Video games are meant to be engaging. From the moment you crack open a box, to the final boss on the last level, you want your gaming experience to be as immersive as possible. And there’s no better way to make that happen than with effective engagement strategies. At their most basic level, engagement strategies revolve around two things: hooking players and keeping them hooked. The hook is what keeps players coming back again and again. It’s not just a single thing — it’s an entire ecosystem of hooks that make up your game. Here are our top 5 engagement strategies for making gaming more engaging and captivating than ever before.
Have a clear goal
The goal of any game is to give the player an experience that they enjoy. But if the goal is unclear, the experience is going to be frustrating and unsatisfying. As the player, you’re going to have a much better time if you know what you’re trying to get out of the experience. A goal that’s crystal clear is going to help you avoid all of the pitfalls that come with vague goals. Once you know what you’re aiming for, you can start tuning your experience to give the player what they want. If you’re giving the player experience that doesn’t offer them any value, then you’re just adding frustration to their life. But if you’re creating a truly engaging experience, then you want to make sure that you give the player something to show for their time.
Use rewarding gameplay mechanics
A lot of the time, video games are too easy. They give you rewards that don’t actually matter, so the player doesn’t take the time to reap the rewards. That’s not engaging gameplay — that’s a waste of your time. Engagement strategies are about rewarding your players and keeping them on their toes. That’s why we recommend using rewarding mechanics. A mechanic is a core element of your gameplay experience that gives you rewards. In a game like Clash of Clans, it’s the battles that give you experience and loot. In Pokemon, it’s catching and battling. In Hearthstone, it’s crafting cards. Mechanics are one of the most important parts of making your game engaging. Without mechanics, your game is just a book of rules — it’s not a game. By using mechanics, you can give your gameplay a purpose and a reason to exist. You can make sure that your gameplay serves a function in your game, just like Agen Bola.
Test, test, test
A lot of developers make the mistake of assuming that their players are experts. After all, you’re the person who’s been playing the game for hundreds of hours, right? That’s why testing is so important. You want to make sure that your core assumptions are correct. You want to make sure that your mechanics are satisfying the player. You want to make sure that your game is fun. The most effective way to do this is through testing. You want to test everything — your gameplay, your design, and even your story. You want to make sure that what you’re creating is really engaging players. This process is extremely helpful for a couple of reasons. First, it allows you to quickly identify issues with your game. Second, it allows you to identify solutions to those issues. This allows you to quickly iterate through your design.
Show, don’t tell
A lot of video games are just text and images. Beyond the story, there isn’t a whole lot of content in a game like that. In those games, engagement strategies revolve around trying to tell the player what to do. You’re just showing them what to do, and it doesn’t really matter if they’re getting anything out of it. Games like that are a waste of your time. We think games should give you something worthwhile out of your time. Engagement strategies that revolve around showing the player not just what to do, but why, are far more engaging than just showing them what to do. This is where you need to use the full power of storytelling. You want to make sure that you’re telling the player more than just what to do. You want to make sure that you’re inspiring them.
Keep the player inspired
Engagement strategies are awesome, but they all rely on the player actually wanting to engage with your game. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Sometimes, you have to stick your foot in their ass and get them to engage with your game. Engagement strategies are about keeping the player on the hook. They’re about encouraging the player to keep playing. They’re about inspiring the player to keep coming back for more. That last one is the most important. Engagement strategies shouldn’t just revolve around keeping the player hooked. Engagement strategies should revolve around keeping the player inspired.
Conclusion
We’ve all been there. You open up your favourite game, ready to play for hours — only to be instantly disappointed. The game is boring, the controls are terrible, or maybe it just isn’t very engaging. This article is all about helping you avoid those pitfalls. It’s all about helping you make your games more engaging. It’s all about helping you create more captivating experiences. In this article, we’ve examined the five most important engagement strategies for making games more engaging. We dive into how to keep the player on the hook, how to reward your players, how to test your mechanics, how to tell your story, and how to keep the player inspired.
