New York Film Academy game design instructor Felipe Lara was a guest on NYFA Games’ “Schooled!” where he spoke in depth of the elements that contribute to making a successful video game.
The very first points that need to be identified are:
- Who is your player?
- What are your goals?
Once you have determined the answers to these questions you can work on the elements
There are four major, sequential elements that contribute to this success:
- STAND OUT: Your audience needs t be aware of your game to play it. The best way to create awareness is to find a way to stand out.
- CONNECT: Games that create a connection with their players are games that have players keep coming back to them. Once you establish the theme you can establish the values and mechanics of the game. For example: if one of the values of your game is courage then chances are your character will be facing some big monsters or bosses.
- ENGAGE: When games engage their players will keep them playing for a while. Generally, the longer players stick around the more profitable the game becomes: there are more chances to monetize, more chances to get subscriptions, more chances to get recommended to friends, etc. This involves what Felipe calls the engagement loop: a mix of short and long-term goals that contribute to making a player feel fully engaged thus, continue to play the game.
- GROW: Finally, the game needs to find a way to scale or grow its player base through community, user-generated content, etc.
You can see the full episode here:
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by nyfa