Hey, it's been a while.
We've been busy, specifically with building some of the craziest experiences on Roblox. While doing so, we've also been working on some super cool secret projects - of which I'd love to share some of the thought processes for how we design our core game concepts. You'll see some of these in action in some of our upcoming releases, but for now, I hope this is something that you can take back to incorporate into your games.
Anyway, with that rambling aside…
When we're building our games, like everyone, we focus heavily on retaining players long-term. While doing this might seem obvious, there's no shortage of execution methods, and they'll vary in effectiveness depending on your game. Are you more casual? Hardcore? Social-oriented? Experience or event-oriented? These will all play a factor in determining how to engage your players best.
Across all game types, though, we've found one strategy that works best: Create habitual players. Habitual players are more than just what we'd consider being a daily active user. Instead, these players are those who return regularly WANTING to keep playing your game - maybe even multiple times per day. If you do it well, they'll even be thinking about your game when they're offline or trying to recruit friends to play.
How do we go about building these habitual players? By leveraging game systems without compromising our core game objectives. Consider an energy system in a game. This system may somehow limit the progress players can make, give a bonus to those that play less frequently, or add timers or delay mechanics to certain aspects of the game loop. You'll see systems like this in MANY mobile games, and we see a ton of success with similar designs on Roblox for projects we've advised on.
At first glance, it may seem counter-intuitive to discourage your player base from playing for long periods. However, people will always desire to optimize and take the most efficient route your game loop allows to "win." As a result, they will begin adjusting their playing habits to coincide with the schedule you've designed for them -- after all, that's what we'll net them the maximum yield for their time commitment.
It sounds freaky, but it works. For maximum results, you should be explicitly tying these energy systems to mechanics that drive positive reinforcement. In an upcoming release of ours, we've designed a "Key" system. Playing our game will earn you keys that unlock chests. However, the number of keys you can earn caps off after a threshold, and they regenerate slowly over some time. This system allows players to continue playing as much as possible but gives us a predictable schedule of metering reward unlocks.
These systems can be incredibly effective - which is why you see non-gaming apps employing similar mechanics. Social media apps like Snapchat give you a streak to maintain with friends to keep you returning daily. Language learning app Duolingo encourages you to return daily with instead - sometimes threatening - reminders to keep your streak alive. Code collaboration site GitHub puts your daily progress on display on your profile so everyone can celebrate your dedication. All of these systems are methods for creating habitual players.
When you've succeeded in creating a system that keeps people coming back without marketing campaigns or advertising, you've won. You now have a player coming to your potential storefront regularly. They'll engage in your content, branded world, and likely convert to paying users if they have not yet, as the players can feel like they can justify a couple of dollars because "they already play so often."
- Devon
We've been busy, specifically with building some of the craziest experiences on Roblox. While doing so, we've also been working on some super cool secret projects - of which I'd love to share some of the thought processes for how we design our core game concepts. You'll see some of these in action in some of our upcoming releases, but for now, I hope this is something that you can take back to incorporate into your games.
Anyway, with that rambling aside…
When we're building our games, like everyone, we focus heavily on retaining players long-term. While doing this might seem obvious, there's no shortage of execution methods, and they'll vary in effectiveness depending on your game. Are you more casual? Hardcore? Social-oriented? Experience or event-oriented? These will all play a factor in determining how to engage your players best.
Across all game types, though, we've found one strategy that works best: Create habitual players. Habitual players are more than just what we'd consider being a daily active user. Instead, these players are those who return regularly WANTING to keep playing your game - maybe even multiple times per day. If you do it well, they'll even be thinking about your game when they're offline or trying to recruit friends to play.
How do we go about building these habitual players? By leveraging game systems without compromising our core game objectives. Consider an energy system in a game. This system may somehow limit the progress players can make, give a bonus to those that play less frequently, or add timers or delay mechanics to certain aspects of the game loop. You'll see systems like this in MANY mobile games, and we see a ton of success with similar designs on Roblox for projects we've advised on.
At first glance, it may seem counter-intuitive to discourage your player base from playing for long periods. However, people will always desire to optimize and take the most efficient route your game loop allows to "win." As a result, they will begin adjusting their playing habits to coincide with the schedule you've designed for them -- after all, that's what we'll net them the maximum yield for their time commitment.
It sounds freaky, but it works. For maximum results, you should be explicitly tying these energy systems to mechanics that drive positive reinforcement. In an upcoming release of ours, we've designed a "Key" system. Playing our game will earn you keys that unlock chests. However, the number of keys you can earn caps off after a threshold, and they regenerate slowly over some time. This system allows players to continue playing as much as possible but gives us a predictable schedule of metering reward unlocks.
These systems can be incredibly effective - which is why you see non-gaming apps employing similar mechanics. Social media apps like Snapchat give you a streak to maintain with friends to keep you returning daily. Language learning app Duolingo encourages you to return daily with instead - sometimes threatening - reminders to keep your streak alive. Code collaboration site GitHub puts your daily progress on display on your profile so everyone can celebrate your dedication. All of these systems are methods for creating habitual players.
When you've succeeded in creating a system that keeps people coming back without marketing campaigns or advertising, you've won. You now have a player coming to your potential storefront regularly. They'll engage in your content, branded world, and likely convert to paying users if they have not yet, as the players can feel like they can justify a couple of dollars because "they already play so often."
- Devon