Game Design :: "Tribe" games

For my second post in my Game Design series, I am going to jump from the more hardcore gaming genre of RPG to a more casual gaming genre... "Tribe" games.  There may be a better word for these kind of games, but this sums them up well enough.  These are games like Virtual Villagers... games where you take care of a tribe and help them to grow.  There really aren't that many games like this available right now, but they it's still a popular kind of game and would do well with more titles to choose from.

Tribe games all have the basic idea of a few people stuck on some island or other location, where they have to survive.  Your goal is to build up the tribe and either escape the location or just survive it, depending on the game.  So what is required for these games and what makes them better?

These games do best when you have the option of letting the game continue running while you aren't playing it.  This lets you complete "tedious" and time consuming tasks without sitting around twiddling your thumbs.  Having this option is really important or people quickly lose interest in the game.  There may be exceptions where the game has no time consuming tasks and everything happens quickly, but I don't really see that as being a good tactic when designing this kind of game.  These are meant to be casual games and not fast-paced games.  The best way to handle letting the game run while not playing is to have at least a few speed settings - paused, normal, and fast.  Having a couple more speeds to offer variety while playing doesn't hurt, but isn't really necessary.  When paused, the game will not do anything while you have it running or while it's not running.  All other speeds have the game progressing whether you have it running or not.

Next, you need tasks to do.  These can be small things like building various kinds of buildings, or collecting food.  Tasks can also include more advanced things like researching things.  A variety of tasks is important or players will tire of the game.  The more tasks available, the more likely the game will succeed.  As far as researching goes, this can include gaining new skills to build new things or creating potions and spells or something like that.  Creating potions or spells using a variety of collected items without knowing for sure what does what can really make the game interesting.  The one thing that seems to be missing from these games that add that ability is a way to record what you've learned.  It's one thing to have to try different combinations in order to find out what the result will be, but it becomes annoying when you have to either write it all down on paper or else try to remember it yourself in order to do the same thing again in the future.  If the player combines items and learns what it does, it should be stored in the game so the player can easily do that again.

Similar to tasks, another common element that makes the game more interesting is having puzzles to solve.  The puzzles don't have to be really hard to solve... these aren't Adventure games.  That's something that developers of these games don't really seem to think about.  I'm not saying that the puzzles should be really simple, either.  They should be challenging without requiring players to look up the answers online.  Remember that these games are for the casual player and not really meant to challenge the hardcore gamer.  The more puzzles available, the more interesting the game will be for gamers.  Just remember to offer a variety of puzzles and try to steer clear of the overused types of puzzles like match 3 or seek and find.

Another element that helps to make the games interesting for players is the ability to find or catch certain things.  In the games out there now, these include things like butterflies, shells, birds, fish, and more.  Having a collection of items adds another goal in the game that many players enjoy.  It's something that is easy and done while working on other things or waiting for some task to complete.  It isn't necessary to have many different kinds of items to collect in the game, but the items that are used should have a large variety to collect.  It isn't as much fun to collect 5 of 5 shells as it is to collect 20 of 20 shells.  It's also a good idea to offer a way to view your collection.  It's also nice to have an interesting way to view the collection.  You can have a display of the items flat on some "wall" or "table," but that's not really very interesting.  Instead, fish can be seen swimming in an aquarium like you can see in Escape from Paradise 2.  Or, you might see birds or butterflies flying and perching in an aviary.  It's also nice to have the different items look different from each other.  It's not very interesting if they all look almost exactly the same.

An overall goal in the game is also important.  What are you doing and why?  As mentioned, this can include escaping the place you are at or becoming a large city or some other overall goal.

That is all that you really need in this kind of game, but you can add additional things to make it more interesting and fun for players.  I'll mention some items that have been used and some that I think would be interesting to include that have not been used yet.

One thing you can include is having babies look something like their parents.  It can be more fun trying to get a kid that looks a certain way be combining different parents than if all kids are completely random.  This idea has been seen in different games, where the hair color or style, skin tone, or clothing is a combination of the parents'.  A variation of this is having a character editor that lets you choose the characteristics of the babies (hair color/style, clothing, skin tone, etc) when the baby is born or even allow the editor to be used on any person at any time in the game.  This hasn't been seen in any Tribe game that I've seen, but offers another option to customize your tribe.  Naming the people in the tribe should also be an option.

Having different locations to play the game when starting a new game is also a nice way to add replayability.  This was seen in My Tribe, where you could choose from a huge number of islands when starting the game or moving to another island after finishing the one you were on.  The variety makes it more interesting than having the exact same location every time you play a new game.  The downside of how My Tribe handled it was that there were still only half a dozen main tasks or accomplishments and each island had 3 of those.  The limited number meant that you were still pretty limited on replayability.  If there were 15-20 different main tasks/accomplishments and a large number of islands or other locations to choose from, it would offer a lot more replayability than any current Tribe game out there.

Accomplishments, achievements, awards, medals, etc.  Regardless what is used, some way of recognizing main things done in the game is also useful in making players feel like they are doing something useful.  Although not required for these games, it's still a very useful element that can make the game that much more fun for players.

One issue I've had with many of these games is how easy it can be to lose the entire tribe and have to start over just because you forgot to pause it before going to sleep.  It isn't so bad when you lose your entire tribe to starvation the first day you play (if you haven't played it for hours that day anyhow), but when you're close to completing the game and you lose them overnight due to starvation, disease, old age, etc... that can make you not want to ever play the game again.  For example, I played Wild Tribe and had all four parts of the Arc completed and just had to put them together.  I had made a working community that had all the food and water it needed without me watching it every second to keep it alive, so I left it alone overnight.  Unfortunately, because I had the number of "people" that I wanted and that was working well, I hadn't made any new "people" since near the beginning of the game.  The result was that they all reached old age the same night while I was sleeping and when I woke up, everyone was dead.  I never played it again.  I think having an option letting you choose between having this kind of thing happen or not would be useful.  When disabled (so you can't lose your tribe to these events), the people in the tribe can just stop doing anything when they are out of food or water or too old.  If they are too old, they only thing they might be allowed to do is have kids.  Then, if the game designers want, they can make it so that the people who would normally have died because of whatever reason would live for something like 15 minutes after the player starts the game.  That allows the player time enough (with a warning of some sort) to fix the problem.  You could also avoid the option altogether and just have that warning and 15 minutes time frame to fix the problem before the people die.  This is meant as a casual game and not one where you should have game ending events.

Another element that can make the game more interesting is adding random events.  The events can be both good and bad and might let the player choose whether or not to take part in the event, depending on what the event is.  For example, finding a crate, the player could be given the choice of opening it or not.  If opened, something good or bad might happen and it's up to the player whether or not to take the chance.  On the other hand, if the random event was a storm, the player would have no choice and would have to live with whatever good or bad thing happened.  Note that there should be a variety of possible outcomes, both good and bad, for each event so that the events don't get repetitive.  When including random events in any game, it is also nice to have an option for the player to choose the event frequency (how often it happens).  This lets players who want a more "stable" game to have it and players who want a more "random" game to have it.  I personally don't think games with random events need a setting for "no random events," though that does offer more choice to players and choices are always good in a game.

One thing some of these games include are likes and dislikes of the people in the tribe.  Unfortunately, I've yet to see those play any part in the game at all.  If you want to include likes and dislikes in the game, it would be better to have them actually mean something.  If a character doesn't like rain, maybe they refuse to work outside in it.  If a character doesn't like the ocean, maybe they won't go near it.  If the person doesn't like butterflies, maybe they won't agree to have kids with someone who does.  Whatever choice is made for how the likes and dislikes affect the game, having an effect would give them a purpose rather than something players completely ignore.

Finally, something that I haven't seen in a Tribe game is real conversation between people in the game.  Some of them let the people talk, but there aren't words... it's just a "gimmick" to make it look realistic.  Instead, it would be nice to have characters actually talk to each other.  Obviously, the conversations need to be rather limited instead of having a hundred things each person can say, but having at least something said would make it more realistic.  The conversations can be in thought bubbles, spoken aloud if you have voice actors to work with, shown on a character tab/display similar to the thoughts shown in Virtual Villagers, or in some other method.  I recommend only showing the conversations (or hearing them) when clicking on someone talking.  You might still have a background sound for talking when near people who are talking (similar to entering a crowded room where you can't hear exactly what is being said, but you know that people are talking).

All in all, Tribe games can be fun games when taking a break from the fast paced games or if you just prefer casual games.  Each game currently available is similar and some things are basically the same in each, but they are all unique in some way.  Unfortunately, the newer games aren't taking the best parts of earlier games and using them in some way to make their games better.  The result is that each game is better than the rest for certain reasons and worse than the rest for other reasons.  If a game were to look at the best things each game previously made did and find a way to incorporate those things in a unique way and add additional elements to help make the game more unique, it could easily be a favorite.  And, remember... Tribe games don't have to be on an island or near the shore.  You might have a tribe game located in the middle of a jungle, for example.  Or even on another planet with unique plants and trees, different colored water maybe, weird looking people in the tribe, and so on.  Make it unique, but keep the best things from other games.

Game Design :: Role Playing Games

The focus of my Game Design series is a look at what design ideas make the given genre good. Obviously, these are opinions that vary from person to person, but I want to take an in-depth look at what I feel about game design. Lately, game designs have been going downhill and most people would agree with that. We have fewer and fewer quality games coming out these days. I doubt my blogs will get the notice of big game developers, but maybe someone will take a look and maybe it will help at least one company to come up with at least one good game. I won't usually make reference to graphics and controls as those are common requirements no matter what genre you're going to make.

I will start my Game Design series of blogs with Role Playing Games (RPGs). I'll begin with standard RPGs. These are role playing games similar to Baldur's Gate or Planescape: Torrent. I won't include RPG hybrids, like Action RPGs (for example, Diablo or Titan Quest) or MMORPGs. I will look at those and other genres in another post.


Role Playing Games have been popular for decades. They started with pen and paper (and dice) and progressed up through the regular RPGs that I'll be discussing here, through various hybrids like Action RPGs, up to the online MMORPGs. A lot has changed over the years, but the core remains the same. Unfortunately, sometimes the core pieces get lost in some games that are coming out these days. I haven't seen many good RPGs released in years and I think most fans of the RPG genre would agree.

So, what makes a good RPG? What is required for it to be worth playing and not a complete failure?

First of all, an RPG is just that a Role Playing game. If the game doesn't allow you to role play your character, it's not an RPG to begin with. So what does that mean? Role playing has a variety of meanings, depending on who you talk to. Does it mean you have to pretend that you are that character? If you are a hardcore role player, then the answer would be yes. In fact, that's how role playing games got started. You pretended to be a character in a pen and paper game and basically lived that character's life while playing the game. With the addition of computers, we now have a real character in front of us that we control and we don't have to become the character to play the game anymore. So what is required for you to be role playing a computer character versus just playing it? The main thing is that you need to actually have an interest in the development of that character. If the character is exactly the same from start to finish regardless what you do, it isn't role playing.

Character Development includes a very wide range of options. It can include skills, abilities, characteristics, personalities, looks, and much more. You can have a bare minimum of character development in a game and still call in an RPG, but it probably won't do very well if put up against one with a lot of choice in character development. Below, you can see some of the common choices in character development. Not all of these need to be in a game, but the more that are included, the better the game will be and the more RPG fans will like the game. Remember that customization is a major key to a good RPG!

Basics in Character Development:

• Character creation options
• We are starting to see a few games coming out that give you a lot of control over how your character looks. The upcoming MMORPG, Aion, is one of those. However, this is still not the norm. Many RPGs out there only let you make minor changes to how your character looks when you create it. Although not necessarily as important in a single player RPG as in a MMORPG, it still is important to RPG fans no matter what kind of RPG game you are playing. We want to make our characters look a certain way that will fit with how we are going to play the game. Control over facial features, hair and eye color, height, weight, etc. are all important options when creating a character. Some games even give a slider control to certain features to give almost unlimited choice in looks. That is always a bonus that players really appreciate. Keep in mind, however, that if they game never really gives you a view of your character, such options are not really necessary.
• Skills and abilities are also very important. Sometimes, they get ignored until later on in the game as you learn them. However, your character is not an infant (usually) and should have some kinds of skills and abilities right from the start. They don't have to be significant, but there should be something. Some games give you a few options of good and bad "traits" that you can choose from that give you bonuses or deficiencies to help give you a "background" to work with in making the character feel "real." Others give you a variety of skills and abilities (from just a few to dozens depending on the game) and allow you to place a certain number of points into them. Some give you both options. However it is handled, having a some kind of ability right from the start helps to make the character more believable. No matter how the game handles levels, you really aren't a "level 1" when you start most RPGs. There are a few exceptions where you could say you were, but for the most part, you have lived some kind of life prior to the game and should at least be something like a "level 5 commoner" or whatever.
• Race and class are perhaps the most commonly used options in RPGs when developing a character. Most RPGs give you those choices or something similar. It gives a bit more variety in what your character can do to distinguish itself from just some "default" character. Unfortunately, due to the increase of "casual" gamers into the genre, we are starting to see a shift toward the no-class games where you can learn every skill possible and gain all abilities no matter how you play or what your character starts out as. Yes, it sounds good to have no limitations on your character, but keep in mind that role playing is meant to be realistic (at least realistic to the world the game is set in [obviously magic isn't real]). A cashier isn't likely to be able to build high powered weapons and shouldn't be allowed to in a game. Having different races and classes allows for replayability and that's a very important thing in all games. It makes you make choices in how you play the game and that's a major part of role playing. It's fine if the game gives you some option that lets that cashier make high powered weapons (maybe paying a NPC to do it), but the character itself should still have some limit on what's possible. That said, it is possible to do a classless system where you still have to make choices that will, in effect, create a unique class that is "limited" to a certain set of skills and abilities. The imortant part is that the game doesn't let you do everything.
• Stats are also a common option in RPGs. Strength, Constitution, Charisma, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity ... or some other form of stats. These point values show how your character is advancing as you progress through the game. They also determine how well you do against enemies or other obstacles. Some people don't like seeing the stats, but most RPG fans prefer to see them. Most don't care about seeing the actual "rolls" anymore, but they still are interested in the stats themselves.
• Character development throughout the game
• The main way to offer character development throughout the game is with consequences. Consequences are a very useful way to affect gameplay and allow for very high replayability. It also makes the game more interesting when you know that how you play the game will affect what happens later on. This can be very minor, such as if you are rude to a NPC, they refuse to talk to you again or decide to attack you. Or, for a really well done game, it can go way beyond that and become quite complex. In such a game, you might decide to kill a guard right at the beginning of the game and hours later, you meet the guard's brother who knows you killed the guard. The results of that could be anything depending on the game, but you get the idea. I don't think I've seen games get quite that involved with consequences... there are ones that have consequences happen a long time after, but I don't think I've seen any that keep track of who you killed throughout the game other than specific "main" characters. This is something that has a wide range of options and you can go from very little to quite extensive. Obviously, the greater the complexity, the better the game will be.
• A more commonly used method of character development throughout the game is in the form of levels, stats, skills, and abilities. All of these amount to the same thing... you improve the character's "numbers" by progressing through the game and it makes your character "better". Some games only use this when leveling up to the next level. That is fine, but it makes your character development jump around. It's not very fluid or realistic. Other games allow the skills and abilities to increase through use or other means so that you are getting "better" regularly through the game rather than in spurts. Either way works, though the second option does allow for a better game.

Beyond character development, you have another major requirement for a good RPG... the story. A single player RPG is only as good as its story. Give it a bad story and even if everything else was perfect, the game would still be mediocre. Give it a great story and most gamers will be willing to overlook other deficiencies in the game. Remember that the story is ALWAYS more important than graphics. Graphics are the biggest thing game companies look at these days regardless of genre. And they are important. However, without a good storyline, graphics mean nothing. Provide a good story first, then look at adding some eye-popping graphics.

RPGs revolve around quests. The quests give you a purpose and something to do in the game. They also help the story to progress. Without them, you have nothing really to do other than kill everything in sight. And that's not really what an RPG is supposed to be about. Quests are usually handled fairly well by companies, but sometimes the quests get repetitive and boring. How many times can you go kill X number of Y creatures before you get bored? How many times can you take X from one person to another before it gets tiring? The amount of variety in quests can help to make or break a game. Having a lot of kinds of quests and make it so that those two examples don't get too boring. It's also helpful to have a good selection of side quests that are not part of the main storyline, but have their own mini storyline or even just individual quests.

The world is also important. There have been a variety of choices made over the years in how to make a good RPG world. Some games take the approach of a linear world where you can only really go one way with only a few exceptions. Other games give you an entire world and let you do anything you want to as long as you can survive doing it. In my opinion, neither extreme is all that good. Linear can get boring and can reduce replayability considerably. Wide open can make it so you have no real purpose in the game and quests stop being tied together very much and you are left just wandering around without a story. Instead, somewhere in the middle would be better. Having a pretty open world where you can move about a lot while still "pushing" you down a main path as you go tends to work out better. You get the good of both worlds without the bad... if handled well.

Variety in what you fight and loot are also important. A game where you only every get one set of armor and one weapon and only fight 5 types of enemies can get boring VERY quickly. On the other hand, a game where you have dozens of types of enemies with hundreds of types of armor and weapons allows the game to be more interesting and unexected. Many RPG fans also enjoy finding new and better items/equipment in the game, so having a large variety makes it more fun for them. Diablo is an example of a game that did a great job offering a large number of items through their use of random prefixes and suffixes.

Make the game unique. Yes, you can make a good game that looks and feels like many other RPG games out there, but if you can make a quality RPG that is unique in some way, you can make your way right to the top of the list of games. Some games have made very unique worlds, others offer some very interesting conversations between party members when playing a single player game (e.g. Planescape: Torment), others have interesting and unusual races rather than the more commonly used ones. Some have different things that can happen to you throughout the game such as getting scars from fights or titles from doing something good or bad. Some take the consequences mentioned in the character development section to a new level and have it play a part in your character's overall alignment using many more increments than the standard 9 options (e.g. Fable). Others offer mutations, enhancements, or other changes that can be made physically to your character to allow for more customization. The point is that if you can do something unique rather than sticking to the same mold that everyone else uses, your game can become very popular. Of course, you'll want to make sure it is implemented well so it is looked on as a good difference rather than a bad one.

That huge post is the beginning of my Game Design series. I will post thoughts on other genre designs as I go and will also include other posts about computer gaming. Please feel free to comment on what you see here. I understand it's a very big post and most people won't bother reading all of it, but if you do... please let me know what you think. As I said, I am giving my own opinions and others have different opinions. However, I am trying to show what I feel "most" fans of the genre think. Even if you disagree with some points here, I think you'd agree that any RPG that includes all of these things is likely to be a great game and much better than most we've seen recently. In case I missed anything that's also important for an RPG game, please let me know. I tried to think of everything, but I may have missed something.