Paper on secondary game objectives and play

[cheetahxing]

Not sure if a paper on game design would be interesting, but I thought this write up was cool.

Here's the paper:
http://grail.cs.washington.edu/projects ... dg2011.pdf

TLDR: Essentially, if a secondary objective supports the main goal of the game (in this case if coins are on the same path as the main objective) people play longer and complete more of the game.

If secondary objectives are contrary to the main goal, people play less (except for what looks like compleationists) and you're probably better off not including the coins at all.

Anyway, we know this stuff already... but it's cool to see it in an experimental setting.

 

[Ellie]

This was an interesting read, and I like that while it's essentially studying coins along games like Super Mario or Sonic, it's still pretty apt when talking about RPGs, where sub-storylines and side-quests are rampant.

I must admit I've never understood the point of coins in platformer games if they're not the main objective, as they're often just added on as an afterthought and difficult to get. Re-playability? Added difficulty? I'd rather see more levels than extra things to grab around a game personally.

 

[Xilef]

I must admit I've never understood the point of coins in platformer games if they're not the main objective, as they're often just added on as an afterthought and difficult to get. Re-playability? Added difficulty? I'd rather see more levels than extra things to grab around a game personally.

I always saw coins as the thing to entice you to go forward, you don't always start off a game knowing the objectives so bread crumbs lead the player.

I always loved FFTA's method of delivering side quests amongst main-plot quests so you are likely to only accidentally progress through the main story.

These studies make me rethink the expansion set quest plan for my project's long term plan, but I already have a solid foundation on how I'm going to go about this plan.

 

[cheetahxing]

I think mario games are a great example of using coins to support the critical path, but I feel like they take a hybrid approach with them. The first levels of a mario game usually have coins along the most efficient path and lead you to secret objectives (like bonus coins and power ups). But in later levels they're used to suggest more challenging routes. I think this matches with the findings of this article where, essentially, in the later levels you can make the assumption that the players still playing world 6-1 are probably going to stick around. So, you get the bonus of supporting all players for the first few worlds and then extend gameplay by rewarding the players that stick around for the end game content.

Plus, the coin chime is really gratifying.