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ACTION GAME LENGTH!
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1
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
Sooz
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CloseHey y'all!
I'm planning a short action game, set in a largish dungeon. No battle encounters, just exploration, a few cut scenes, and occasionally running in terror from a relentless enemy. (Think something like Ao Oni or Paranoiac, without the emphasis on puzzles.) My problem is I'm not sure what length to aim for.
What do you feel is a satisfactory amount of time for a game like this? Would you, as a hypothetical player, get bored after 20 minutes? 30 minutes? 10? What's a good time length for a battle-free dungeon?
I'm planning a short action game, set in a largish dungeon. No battle encounters, just exploration, a few cut scenes, and occasionally running in terror from a relentless enemy. (Think something like Ao Oni or Paranoiac, without the emphasis on puzzles.) My problem is I'm not sure what length to aim for.
What do you feel is a satisfactory amount of time for a game like this? Would you, as a hypothetical player, get bored after 20 minutes? 30 minutes? 10? What's a good time length for a battle-free dungeon?
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
You can make a hell of a game without battles, if you have other gameplay. There's no need to limit it to a certain length. Just make sure the gameplay stays engaging. Stop the game when you run out of new gameplay to add.
If you just removed the primary gameplay of the genre you're emulating and replaced it with no gameplay, then I suggest stopping... right before the title screen?
If you just removed the primary gameplay of the genre you're emulating and replaced it with no gameplay, then I suggest stopping... right before the title screen?
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
I seem to have neglected to include that this is supposed to be a "survive for X amount of time" game. Oops!
I'm trying to gauge how long I can expect someone to run around in a dungeon trying not to die before they get bored.
I'm trying to gauge how long I can expect someone to run around in a dungeon trying not to die before they get bored.
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
It depends what all there is to do down there. How interesting the exploration is. How interesting the escape segments are. What kind of hooks the gameplay has.
I mean, Alan Wake is pretty much this for the entire game and is a good 15 to 20 hours long. I never got bored in that game.
Your assumption seems to be that the type of game you're making is inherently not fun. In which case... you aren't the right person to be making that game.
I mean, Alan Wake is pretty much this for the entire game and is a good 15 to 20 hours long. I never got bored in that game.
Your assumption seems to be that the type of game you're making is inherently not fun. In which case... you aren't the right person to be making that game.
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
author=LockeZ
Your assumption seems to be that the type of game you're making is inherently not fun. In which case... you aren't the right person to be making that game.
Not really? But I tend to find that any fun mechanic can overstay its welcome, and I wanted to see if anyone here had any experience or estimates on where that might fall for players in general. (As opposed to relying on my own estimates, which aren't representative; I'm pretty easily entertained.)
If you keep it fresh you can keep it running all night (so to speak~)
How long though? Twice as long as my arm, but no shorter than my leg.
Honestly, I'd say 1hour - 30 minutes is a good time to aim for if you're worried about something staying too long. If you've a bunch of ideas for gameplay and something interesting for the player to do, they'll more than likely stick around that long even if it's getting a little long in the tooth. Aim for an hour but be prepared to cut it short if you think it needs it.
A highly-polished 20 minute game tends to beat out a not-great hour-long one.
How long though? Twice as long as my arm, but no shorter than my leg.
Honestly, I'd say 1hour - 30 minutes is a good time to aim for if you're worried about something staying too long. If you've a bunch of ideas for gameplay and something interesting for the player to do, they'll more than likely stick around that long even if it's getting a little long in the tooth. Aim for an hour but be prepared to cut it short if you think it needs it.
A highly-polished 20 minute game tends to beat out a not-great hour-long one.
If I downloaded an action game as a whim from here, I'd be happy with anything from 20-60 minutes, if it kept me involved and excited. If it starts to feel like it's repeating itself, or getting harder in a boring or unfair way, I'll be tempted to quit early. Stuff like Solar Platypus kept me playing the whole way through, partially because of the soundtrack but also because there was a new kind of challenge to master every chapter.
Action games are kinda like school - you get your lesson, where you learn how the game works - you get your homework, where you practice those mechanics on your own - and you get your exam, where you finally execute your mastery of the game. For action games you want just enough levels to teach the player what they need to know, have the player explore those mechanics, and then give them a hard super test that they struggle with and finally overcome.
(Also, if you can remove as much frustration as possible from failure - say, by instantly reloading from a nearby checkpoint - you'll go a long way in keeping players enticed.)
Action games are kinda like school - you get your lesson, where you learn how the game works - you get your homework, where you practice those mechanics on your own - and you get your exam, where you finally execute your mastery of the game. For action games you want just enough levels to teach the player what they need to know, have the player explore those mechanics, and then give them a hard super test that they struggle with and finally overcome.
(Also, if you can remove as much frustration as possible from failure - say, by instantly reloading from a nearby checkpoint - you'll go a long way in keeping players enticed.)
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
author=slashphoenix
Action games are kinda like school - you get your lesson, where you learn how the game works - you get your homework, where you practice those mechanics on your own - and you get your exam, where you finally execute your mastery of the game. For action games you want just enough levels to teach the player what they need to know, have the player explore those mechanics, and then give them a hard super test that they struggle with and finally overcome.
It's gonna be all one level, pretty much. We'll definitely have to make sure the action ramps up reasonably. (The controls will be super-simple, so there's that.)
(Also, if you can remove as much frustration as possible from failure - say, by instantly reloading from a nearby checkpoint - you'll go a long way in keeping players enticed.)
That's definitely food for thought; part of the idea is that it's supposed to be an all-in-one-go. (Hence my worry of boring a player.) I definitely don't want to overfrustrate a player... though I think some of the way to combat that will come from random events and different exploration opportunities.
(I'm hoping that, since the object is to survive rather than reach a goal, having a large dungeon to explore will add to the entertainment value alongside some narrative and action gameplay.)
Thanks for the input so far, everyone! It's very helpful!
RyaReisender
200
author=Sooz
Not really? But I tend to find that any fun mechanic can overstay its welcome
But not in a matter of minutes.
Any really fun system won't get boring until after several hours play time.
nurvuss
958
Paranoiac is completely unfair so please don't make it like that.
Aside from that i like your idea. 30-60 minutes would probably suffice for a tightly-paced escape action game.
Aside from that i like your idea. 30-60 minutes would probably suffice for a tightly-paced escape action game.
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
author=nurvuss
Paranoiac is completely unfair so please don't make it like that.
Oh word, no, the main idea is "you're in one (fairly large) area" and "there's a thing that you have to run from." No guessing at hiding places or turbocharged zomzoms!
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
It depends what all there is to do down there.
That's what she said :V
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