" - we don't want people making a bunch of MLAAS clones (My Life As A Secret Agent, My Life As A KGB Operative, etc). My game is certainly very different in its basic concepts from MLAAS, but I think there are general gameplay/interaction ideas that could possibly be borrowed (without stealing, plagiarizing, copyright infringement) to increase fun. Even more generally (forgetting about MLAAS specifically), the question can be posed as, What makes a game fun? What are some of the general characteristics of games (and especially BYOND games) that you think are really fun? | |
On 7/30/01 9:48 am Air Mapster wrote:
... I got to thinking, and clearly one of the most fun and popular BYOND games around (excluding the whole DBZ crowd since I know little about those) is My Life As A Spy. I'm glad you enjoy MLAAS. I'm quite flattered whenever anyone expresses this kind of enjoyment from one of my creations. However, I certainly see some other gems coming along, especially those with an original theme. Miner League comes to mind, since I've actually played that one, but I hear other good ideas all the time here. ... Even more generally (forgetting about MLAAS specifically), the question can be posed as, What makes a game fun? What are some of the general characteristics of games (and especially BYOND games) that you think are really fun? One component I have relied on is plain dumb luck. When I started my game, I had no idea if it would be any fun at all. But I had been imagining MLAAS for about ten years, so I had to give it a go. Now that it's shaping up, it doesn't play much like the way I imagined it would, so the fact that people like it really does owe a bit to luck. It's hard exactly to pinpoint what attributes make a game playable (and just as importantly, replayable). Here's what I can think of at the moment: What makes a game playable:
What makes a game REplayable:
ramble off. /mob/skysaw | |
It's hard exactly to pinpoint what attributes make a game playable (and just as importantly, replayable). Here's what I can think of at the moment:
What makes a game REplayable:
ramble off. Who else is thinking about starting a new thread devoted exclusively to this topic? I am... | |
On 7/30/01 10:22 am Skysaw wrote:
cut What makes a game playable: As I believe I put in my original post, that might just help some. The problem for me is thinking of a good theme to put in. Open-ended play, where players can easily invent strategies the designer never imagined. Again, ML comes to mind here. Probably Space Tug too. This is possible. I had never intended for a person to be able to trap another in mines, but it's quite a good tactic (an amusing one, too). Easy to learn interface. I still have some work to do in this arena, but I'm very aware of what I need to do. I must need to work on this, too, since nobody seems to take the time to read the friggen alert that tells you everything... Perhaps getting this when you log in would help: <font size = 7 color = red>This game is a side-scroller.</font> Specific goals for the player. I currently have the single objective of killing other players, but I've officially decided to add in an obstacle course game (the objective being to get through the obstacle course). cut Further thoughts? | |
Specific goals for the player. Along these MBA vs MLAAS thing, I think one of the high points with starting out in MLAAS was immediately having something you're supposed to accomplish. You're not told when you start to go kill the other team's guy, you're given some docs and told to deliver them to a specific location, which was nice. | |
So, I tried the game. It was cool enough... It was just hard for me to move. People would shoot me, and I could't get away, and I ran out of bombs and everything... a mess.
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Miner League comes to mind, since I've actually played that one, but I hear other good ideas all the time here.
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I think the ability to advance one's "character" is a large factor that keeps people playing. I don't know if you have advancement and savefiles, but that might be something to add.
Z