Today we will talk about game services. They are different – compare GTA, Four Honor, FIFA, Hearthstone, Fortnite, World of Tanks, Overwatch – they are all as far apart in their gameplay as possible, but there is something that unites them – love for your time. I propose to take Apex Legends apart, because the new 5th season was recently released here. We will try to understand the mechanisms that influence the player’s psyche, forcing him to enter the game over and over again.
Chapter I. Personification.
So, there are 13 legends in Apex today. In game services you will never meet inconspicuous characters. No one is interested in a simple guy, no one will associate themselves with him even with obvious similarities. You and I are more pleased to see in the game avatar one of our characteristic features or those features that we lack, but really want.
Lifeline is a pretty girl, extremely positive in communication, easy-going, we all know her from school, they are usually the ringleaders and the obvious leaders of their group. Not everyone can be a leader, but many would like to try.
Rafe – in addition to his good looks and mysterious past. As she realizes this, the player has a desire to protect her, surround her with guardianship and even help take revenge on her fictional oppressors. Albeit in the person of other players.
Revenant is a typical choice for young boys who want to show their strength in society; their choice is the most brutal character, personifying lethality.
Octane – A characteristic cheerful madman, similar in psychotype to Junkrat from Overwatch, he is attractive because simple rules are not written to him, he is the choice of those who want to stand out with their eccentricity.
Caustic is an obvious villain with an exaggerated sense of self-importance and extreme selfishness.
Wattson is an exemplary good girl, daddy’s https://luckymeslotscasino.co.uk/login/ girl and an excellent student at Apex Legends, if they were grading here.
Pathfinder is a merry fellow, joking out of place, looking for his place in the company of others, trying to win over strange meat creatures.
Gibraltar is a kind-hearted LGBT* person, a loyal friend and helper, the choice of those who want to support leaders, he is a typical number 2.
And finally Loba. The moment came when the studio bosses discovered that many Apex accounts had not been activated in the game for a long time – a huge number of people who had previously played stopped logging in. This means we need to take extreme measures: activate the protocol for extreme sexuality in appearance and the revenge of daddy’s daughter on the offenders represented by a huge corporation. This is how Loba appeared by season 5.
A very bold step by the developers – contrary to Western trends, to release an objectively hyper-attractive character: with a deep neckline, ideal body shape, bronze skin and red manicure, thick hair and aggressive makeup. Tighten her into a tight leather suit, put on heeled boots and a gold choker, hand her a shiny metal pole and….the keyboards of thousands of players are already drowning in saliva, the success of the season is guaranteed. Initial attention captured.
Next, you need to release a trailer and clearly talk about her motivation, abilities, and so on, but all this is secondary – the main thing is to focus in close-ups on the most attractive parts of the heroine.
Having lured the player to return to the Apex, you still need to keep him for as long as possible. Yes, of course, we have 13 character archetypes, among which everyone will find someone to their liking. But this will not help maintain activity on the servers day after day. The player cannot only admire the base appearance.
Chapter II. Motivators.
When you first find yourself in a service game, you notice that in front of you is literally an ocean of customization systems, some different looks, logos, colors, skins and so on and so forth. But only a few can afford to buy it all at once – the total cost of all items in Apex exceeds tens of thousands of rubles. And then the game introduces you to the dosage system. By logging into the game even for a short time every day, you will be rewarded, not too generously, but nevertheless, some little thing will make you happy almost always – you don’t even have to play well, just come and fill the servers with life.
Moreover, a newcomer from the game immediately receives a heap of visual content, the initial charm of the game is enhanced by its generosity – skins pour out like from a cornucopia, but when you get hooked on the project more thoroughly, the dealer will not be so kind to you. Now you are his bitch and more and more often hints of the need for investment will be visible.
This is where Battle Pass comes into play. An additional progression system, in addition to the standard growth of a player’s skill – a small path, 2 months long, is designed to attract you to the game every day, giving out rewards that are, in fact, stupid jokes all the way to 100 levels. But there are some peculiarities: at the beginning, very bright content is concentrated, for the very fact of purchasing the pass, you immediately receive several skins, some of the best in the entire pass. Then, approximately halfway through, something valuable will appear in a separate flash. And in the end there will be what you started all this for – the main reward. You’re great – you’ve completed all 100 levels, get it, sign it.
Moreover, the battle pass progression system is configured in such a way as to encourage daily entry into the game. Game services have not come up with anything new – all mechanics are borrowed from successful MMORPGs of past years. WoW had exactly the same system of daily grinding for day quests. Here too – even if only for a couple of hours, but it’s better to come every day. Quests change every day, and if you miss one day, you will lose the feeling of encouragement and part of the progression, which you will then need to catch up with. Don’t accumulate debts, you understand everything.
And in season 5, Apex went even further. The fact is that this project has quite low loyalty, 78% of players play other games during the season, that is, the creator did not quite cope with his task, did not load the user enough or did not provide very good entertainment. Well, then there’s another idea, in addition to the last one: we’ll give the players what so many people want: we’ll tell a story, yes, simple and down-to-earth, but believe me, any positive number is much greater than zero, so we’re great. A story progression system is being introduced, where every week, through game activity, some fragment of Lore will be told about our incredibly alluring Loba.
Chapter III. Repitivity with variability.
Another important aspect of returning and staying in Apex Legends is the gameplay itself. The fact is that session gaming services are created according to a very similar structure. This is a constant repetition of the same sequence of events, but there will always be some variations. The quantity and quality of loot, the movement of the zone, the movement of other participants in the match – all this creates unique situations every time, not to mention small things like the abilities of heroes in different squads.
And literally every service game is based on this cycle: in Harstone, the same deck of cards is mixed differently each time, in Overwatch, a set of 11 other match participants generates a unique cocktail of interactions, and the list goes on and on. But the most important thing is that it is the repetition of the same initial data under different imposed conditions that gives a slightly different gaming experience. It seems to the player every time, especially after failures, that next time he will definitely take everything into account and will not make mistakes, which will lead to victory. And the match starts again – the effect of “well, I’ll finish the last roll” is created, and then you find yourself at 4 o’clock in the morning with red eyes at the computer.
What I have said does not mean that I have a bad attitude towards service games, but I just want everyone to understand what they are made of and for what purpose. Then the charm will change to a more objective view. Thank you for reading to the end, I’m done, hugs.
* The activities of the international LGBT social movement are recognized as extremist and prohibited on the territory of the Russian Federation
