Replay Value

[Q-Nova]

I just found this really good video about replay value:

https://ytprivate.com/watch?v=0TQUQKJE1Jw

It made me think about replay value and how important it is to make a fun, long-lasting game. I noticed that a lot of games back then aren't as long as today's games and they usually seemed a lot harder and sometimes more frustrating. However, they are still fun to play, especially in subsequent playthroughs. I think replay value has a big factor in that; in other words, those games encourage you to play again and get better, and it becomes more satisfying as a result. While I enjoy blasting through an easy game, it's really satisfying when you get good in a game you've been struggling with for who knows how long. This doesn't just mean blasting through a level in quick speed; it can also mean finding secrets you've missed, blazing through without getting hit, and getting your highest score. It can also be in playing with different characters, finding out which character suits you best, and then get really good with the one you like best. Multiple difficulties are also good as you can ease yourself into the game with an easy difficulty. When you get good, you can then try a higher difficulty. You might struggle for a bit, but once you play really well it's more satisfying due to the greater risk involved!

I think not every game needs to take over 20 hours to complete and be very involved with tons of collectibles and stuff. Take Missile Command on the Atari 2600 for instance. That game has only two types of enemies, one type of level, and very simple gameplay that's nothing more than the cardinal directions and an action key. It doesn't even keep track of your high score! There are many different variations to choose from, but I don't know if they really change much. I haven't tried them yet since I keep replaying game variation #1 over and over, because it's so challenging and fun and I always seem to get better! It starts out easy, but it gets hard very quickly, when the missiles get plentiful and fast. It was overwhelming at first, but when I kept playing it over and over, I was able to handle it and it's so satisfying! The game colors change after every other level and it feels so nice when you get to see a color scheme you've never seen before! It just goes to show that a small game can still be so fun to play even after you played it over 20 times! 3D Pinball (from Windows XP) and Minesweeper are two more good examples of simple games that have a lot of replay value.

What do you think? I think replay value really is one of those things that seems to be forgotten nowadays -- even the MFGG review system has removed the replay value section without warning!

[Vert]

It's a natural progression of game design I suppose. As filesizes became less limiting, developers were free to make games that didn't have to resort to making the game difficult to squeeze out more playtime. From there replay value just slowly became less of an important factor over time.

I think it's interesting how this video uses replay value as a synonym for skill ceiling. I hadn't thought of it like that before but I suppose there's a big overlap between these two terms at least.

[VinnyVideo]

A lot of older video games weren't very long or complex. However, both the games and the hardware were pretty expensive (especially when you account for inflation). So to make players feel like they were getting their money's worth (and so kids wouldn't beg their parents for another pricey game next month), developers often stretched games out with out-of-the-way secrets, difficult platforming sections, limited lives, or unavoidable level grinding.

Many of the reasons why old-school video games were so difficult aren't as relevant in 2021. Still, there is something rewarding about mastering a challenging video game - especially when it's difficult but not unfairly hard.

Of course, there are some other ways to add replay value - different playable characters, hidden levels, achievements systems, DLC (which is its own can of worms!), excellent multiplayer, or sandbox games like Mario Paint or SimCity.

Nowadays, I don't have as much time to play games, so a game has to be really amazing for me to take the time to try to 100% it!

Course clear! You got a card.