Post by Morreion on Feb 16, 2010 1:30:17 GMT -5
Mini Games in MMOs - New Dimensions of Gameplay (Michael Hartman at Bright Hub)
I'm a big fan of minigames in MMOs- they give you more things to do and makes the world feel more like a world. Variety of things to do is good, in real life as well as in a game. UO of course had plenty of minigames, from gardening to chess.
Combat is really just an elaborate mini game. Unfortunately, it is the only mini game that really gets much attention in modern MMOs. In the days of MUDs, mini games were common and varied. They added many layers of gameplay. MMO designers should put more focus on mini-games.
Mini games are great because they are fun. They are repeatable. They are social. They give people a variety of things to do. They make people feel like the game is a world, rather than just a fancy sandbox.
What Makes For a Good Mini-Game?
Article Image1) A good mini-game is a break from other types of content in the game, not a gateway or barrier to continuing the game. As already mentioned, mini-games that prevent you from advancing the story line can be bad. If a player is not good at the mini game, they will have no recourse and no way to progress. The mini-game will lose its fun factor and instead of something people dread.
2) A good mini-game is fun in its own right, regardless of (and preferably without) any reward. MMO developers are obsessed with using rewards and loot as a way to get players to do something. Yes, loot is nice, but fun is its own reward. A little more focus on fun and a little less focus on the reward would really improve a lot of games out there. If the only reason someone would play your mini game is for the reward, scrap it and try again.
3) A good mini-game attracts multiple players to the same location so the game becomes a social activity. Social interaction is the try "killer ap" of MMOs. Good mini-games have the potential to draw many players to the same general vicinity. Once you do that, they will start interacting with each other. Yes, some of it will be negative, but even that kind of interaction gets people hyped up and telling stories about things that happened in the game. When people are hanging out with other players BY CHOICE (not because they need 40 people for a raid), all sorts of great things will happen.
Article Image1) A good mini-game is a break from other types of content in the game, not a gateway or barrier to continuing the game. As already mentioned, mini-games that prevent you from advancing the story line can be bad. If a player is not good at the mini game, they will have no recourse and no way to progress. The mini-game will lose its fun factor and instead of something people dread.
2) A good mini-game is fun in its own right, regardless of (and preferably without) any reward. MMO developers are obsessed with using rewards and loot as a way to get players to do something. Yes, loot is nice, but fun is its own reward. A little more focus on fun and a little less focus on the reward would really improve a lot of games out there. If the only reason someone would play your mini game is for the reward, scrap it and try again.
3) A good mini-game attracts multiple players to the same location so the game becomes a social activity. Social interaction is the try "killer ap" of MMOs. Good mini-games have the potential to draw many players to the same general vicinity. Once you do that, they will start interacting with each other. Yes, some of it will be negative, but even that kind of interaction gets people hyped up and telling stories about things that happened in the game. When people are hanging out with other players BY CHOICE (not because they need 40 people for a raid), all sorts of great things will happen.
I'm a big fan of minigames in MMOs- they give you more things to do and makes the world feel more like a world. Variety of things to do is good, in real life as well as in a game. UO of course had plenty of minigames, from gardening to chess.
