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? – Kavo?
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In this article, I will tell you how to create an interesting meta. For specifics, I take the VS-Like genre popular last year, while knowledge from the article applies to games of any genres.
What can be tied to metaprogression
MP usually represents:
Changing current capabilities: opponents on locations, affordable goods in the shop, the choice of unoccupied operatives
I will separately mention the decorative type of meta. This, for example, is the purchase of sofas for a hab-location, unlock the skin on the hero. It seems like, this is a Side of a mechanic that does not affect the cortex. . . In it, for achieving the 50th level, a premium skin of the operative in deciduous camouflage is given. The game also has a map with bushes, texture similar to this camouflage. Here the player pumped Batle-Pos, opened the skin, equipped him. I entered the map and stood in this skin close to the bushes. As a result, the match n% players noticed the enemy in the bushes with a delay, which was why he had an advantage."
The goals of metaprogression
MP should have goals: internal and external.
focusing on the market, trends and profitability. This, for example, a visual emitting the game in the storage or an increase in the average check by 30%. In 95% of cases, meta in mobile games is created to increase the profitability of the project.
Example: The game designer offered a feature of collecting along with a pair of monetization points. She was approved, set an external goal: to increase the average earnings from the offers of this feature. A month later, the feature was implemented and released. 15% of all active players sit on it. And on the new location, the game offers for money to accelerate the progress of collecting collection items. In a month, the analyst watches statistics. The average number of purchased offers among players increased by 15%, earnings from offers increased by 10% – profit.
Internal should also enter the game itself as best as possible, between the bark. She focuses on players, mechanics and game experience. For example, it closes the problem of the lack of long -term goals in a horned, creates a positive sensation, strengthening the hero with each run, encourages another race to play, interests the game with new buns. The internal goal of the feature of collecting is an increase in the interest of active players, more retention in the long -term and the creation of a new type of content, due to game experience.
If you notice, the internal goal pours out into the external: more retention increases the chance of buying an offer, especially knowing at what point to offer his player; High -quality LiveOPS will increase the average check of the payer, and the new feature will attract new players and return part of the old. Inner and external goals always synergies with each other.
How to deepen the mechanics through a meta
Enjoyment of the award is always intensified in the process of achieving – Kore. We are more highly playing the corn and receiving a reward for our own efforts. Kill 1000 opponents of course also a certain efforts. It is possible cheleno and encouraging action, but encouraging the player for risk or experiments sounds, and it works more interesting. Look at the meta from the side of the deepening of the cord lupus, the introduction of a new experience.
A simple subtitian method that allows you to understand that meta you create. Ask yourself questions:
1. What are the goals of this metasystem? Suppose an external goal is an increase in the average duration of the session, the internal is a feeling of reinforcement of the hero every race.
2. This works? Players like it? Find out this to a survey after the playback, viewing the records of the game, reading reviews or to the extreme, estimate in your head and discuss with another game designer. The situation is real when the cro-lip becomes monotonous, progression ceases to work adequately, and the balance breaks and infuriates.
3. NIs this meta-system with a crutch? A mechanic system, without which the game would not change. What is the point of playing the same races for the sake of +5 hp? It greatly changes game experience?
If one of the points does not have a clear answer, it is worth reconsider the design of the meta, with an eye on the nature of the question.
In mobile games, external progression is more important than internal, t. To. The goal of earnings is priority than the goal of high -quality gameplay, so there is no last question there, look for it in the cemetery.
– Lao https://thames-slots.co.uk/login/ Dza Dong, damn it
Having started talking about the last question, – crutches, – I’ll tell you about Fake MP. It is originally created to influence the experience of the player, not on the gameplay. It is used to create a sensation of promotion by location, strengthening the hero, distinguishes your favorite dopamine so that we like everything, creates monetization points, artificially increases the duration of the game. I’ll tell you on the example of AC Vallhalla:
There are many points of mini-at the best characteristics of the character’s characteristics in the game skills. Look at small points. And do not confuse, the icons in the tree are skill. Mini-enhances here are more than two hundred. Each point gives +2 protection, +4 health, which is 1-2% of the current characteristics of the hero. And it seems that after 20 levels you collect +40 health, +30 attacks, you will add as many as 15-20%. Only the game uses a system for rocking characteristics and hidden mechanics of resistance to attacks. It depends on several parameters:
And the first two tune in before the start of the game on the menu:
As a result, you yourself set up a complexity system, where receiving +10 to damage, the enemy received ± 10 to HP. How they killed him from three blows, you will kill him. All these points in the hero’s pumping are meaningless for gameplay, the hero will be stronger only in emerging numbers.
You can object and compare another game in this way. For example, Dark Souls take place on fists, without armor and the use of progression. So what, this is also a fake and a crutch? – Not really. Armor gives resistance. Dressed set will reduce incoming damage by 50%. This is a significant progression. Equipment is not dry protection numbers or rarity color. It will change the gameplay: it will give a resistance to effects, reduce the speed of running and stability of the shock on the hero, change the attack of attacks. And the player will have a choice each time: to wear or not wear.
Lazy (not bad) examples of meta
In Brotato, metaprogression is tied to the Angloks of the new content. To unlock the character n kill 1000 opponents, collect 20k materials. What is laziness: 100% players will fulfill the conditions without making any efforts, t. To. In the game, weapons shoots automatically, as well as the selection of materials from killed opponents.
In 20 Minutes Till Dawn, 80% of the characters and the same number of weapons are unlocked for the meta-roll received after the race. You need to play in the corn and for a dozen meta-rifles, there is enough meta for unlocking most of the characters. What is laziness: the player always gets meta-roll at the end of the race, there is no need to take risks or experiment.
In Scarlet Tower, to pump talents (MP) for the bark for meta-roll, before this you need to unlock the opportunity to pump them for the same meta-roll. What is laziness: This is a meaningless mechanics. She does not work for any aspect, does not have a goal, meaning. If you increase each skill price for n/3 conventional units and remove the requirement of meta-rolls to unlock for n units, nothing will change.
We will collect all the lazy MP in one game. Here’s how the playing experience of the meta sounds: the race has passed, increased the hero’s CP by +5, the rest of the skills became 10%more expensive – inflation is raging, my lord – they opened the new location “Library”, where the walls of the walls and two new enemy textures were updated with the different behavior of behavior. Sounds like a game that fell into the nomination "The worst game of the year". Then why does Vampire Survivors capture for tens of hours? -Kor-lup. Simple and exciting gameplay, in which you will gather an imba 100% after 10 minutes. Cheap dopamine in this, as in a chocolate sugar – dofiga. Remove the meta-progression of characteristics and gameplay will not get worse. Long -term goals will remain in the game: the opening of new characters, the passage of all locations, the discovery of synergies of artifacts.
Interesting examples of meta
Brotato has angka with conditions, for example, pass the wave left with 1 CP or reach level 20 for 30 waves. Why is it interesting: The game offers to try to change the usual pattern of behavior, agree to the risk for the sake of award.
In 20 minutes Till Dawn MP is presented in the form of runes that give buff for actions in the bark. Here is an example: after arson or freezing of 50 opponents in the race, the speed of shooting increases by 50% and reloading decreases by 1 second. Or: every 300 seconds in the race gives a disposable heart (1 CP). Runes in the game give buffs not just +10% to damage, but award the player for risk and effective game. At the same time, there are runes without conditions giving permanently +3% evasion from the blow. In addition, in the implementation of the runes system there is an interesting condition: on each dash there is only one of their three runes to choose from.
Why is this MP interesting: The player is given a choice from runes, that is, the decision – responsibility. Choosing a rune with a buff, after fulfilling the condition N, the player wants to fulfill it as soon as possible and get an advantage. Thoughts appear about the effectiveness of movement on the map, the use of "chips", about the new build options.
IN Remedium: Sentinels For unlocking, you have to find two characters on the map and destroy the cage in which they are sharpened. Why is it interesting: The game is pushing to study the card to unlock new content. During the study, not only the new hero is found, the “Adventure” itself becomes a reward, attracting to study all the locations.
IN Ravenswatch Each hero has its own level with a scale filled after the end of the race. Each lvl-up unlocks new active and passive skills that fall out in Kor-Gample. Why is it mega interesting: The gradual unlocking of skills strengthens the builder collected by the player in the next race or pushes to change it, with an emphasis on a new skill. It also limits the ceiling of “imbania”, the game does not dump all the capabilities of the hero in the first race. It turns out, skills, – analogues of artifacts – became a reward not only in the bark, but also in the meter. And since the game is very skill-dependent due to the depth of the battery system, the impact from obtaining new skills can fundamentally change the player’s behavior on the map and casual.
How to improve a lazy meta
I believe that the version of the game with strong/improved weak mechanics will make the project more commercially successful with the great retention of players in the future. I believe. This is not a constant, not an axiom, not a dogma.
The lazy meta differs from the interesting – the presence of goals, a clear answer to questions and more meaningfulness.
– Kriz
Think about what your meta works for:
Taking into account the points above, here are 2 examples of improving meta:
20 Minutes Till Dawn. We take the current design of runes. They are divided into tyirs, in each only one of 3x is active. Suppose:
Runa No. 1: gives +3 to hp permanent. History for those who need a simple metaprogression and a safe rune in a race with the efficiency of n.
Runa No. 2: Restores 1 CP after the murder of each 100th enemy. For those who are ready to take risks and are going to play from the number of killed opponents with efficiency depending on the collected builder and skill player. Maybe n-3 and n+6.
Runa No. 3: CP is increased by 1 at the beginning of the race. Also increases CP by 1 for every 4 minutes of race. For those who are going to a long race. This skill is something between the 1st and the 2nd option. It is effective at distance and increases the payback depending on the player skill. At the same time, it gives a buff at the beginning of the game, t.e efficiency in the range from N-2 to N+4
Now, I will explain what N and the numbers taken from Balda mean. Then it will be stuffy, better I will open the window for you:
N is the permanent efficiency that the player receives at risk. N = 1st rune = 3 hp permanent.
The 2nd rune does not give anything at the beginning of the race, which means its effectiveness is zero = n-3. At the same time, depending on the collected build in the race, the efficiency of the rune directly increases and after 15 minutes the efficiency of the rune can be N+6 (or even more), where the 6th number of restored CP for the race.
The 3rd rune at the start is better than the 2nd, so it has a greater initial efficiency = N-2 and is more likely to be N in most races, t. To. A significant part of the players spends 8-10 minutes in the race (he took numbers from subjective experience). At the same time, it will give a greater bonus compared to the 1st rune if the player lasts longer in the race. Efficiency will be = n+4, where 4 is the number of additional hearts. If you have not noticed, the name of the game 20 minute is a hint of the duration of the race.
The runes are also synergies with meta-book (build before the start of the race) and collected by the build during the race. If the player will quickly kill many opponents and wants to collect the active build, it is worth taking the 2nd rune and receive a reward in the form. This rune can also stall with another rune. For example, rune No. 6, which causes damage to the surrounding opponents for any change in the health of the hero (I just invented the rune).
Thus, the player’s behavior is changing. In order to kill more efficiently and swing faster in the race, the player risks more: he receives in the face, which is why the surrounding opponents are damaged from the rune No. 6. Then kills the hundredth enemy, restoring his face, again causing damage around him.
This decision is perhaps the best for satisfying as much audience as possible, t. To. We give on every shooting run a run with different risk, which are stuck and allow you to create a hero of the hero. The runes also affect behavior during the race without limiting the player within the meta-book, because in the bark you can still collect different builds.
Remedium: Sentinels. I took the decision in good, but this does not interfere with it to improve it. At the stage of choosing a hero, the description says: Find and save Golem x In the level of lOKATION Y. IN History introduced the head: we find inactive golem on the map, turn on it. While he is being enlisted, we protect against opponents for 40 seconds. Next, bring to point x on the map for salvation. After that, a new golem opens to us.
This solution changes the player’s task right during the race, creates a choice: save the golem to unlock the new playable hero and sacrifice the pumping speed or go further, concentrating on the pumping of your goal in the race. It also adds narrative to the game. The locations are not endless here, there are unique buildings, zones, which means they are created manually. Similar mini-stories during the race create a pleasant feeling of a manually created world and the very sudden quests found during adventure.
Resume
External and internal goals always have synergies. They should be formulated together, but to share at the stage of development and analysis of statistics.
Fake progression can be good. If you do not notice how it works and affects your game experience is a good fake, it was created for this. And if nothing has changed, you yourself know that.