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手机游戏为何需要强烈的“心跳”?

发布时间:2014-01-22 15:28:22 Tags:,,,

作者:Joseph Kim

引言

人类如果没有心跳就不能存活。心脏会向身体输动包含必需营养物质的血液,以便用固定的循环和节奏维持生命。

同理,手机游戏也需要类似的“心跳”概念,以便通过固定循环和节奏来维持用户基础和用户兴趣。

对于那些留存曲线一路下滑的手机游戏来说尤其如此。我将在本文指出,是否拥有强烈的心跳可以决定一款手机游戏的成败,并列出创造具有强烈心跳的手机游戏的相关要点。

如何确定强烈的心跳?

是否拥有强烈的心跳,应该是游戏设计师或制作人凭直觉就能理解的情况。通过玩游戏,你就应该能够自然地感觉到游戏中缺乏哪些原本可以产生更高留存率和用户粘性的元素。

心跳本身并非游戏的核心机制,但却有助于加强游戏的用户关注度以及玩家对下一个玩法会话的潜在预期。

那么那些实现强烈心跳的元素究竟是什么呢?我将强烈的心跳划分为以下元素:

1.清晰的目标

2.强烈的动机

3.合理而规律的节奏

1.清晰的目标

用户在游戏中每个节点都要清楚地知道他们的下一个目标是什么。我是否要清除一个关卡?这里有没有我想买的新宝剑?我是否要打败这个特别的boss怪物?我是否要完成一项搜集任务?我是否要展开报复?等等。

虽然不同游戏之间的目标也不尽相同,在设计良好的手机游戏中,都应该让用户时时清楚自己的下一个目标。

你可以用多种方法向用户传递目标。例如:以清楚描述的进程地图显示用户在游戏中的进展,关卡/经验条,让你的角色在游戏中看起来更强大或更落迫,GvG战斗计时器,PvP击败信息等。

作为游戏设计师,你应该准确为用户设计和传递这些目标。你应该设计用户在游戏中任何时候都想掌握的东西,并确保用户知道这一点。

例子:《Candy Crush Saga》

目标=地图进展和击败好友

Candy Crush Saga(from quarterview.com)

Candy Crush Saga(from quarterview.com)

此图兼具向用户清楚呈现更多关卡并解琐新谜题的PVE目标,以及一个击败好友进程的轻量型PVP目标。

此外,不但要让玩家明确目标,还要明确如何到达到这目标。换句话说,要让用户实现“目标X”的流程易于理解,其UI也应该让用户容易实现目标。

例子:《Clash of Clans》

《Clash of Clans》核心循环的设计很容易理解,其UI强调了下一步操作,其循环也十分紧凑:攻击 -> 赚钱 ->购买X -> 攻击。

Clash of Clans(from quarterview.com)

Clash of Clans(from quarterview.com)

反例:《Rage of Bahamut》

rage of bahamut(from quarterview.com)

rage of bahamut(from quarterview.com)

此图并未明确玩家下一步该如何行动。

2.强烈的动机

必须通过执行“X操作”,让用户感到其中值当的回报。这里应该有实现目标的强烈动机:更多能量,新内容,顶级的视觉动画等。

*在卡牌战斗游戏中,留存和吸引和户的关键之一是频繁地掉落道具,以衣将这些掉落道具转化成增加用户原有卡牌威力的能力。

*在城建游戏中,购买预期或升级建筑解琐新单位是一个让用户持续刷任务的强大动机。

*在PVP游戏,击败了某个刚刚打败你的人可以极大增加威力(取决于其中奖励和损失的大小)。

除了奖励本身,还应该让用户觉得自己所执行的操作能够产生有价值的东西。所以其奖励通常应该是:

1)让用户觉得有价值,值得他们投入时间

2)被用户所理解(如果用户并没有意识到自己获得了回报,那就会失去意义)

3)频繁递增

例子:《Marvel:War of Heroes》

marvel-WOH-incentives(from quarterview.com)

marvel-WOH-incentives(from quarterview.com)

上图清楚地描述了升级动机,并向用户传达了这一信息。只要我们让Hawkeye到达Fusion S Rare,他将获得4个全黄点,他将获得显示更强大卡牌威力的亮闪闪背景。与之相似,Hulk将能够在她成为SS Rare时穿过墙体。

最后,这些奖励应该足够频繁,以便合理刺激核心游戏循环,让用户觉得自己正向信息所传递的目标前进。要让用户在继续向游戏投入时间的过程中“感觉良好”。但是,这种奖励不应该泛滥,否则在经过引一轮奖励,或者用户在游戏中过快升级时就会显得太廉价。

3.合理而有规律的节奏:

正如奖励应该节奏合理一样,游戏事件的整体节奏和速度也应该能够让用户觉得自己正在进步,并向游戏投入时间。此外,“心跳”规律也会让用户感受到游戏富有生命以及其中的升级/新鲜事件。

有规律的预期事件通常包括:

1)升级

2)道具掉落

3)更新

4)新建筑

5)能量提升

6)PVP行动

7)GVG行动/事件

8)社交事件(例如,竞争等)

来自《Immortailis》的例子:

Immortalis(from quarterview.com)

Immortalis(from quarterview.com)

在实践中如何运用这一概念?

我建议你在游戏的不同节点进行测试,以便检测游戏是否拥有强烈的心跳。

在你玩的过程中(游戏邦注:例如在教程之后每秒的游戏时间中),只要自问以下3个简单的问题:

1)我的目标是什么?它是否明确?

2)我如何实现目标?它是否容易理解和导航?

3)我实现目标时发生了什么情况?它是否具有回报?

最后,想想游戏的节奏。其目标和奖励节奏是否合理?

其理想的组合是让用户渴望X,为X努力,增加用户在为X努力的过程中的压力,并在实现X之后释放压力。以有规律的节奏如此反复循环。

总结

我认为强烈的心跳对手机游戏来说是一个必需条件,在移动平台上用户留存率以及粘性不足的情况下尤其如此。

所以一定要仔细思考,并执行讨论过的理论,为游戏注入更多生命力!(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,拒绝任何不保留版权的转载,如需转载请联系:游戏邦

Why Mobile Games Need a Strong “Heartbeat”

by Joseph Kim

Introduction

Humans require a heartbeat to live. The heart pumps blood including essential nutrients throughout the body to sustain life in a regular cycle and rhythm.

heartbeat-run

Similarly, mobile games in particular require a similar concept of a “heartbeat” in order to sustain an audience and user interest in a regular cycle and rhythm.

This is especially true for mobile games where retention curves often go straight down. In this post, I claim that having a strong heartbeat can determine the success or failure of a mobile game and illustrate specific points to create games with stronger heartbeats.

So What Defines a Strong Heartbeat?

Having a strong heartbeat should be something a game designer or producer instinctively feels and just understands. Playing through a game, you should be able to have a natural feel for the lack of “something” that otherwise would lead to higher retention and user engagement.

The heartbeat itself doesn’t address the core mechanics in a game, but will help to strengthen the game’s grasp on a user’s attention and latent anticipation for the next gameplay session.

What is this “something” that gives a strong heartbeat? Although more art than science, I break down a strong heartbeat as follows:

Clear objectives

Strong incentives

Appropriate and regular pacing

Let’s go over each in turn…

1. Clear Objectives:

Users at every point in the game should know exactly what their next objective is. Am I trying to clear a level? Is there a new sword I’m trying to buy? Am I trying to defeat a specific boss monster? Am I trying to complete a collection? Am I trying to exact revenge? etc.

Although game objectives can differ between different games, in all well designed mobile games the next specific objective or objectives should be very apparent to the user at all times.

Messaging and surfacing objectives to the user can be accomplished in a number of ways. For example: clearly depicted progression maps showing how far a user has advanced in the game, a prominent level/experience bar, your character becoming more powerful and looking more bad-ass, a GvG battle timer, a prominent PVP beat down message, etc.

As a game designer you need to specifically design and message these objectives to users. Again, you should design what the user is trying to grasp for at all points within the game and make sure the user knows it too.

Example: Candy Crush Saga

Objective = Map progression and beating friends

candy crush objectives

Here both a PVE objective to clear more levels and thereby unlock new puzzles as well as a light PVP objective to beat your friend’s progression is clearly conveyed to the user.

Further, not only should the objectives be clear but how to achieve those objectives; there should be a clear path. In other words, the user flow to do “objective X” should be easy to understand and the UI should make it easy for the user to achieve.

Example: Clash of Clans

COC understand what to do

The core loop in Clash of Clans has been designed to be very easy to understand, the UI highlights and makes the next action obvious, and the loop is very tight: Attack -> Make Money -> Buy X -> Attack.

Counter-Example: Rage of Bahamut

rageofbahamut

In this case… not so clear what to do next.

2. Strong Incentives:

By doing “action X”, the user needs to feel that the reward will be worth it. There needs to be a strong incentive for achieving the objectives: more power, new content, over the top visual animation, etc.

In card battle games, one of the key draws to retaining and engaging users are the frequent loot drops and the ability to convert those drops into increasing the power of the user’s existing cards.

In city building games, the anticipation of buying or upgrading a building to unlock new units is a powerful incentive to keep grinding.

In PVP games, the incremental advancement in power to beat someone who just defeated you can be very powerful depending on how strong the rewards and losses are

Besides the reward itself, the user needs to feel that the actions they are doing will lead to something valuable. So the reward in general should be:

Perceived by the user  as valuable and worth their time

Understood by the user (if the user doesn’t realize they are getting the reward it misses the point)

Incrementally frequent

Example: Marvel: War of Heroes

marvel WOH incentives

In the example above, the incentive to upgrade is clearly depicted and messaged to the user. We know that once we get Hawkeye to Fusion S Rare he’s going to have 4 full yellow dots (whatever that actually means) and he’s gonnna have badass lightning in the background obviously depicting much greater card power. Similarly, She Hulk (above Hawkeye) is gonna be able to bust through walls and shit once she’s SS Rare. You get the point.

Finally, the rewards need to come frequently enough to properly incentivize the core game loops and let the user feel progress towards their clearly messaged objectives. It just needs to “feel right” where users feel “good” about continuing to invest time into the game. However, the rewards should not be too much where it feels too cheap after the initial set of rewards or users progress too quickly in the game.

3. Appropriate and Regular Pacing:

Just as rewards should be appropriately paced, there needs to be an overall pacing and rhythm of game events to make the user feel that they are progressing and investing into the game. Further, the regularity of the “heartbeat” makes the user feel as if there is a life to the game and updating/newness occurring.

The types of regular anticipated events often include:

Level up

Loot drop

Upgrade

New Building

Power-up

PVP actions

GVG actions/events

Social event (e.g., social raid boss, competition, etc.)

etc.

Example from Immortalis:

Immortalis Pacing

How Do I Use this Concept In Practice?

I recommend testing your game for a strong heartbeat through play testing at different points in the game.

As you play, just ask these simple questions as you play through (e.g., just after tutorial and then every few minutes playing):

What’s my objective? Is it clear?

How do I achieve my objective? Is it easy to understand and navigate?

What happens when I achieve my objective? Is it rewarding enough?

Finally, think about the pacing. Are the objectives and rewards appropriately paced?

The ideal buildup is to cause your user to desire X, work for X, cause user increasing stress while working for X, and then release the stress once X is achieved. Over and over in a regular rhythm.

Conclusion

In this post, I give the reader an alternative lens to evaluate the attractiveness of their game using the metaphor of a heartbeat. I claim that the requirement for a strong heartbeat is especially true for mobile games in particular due to typically poor user retention and engagement characteristics on mobile devices.

Breathe more life into your game  by carefully thinking through and then acting on the concepts discussed!(source:quarterview


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