Games Game Play Time?

[ilan]

hi

i would like to hear your opinion about how long should a game take to complete all levels.
is 30min ok? (and i mean when i know the levels well and almost dont die)

thanx

 

[wonder]

Well, let's see...
- What kind of game?
- Including trial and error?
- In a single playthrough or in human time?

Example: Final Fantasy XII (PS2)
- It's a (semi)open-world JRPG Game
- It can be finished in 6h30m (speedrun).
- It took me 135 hours to finish the game, with lots of trial and error
- It took me about a year to finish the game (~2h30m per weekend)

 

[ilan]

i am talking about a jump and run android game (like my pixel knight game)

- In a single playthrough or in human time?

and i mean when i know the levels well and almost dont die

@wonder, dont forget we are simple game developers, dont compare us to final fantasy or such games

 

[wonder]

It still depends on how much content your game has...

If your primary game design is going from point A to point B (complete the level), where each level has the complexity of an 8-bit Mario level, it should take the experienced player 2 minutes per level. Multiply that by the number of levels.

 

[ilan]

My first 5 levels took me 10 min so i am on the right route

 

[sorex]

the big difference between retro games and new games is that you had a set of lives.

when all gone you had to restart again from level 1.

so you always had to face the challenge of all completed levels again and not re-start from the last completed one.

I don't know if people will like that these days but it's like it was for decades.

needless to say that the old style will need more time to complete the game.

 

[ilan]

the big difference between retro games and new games is that you had a set of lives.

when all gone you had to restart again from level 1.

so you always had to face the challenge of all completed levels again and not re-start from the last completed one.

I don't know if people will like that these days but it's like it was for decades.

needless to say that the old style will need more time to complete the game.

yes thats true if i remember correct it was like this also on Super mario. when you died you started from the beginning.
i think that most people wont like that anymore. so its better to put more levels and on each level complete the next one will be unlocked.

if someone likes a level he can always play it when ever he wants

 

[wonder]

if i remember correct it was like this also on Super mario

I wouldn't advise creating a platformer if you haven't played Mario in a long time... Playing games is like homework to any game developer.

Homework:
- Play Super Mario, Super Mario 3 and Super Mario World
- Feel the differences between each iteration
- Compare it to your game

 

[ilan]

i have played so many times super mario on my nintendo so it should be enough for this life.

 

[ilan]

btw i am working now on a super hard level. the player will have an auto velocity on his x axis and you have to avoid traps until you get in the end.
i will make maybe 2 auto run levels. (something different then where you control your player)

 

[sorex]

I wonder why super mario has to be the reference?

It's not the first platform game ever.

 

[ilan]

It's not the first platform game ever.

but the most popular. and maybe the best.

 

[wonder]

but the most popular. and maybe the best.

It's a milestone in game design and one of the first platformers to get (almost) everything right.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mario+game+design

 

[ilan]

It's a milestone in game design and one of the first platformers to get (almost) everything right.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mario game design

true!

 

[sorex]

I guess the popularity was because you could get the arcade version straight at home (for free with the system)
since it was both from the same producer, using the same hardware thus a 1:1 match.

Most arcade ports lacked something (or a lot) so the arcade version was most of the time more superior than the ports which wasn't the case here.

I always prefered platformers like Pac Land, Flicky or Green Beret over Super Mario Bros tho and they are older or from the same year
but that's a personal taste ofcourse.

 

[An Schi]

when you died you started from the beginning.
i think that most people wont like that anymore. so its better to put more levels and on each level complete the next one will be unlocked.

Permadeath is coming back!
A year ago i read a german article about it, tried to google something english for you and here it is:
http://www.gamesradar.com/why-permadeath-just-wont-die-video-games/

 

[andymc]

You could extend gameplay by making a reason to replay levels. Or maybe play them in a different way (backwards?)
mario games reward players for going back and collecting coins on old levels, angry birds rewards players with stars for going back and doing a level better. Or you could add secrets for players to find. OR maybe find a key on a later level that unlock a door on an earlier level?

 

[ilan]

You could extend gameplay by making a reason to replay levels. Or maybe play them in a different way (backwards?)
mario games reward players for going back and collecting coins on old levels, angry birds rewards players with stars for going back and doing a level better. Or you could add secrets for players to find. OR maybe find a key on a later level that unlock a door on an earlier level?

for the first version i will release 12 levels. i will add of course more later. those levels wont be easy to finish. i believe it will need time to finish all levels and i hope people will like the game. if they do they will ask for more levels and i will add new levels.

its takes a lot time to create new levels with new object and new stuff that will make the game more interesting.
i am now finishing level 8 so only 4 to go and add few stuff to the menu and i will put the beta for testing on the test my app forum.

 

[An Schi]

You could extend gameplay by making a reason to replay levels.

I don't like that fashion and usually don't do it

 

[melonZgz]

For a platformer, if you're the programmer/level designer, I think 30 min is not a bad time. I think you can complete a lot of old school games in that time if you know them perfectly. And you can allways make more levels/worlds if there is demand.

You could extend gameplay by making a reason to replay levels. Or maybe play them in a different way (backwards?)
mario games reward players for going back and collecting coins on old levels, angry birds rewards players with stars for going back and doing a level better. Or you could add secrets for players to find. OR maybe find a key on a later level that unlock a door on an earlier level?

This is important. There has to be a reason the player would want to play the level again. Maybe to get the 3 star rating, maybe to get a secret that is inside... or a secret area that gets you to a bonus stage... a lot of players like to complete the game with all the stars/secrets/whatever-special-things-you put-in-there