Gameasutra writes about behavioral design in video games - 1 views

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  #1 Casey Campbell on 28 Jul 13

   

  http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/131494/behavioral_game_design.php?page=2

   

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  #2 Cat Silvers on 30 Jul 13

   

  I find the notion of the interval interesting with open-world games. As the article states "Having a period of time where there is little incentive to play the game can lead to the player walking away." I tend to find that with open-world games, I almost always walk away. I don't know if it's the idea of having SO MUCH I can do that I'm overwhelmed, or feeling that BECAUSE of such a random and broad interval (rather, so many options) I feel that there's a lack of direction, or that I'm not exactly sure where I should be going or what I should be doing to get the reinforcer. Sure I totally understand the concept of A) Accept Quest B) Fulfill requirements of said quest C) accept reward, but when there are SO many quests to do, I always end up accepting every quest in the area and then getting confused about which one I should do first because there's little main direction. As an aside, the other thing I dislike about open world games is that sometimes if you reach a certain point on the main story line, you're no longer able to go back and play some side-quests. I hate that. How am I supposed to know I can no longer access a side-quest at a certain point? In my experience I'm not sure that I've ever encountered a game that has flat out said "Are you sure you want to continue? You may not be able to access content prior to this if you proceed." I prefer to explore every aspect of a game when possible, and I feel that because of the overwhelming supply of quests and random loss of content at various points, I tend to play these games less. I bought Skyrim a year ago, and have only managed to get through the beginning where you escape (I've done this 3 times, thinking "Oh, I'll finally play this, so let's start over"). The moment I get to the town I get overwhelmed with the options and quit.
  
  On the other side of the coin, you could argue that open world games provide endless entertainment, giving players the reason to play forever, hence the endless quests "make sure that there is always, always a reason for the player to be playing." This is probably true for people who aren't bothered by not having a defined goal at all times.
  
  I wonder what the author of the article would write in regards to open-world games specifically. I'd like to hear what other people have to say about attention span and open-world games. How many of you experience the overwhelmed feeling, and how many of you find the endless array of options exhilarating?

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">I find the notion of the interval interesting with open-world games. As the article states "Having a period of time where there is little incentive to play the game can lead to the player walking away." I tend to find that with open-world games, I almost always walk away. I don't know if it's the idea of having SO MUCH I can do that I'm overwhelmed, or feeling that BECAUSE of such a random and broad interval (rather, so many options) I feel that there's a lack of direction, or that I'm not exactly sure where I should be going or what I should be doing to get the reinforcer. Sure I totally understand the concept of A) Accept Quest B) Fulfill requirements of said quest C) accept reward, but when there are SO many quests to do, I always end up accepting every quest in the area and then getting confused about which one I should do first because there's little main direction. As an aside, the other thing I dislike about open world games is that sometimes if you reach a certain point on the main story line, you're no longer able to go back and play some side-quests. I hate that. How am I supposed to know I can no longer access a side-quest at a certain point? In my experience I'm not sure that I've ever encountered a game that has flat out said "Are you sure you want to continue? You may not be able to access content prior to this if you proceed." I prefer to explore every aspect of a game when possible, and I feel that because of the overwhelming supply of quests and random loss of content at various points, I tend to play these games less. I bought Skyrim a year ago, and have only managed to get through the beginning where you escape (I've done this 3 times, thinking "Oh, I'll finally play this, so let's start over"). The moment I get to the town I get overwhelmed with the options and quit. <br /> <br /> On the other side of the coin, you could argue that open world games provide endless entertainment, giving players the reason to play forever, hence the endless quests "make sure that there is always, always a reason for the player to be playing." This is probably true for people who aren't bothered by not having a defined goal at all times. <br /> <br /> I wonder what the author of the article would write in regards to open-world games specifically. I'd like to hear what other people have to say about attention span and open-world games. How many of you experience the overwhelmed feeling, and how many of you find the endless array of options exhilarating?</div>

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