The gameplay loop is a good way to identify the direct needs for a Kickstarter.
However, a game is more than the primary gameplay loop. There are the various social aspects of it. Including basic versions of these things would help grab the attention of a different category of players.
The gameplay loop is a playable explanation of things. It shows movement and shooting and the general primary function of the game. That will get boring in the Kickstarter. This is understandable and acceptable.
However, there is another side of the Kickstarter which could be crafted to not have that wall. If the social side of things were developed well enough, then players would have opportunities for socializing.
Such social aspects are:
- Artistic customizations: Character, skin, effects
- Chat, groups
- Roleplay: Showing off, emotes, areas
Some examples.
While the primary loop is important, social players will need a space removed from it so they do not have the sights, sounds, and threats. This would be a side-area where gathering cannot be done, enemies cannot go, weapons and effects cannot occur.
A secondary roleplaying environment would only allow the player itself.
This is, in some sense, the function of "Home". I'm not suggesting that concept be implemented, but I argue it is important to have this functionality within the demo area. It should not be something like a server or a separate instance like Home. It should be directly visible and trivially travelled to and from like a base.
A simple platform with this functionality would do.
If this "right brained" side of the gameplay were implemented, it would attract the attention of a broader player base and might be able to hold more concurrent testers during Kickstarter. This is urgently important because the more raw players who are logged in and active is the more general buzz that will exist. There is a big difference between a few hundred at peak times and a few hundred who are always on hanging out.
Furthermore, if additional functionality were staged throughout the Kickstarter, then it would mimic a player's feeling of getting a new content or feature patch, or even an expansion. Beginning with a better-than-skeleton of things and then having specialized "surprise" updates would give a huge expansion.
However, a game is more than the primary gameplay loop. There are the various social aspects of it. Including basic versions of these things would help grab the attention of a different category of players.
The gameplay loop is a playable explanation of things. It shows movement and shooting and the general primary function of the game. That will get boring in the Kickstarter. This is understandable and acceptable.
However, there is another side of the Kickstarter which could be crafted to not have that wall. If the social side of things were developed well enough, then players would have opportunities for socializing.
Such social aspects are:
- Artistic customizations: Character, skin, effects
- Chat, groups
- Roleplay: Showing off, emotes, areas
Some examples.
While the primary loop is important, social players will need a space removed from it so they do not have the sights, sounds, and threats. This would be a side-area where gathering cannot be done, enemies cannot go, weapons and effects cannot occur.
A secondary roleplaying environment would only allow the player itself.
This is, in some sense, the function of "Home". I'm not suggesting that concept be implemented, but I argue it is important to have this functionality within the demo area. It should not be something like a server or a separate instance like Home. It should be directly visible and trivially travelled to and from like a base.
A simple platform with this functionality would do.
If this "right brained" side of the gameplay were implemented, it would attract the attention of a broader player base and might be able to hold more concurrent testers during Kickstarter. This is urgently important because the more raw players who are logged in and active is the more general buzz that will exist. There is a big difference between a few hundred at peak times and a few hundred who are always on hanging out.
Furthermore, if additional functionality were staged throughout the Kickstarter, then it would mimic a player's feeling of getting a new content or feature patch, or even an expansion. Beginning with a better-than-skeleton of things and then having specialized "surprise" updates would give a huge expansion.
