Skip to Content
 

Gamer's Fatigue: What can designers do about it?

6 replies [Last post]
larienna
larienna's picture
Offline
Joined: 07/28/2008

I stumbled on a BGG thread which contained a link to this article:

https://gil.hova.net/2017/02/21/gamer-fatigue-and-the-growth-of-the-hobby/

It talks about gamers fatigue and I was wondering who was to blame:

- Is it the player who did not plan his collection development appropriately by buying everything he sees?

- Or is it the designer's fault by releasing too many games that clone other games and possibly lack of depth.

Or maybe its a bit of both. There are many factors that influence this:

- Cult of the new, always want the new stuff, old games don't get played.
- Too many games are published, makes it tempting to buy everything you like.
- Space restrictions limit collection growth
- Experienced Player see games mechanic wise which makes them less marvelous
- Board games are replayable, no need to find new games once finished (Like movies, books and tv series)

But as game designers, what could be our responsibility regarding gamers fatigue. Is there something we can do to reduce this syndrome in respect to the player. A few ideas so far:

- No disposable games: Games are made to be replayed, so games that are only fun 2 or 3 times is wrong.

- Games should have depth: That makes them more replayable and allow players to reinvest time into the game.

- Games could be shorter: since they are more likely to get played and will collect less dust. Also allow more replay if need to explore the various depths of the game.

- Game could be small, to accommodate the storage space of players. Still, that could simply push the problem later by allowing the player to stack more games before being full.

- Make more innovative games: Even if we get ideas from other games, add something to our game that makes it completely stand out on it's own. So that it does not end up as a clone of another game.

- Put more work into our games: In order to make them more innovative, and add more depth.

Any suggestion would be appreciated. I could be on the wrong path, if you see things differently, please share your view.

questccg
questccg's picture
Offline
Joined: 04/16/2011
I'm not sure this really counts or not ... but

Variety of play: I'm not sure this mean "depth" by your definition.

In my definition, it means playing the game with different options. Now I know most games are designed to be played a specific way. But I'm kind of challenging that preconception. Let me explain.

One (1) of my Future "Expansion" ideas for "Tradewars - Homeworld" is a Diplomacy Deck. What is so interesting in this?

Well for one thing, there is currently NO "Central Deck" that can be used by all players. So this Diplomacy Deck would ADD a Deck pile ALL players draw cards from when they use the "Ambassador" role which replaces the "Chancellor" role.

So from an Open Meta game, we get a limited set of possibilities to facilitate Meta gaming in a more structured fashion.

Exactly what does this mean?

It means we are ADDING things which ALTER the way the game is played. This makes the game fundamentally different from other playthroughs. So while many games claim to have replayability - and let's not kid ourselves - most game do have replayability... Our game is fundamentally CHANGED by using an "expansion".

Again, I call this Variety of Play. Perhaps you have a better definition.

let-off studios
let-off studios's picture
Offline
Joined: 02/07/2011
Sustainable Hobby Culture

I think it would be wise for folks to develop or involve themselves in a local hobby scene, designer-centric or otherwise. I personally don't think it's products that can bring people together. Rather it's [shared] experiences and interests that unite.

For example, I am part of a weekly writing meetup group with people I'd otherwise never have met, let alone be welcomed into their homes.But I WAIT for Tuesday evenings after the day job is done so I can be there, and I NEVER miss a meeting. Like my game design group, many are published authors, but not all of them. I make it a point to participate and hopefully augment the culture with my presence and input.

Being a friendly and approachable person is helpful in many areas of life, and I know that for lots of people it can be a serious challenge. But interpersonal skills are essential for gathering like-minded people together for any cause, interest, or hobby to persist.

I'd suggest people take it upon themselves to cultivate a culture centered around the hobby and shared experiences within it, and not depend on "someone else" like a big gaming convention, retailer, or publisher to do it for them.

I realize this goes a bit further afield from the designer-specific question, but it's a bigger-picture perspective that I think can help any hobby grow, independent of occasional economic shifts, market booms and busts, and the "cult of the new."

larienna
larienna's picture
Offline
Joined: 07/28/2008
So a bit like a book club

So a bit like a book club where everybody reads a book and talks about it.

In the case of board games, you do not necessarily multiple copies of the same game to play with the group ... unless you are a very large group.

let-off studios
let-off studios's picture
Offline
Joined: 02/07/2011
Expand

If you want to go further with that same idea of a book club: think of a nationwide or worldwide model of smaller "cells" that have a common branding or name that unifies them all. Imagine if there was something of the magnitude of "Friday Night Magic" for all tabletop games instead of just MtG. Shared values, principles, and even something like "game of the month" could be promoted by each cell of the group, regardless of location or size.

If there is one that already exists, I've just not heard about it. Sounds to me like it would take either an amazingly strong grassroots effort, and/or various industry partners to aid with promotions.

BGG ought to strive to do something like this. "BGG Baltimore" or "BGG London" or something like that.

Masters of Gettown
Masters of Gettown's picture
Offline
Joined: 03/28/2017
A Modern Marraige

For the game we are developing, I looked at how people buy video games and extra content for those games, I looked at how magic the gathering releases its expansions.
I basically did a lot of research on how people consume interactive entertainment to see if there was a way to apply them to a board game scenario.

This information helped us develop a post launch, content release schedule that constantly brings new characters out with new ways to play and win the game and through those character releases will also bring brand new play mechanics in to it (a lot like they do with magic the gathering, new set means new cards but also means unique new mechanics to keep things fresh). This release method is like an accelerated version of how league of legends releases new characters more than it is a new set release for magic the gathering.

Another idea would be to somehow include a competitive tournament play element in games. This idea means that as much as they will be keeping the entire boxed game forever, they will remove a key component (a character card or set of miniatures) to take to and from tournaments and will probably invest in a deck box or figures case to boot.
I we made more games with more ramdomised components, we would see lots of friends in the same group buying the starter box and taking their unique elements to each other's house to broaden the play experience for everyone.

I am all for finding things that work in any aspect of life and trying to harness it for different means, so seeing what works in completely different genres of entertainment, can some times translate and really help.

let-off studios
let-off studios's picture
Offline
Joined: 02/07/2011
Gateway Teasers

One way I think designers can address this issue is by creating more gateway games that introduce more complex mechanics one at a time, combined with tried-and-true mechanics already familiar to most casual gamers.

Two games that come to mind are Sushi Go (which uses card drafting) and Machi Koro which cleverly conceals its deck building mechanic and mellows things out with dice rolling.

By gradually increasing a player's vocabulary of mechanics and methods to develop strategy, maybe there would be an increased tendency to find ways to combine those mechanics in more complex ways. Players might want to seek out some of the "older" games where those mechanics they like were first seen, and might be more willing to support games at their FLGS or Kickstarter when they say, "Oh, worker placement? Hidden agendas? Chit-pulling? I like that kind of stuff. Let me take a closer look..."

I don't mean to say that "casual" and "party" games are solely the way to go either, as objectively speaking they're more for entertaining and interacting within a social group. They're not designed for providing challenge. But there's no denying that these kinds of games have become excellent "openers" for game nights where more complex games can be introduced.

To refer back to my previous comment above: party and casual games can help build and fortify the hobby game culture in its formative stages, and help introduce new members and inject new energy into groups that may have stagnated.

Syndicate content


forum | by Dr. Radut