A few years back, an article did the rounds saying that only 10-20% of video games bought actually get finished. Whether this stat is accurate or not depends on a lot of things - mostly on the definition of "completion" - but most sources agree that the majority of people who buy games don't finish them.
So the question is: Why? And what can we as designers do about it?
The Joy of Discovery
Last year, I got through several rounds of interviews with a well-known studio currently developing a much anticipated AAA RPG. For various reasons, I had to pull out of interviews, but a designer I spoke to said something that resonated with me.
We were discussing the games I'd been playing recently and talk got around to the Weird West, a game I'd spent a couple of hours with at the time. The designer sitting across the virtual table from me said he'd played it, but after a few hours he felt he'd seen all it had to offer and moved on to something else. This put into words something that I'd felt myself during my time with the game.
This reason for moving on might sound obvious, but it made a few connections in my brain. It's widely acknowledged that learning fuels fun (read Raph Koster's Theory of Fun if you want to be convinced), and that continuous learning results in higher engagement. It's also clear that learning and discovery are inherently connected, with discovery being a source of learning.
This is the kind of weird environment design that I'd have loved to be thrown straight into.
With this in mind, I looked again at the opening hours of the Weird West, looking for why I'd become disengaged. The trailers and screenshots for the game hinted there was a lot to it, with immersive sim elements, an intriguing story, and lots of weirdness. For me, that's a perfect recipe, but (and I accept this may just be my experience) the opening hours didn't hook me. The pacing and intensity of new discoveries was lacking in the early game, there wasn't a lot of 'weird', and nothing convinced me that future discoveries would warrant the time they took to reach. I learned a lot here about pacing of unlocks and feature introductions, all of which is helping me design Blot using discovery as a design pillar.
I first experienced Weird West over a year ago, but I had a similar experience much more recently...
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
I'm a relative latecomer to the Zelda franchise, and only picked up Breath of the Wild back in February, completing it a week or so before Tears of the Kingdom released. When TOTK came out, I got hold of it straight away and leapt into the sky island tutorials. I enjoyed experimenting with the new abilities, mechanics, and rules of the environment. But the moment I dove from the tutorial island into the lake in the middle of Hyrule, my interest in exploring the land in front of me disappeared. It was almost instantaneous.
Why?
On reflection, it was because even though I knew this was a new game with new mechanics, the world in front of me felt like it held no secrets. I'd just explored Hyrule thoroughly in Breath of the Wild, and the addition of a few new abilities and mechanics didn't make be want to leap back in and start again from scratch. I didn't feel there was enough left to discover to warrant more playtime, so I turned the game off.
A familiar landscape
Thanks the the TOTK hype train, I was convinced to give it another chance, and I found that my opinion changed when I ventured a little further and realised just how different this new version of Hyrule was. There were new enemies, new settlements, and distant objects I wanted to investigate. Every settlement and dungeon was changed, filled with new quests and challenges. Add those new mechanics on top and I was hooked again, but if it hadn't been for the constant hype around TOTK telling me I was missing something special (something the Weird West didn't have), I might have left the game completely.
As with the Weird West, I became disinterested because I felt there wasn't enough left for me to discover.
How Can Game Designers Boost Playtime Using Discovery?
From my experiences above, it's clear to me that discovery plays a huge part in keeping people playing our games, and there are several ways we game designers can ensure there's enough discovery in our games to keep people playing longer.
Frontload a handful of big discoveries, then pace out the remainder when you're sure the player is hooked. Make sure they're all impactful.
Build discovery into everything by designing mechanics and worlds that invite exploration and experimentation. Make discovery part of your core gameplay loops.
Encourage exploration & experimentation by providing tangible rewards for both.
Tease upcoming discoveries (Tears of the Kingdom leaves empty slots in the abilities wheel for abilities you haven't found yet, letting the player know there's more to unlock).
Try unusual things. People are naturally curious, so show them something they haven't seen before. Pique their curiosity!
Why do we want higher completion rates?
It's worth nothing that some people will argue that trying to get people to play for longer is wasted effort, and that there are more important player behaviours to try and influence.
That's certainly one viewpoint, but it's not one I put a lot of stock in. The more time a player is encouraged to spend with a game, the more value they'll feel they've got for their money and (usually) the better their overall experience. That doesn't immediately translate to more money in the studio's coffers (unless you're using microtransactions, DLC, or subscriptions), but players will be more likely to purchase your next release if they spent longer with your previous one. You'll build trust and good will.
Got thoughts on any of the above? I'd love to hear from you.
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