How do you cause de sensation on the player that the game is progressing the way you want?
This, which it’s maybe the most important aspect of game design, is going to be the subject of today’s post.
Games that follow their own internal story or a linear set of stages usually need a very strong sense of progression so the player feels like they are advancing the plot or improving themselves. But how can you show such progression through level design and gameplay?
When thinking about video games, progression it’s a recipe of two parts, the first of which is change.
Change is a key element in progression design, because if the scenario keeps shifting around the character as he wanders through the game, this creates a strong sense of progression on the player. Things are changing, we are not at the same place as we were before. If nothing changes visually, then you’d feel as if you had never left the place where you started, even if physically you moved from one location to another.
So, change is an important factor, but it’s not the only factor essential to progression, since if the only way that you can tell things are progressing are the changes around you, then you may as well just be walking in circles.
To give the player the sensation the he is not just walking in circles, we give him the second part of this recipe, which is destination. A clear objective or purpose that is presented from the very beginning will keep the player interested and invested in moving forward.
A perfect example of this can be found in the game Journey. In this game, you find yourself wandering and sliding through a vast desert, going from place to place, passing through ruins and caves and temples and snowy mountains. But one thing never changes in the scenario, and that is the tall, luminous mountain that can be seen far away on the horizon during the entire experience. And getting there is your main objective.
“Progression is not just a change, but a change in a direction with a focus on something, which is your destiny, your objective. The sense of progression lies when you make it clear to the player where he has to go, where he wants to go, and when you give him the sensation that as time passes he’s getting closer to this objective.” – says Ygor Speranza, game designer, programmer and producer who already worked at amazing studios such as Midipixel and Tapp Games.
So, when you want to make a game and provoke this sense of progression, ask yourself what variations you are creating, whether they are in the character, environment, rules, and how are those variations making the player get closer to his destination. Those elements when put together are what cause the feeling of progression.
This works even when the destination itself shifts. In Super Mario Bros., for example, each time Mario gets to the castle at the end of a level, Toad is like “Congratulations! You got to your desired destiny, but the princess is not here, so you need to go to the next castle!” So Mario’s destiny is pushed even further every time to a new step of the way.
This works because the “change” in a game can have a number of meanings, depending on the game. It can be a physical or even a psychological one. But without change, there’s no sense of movement, traction. The player won’t feel like he’s approaching his destiny. So the important thing is that this change is the representation of the progress. It has to make you feel like you’re moving towards your destination through change.
Those are the very basics of progression in game design. By understanding this concept and following these very simple rules, you already have the tools to make video games that have a very satisfactory curve of progression.
But how about you? Have you ever thought about how to improve the sense of progression in your game? Have you ever had any idea on how to make the progression more interesting? Take this opportunity to apply your knowledge at GameJamPlus and improve your skills even more as a developer!
