Importance of User Experience in games

By ChicMic Studios 11:03 am

In the video game industry, there have always been debates on one primary topic, “What is the most important element in a game?” Most of the people say it’s the gameplay, some say it’s the graphics, sound effects or the story. But what everyone misses to realize is that the players always play games for an experience. So, the primary goal of any game should be to deliver a good user experience.

May it be gameplay or graphics or sound effects or story unless and until the game is not able to simulate an experience for the player, it cannot be successful in the market. There are lots and lots of video games available in the market but not every game is well known to the players. Only the games, which gave a unique experience to the players, are remembered. “Prince of Persia” a game developed by UBISOFT is the best example; even after a decade people still remember the game and expect a new version.

AAA games always focus on pure player/user experience and they hit the market hard and also make good revenue. But when it comes to mobile games it becomes tough to simulate an experience for the player. People just open the game for a few minutes and then get back to their routine. Some mobile game developers focus on delivering the user experience and take over the market with a bang. Glu Mobile, Supercell are some of the leading studios who primarily focus on emulating the experience of a console game on the mobile.

Recently Niantic Labs launched “Pokémon Go” using Augmented Reality, which broke all the records in a number of downloads, daily active users and revenue just because the game was trying to give the best user experience. In this game, the player has to move around in the real world to catch Pokémon’s using GPS location tracking. There is no special gameplay or story but the game was enjoyed by the players and appreciated.

This game is proof that if you can deliver the best user experience in real-time, players will love to play your game and even spend on it without second thought.

Evolution of Card Games

By ChicMic Studios 7:00 am

Playing Cards was one of the main indoor games played before technology took over. Cards even gave birth to a new game genre called “CCG” (Collectible Card Game). Immediately the stores were filled with various types of card games like UNO Cards, Wrestling cards, Pokémon Cards, Phase 10 cards, Go Fish Cards, and so on.

The specialty of card games is that it can be played anywhere at any time with anyone, there is no specific age limit. Strategy is the key skill for success in card games and the winners are considered to be the smartest. For games like Poker and Blackjack, players use their memory power to count the cards and analyze their movements during the game.

In the 90’s, card games lost their charm due to modern digital games and were pushed towards older audience who were not familiar with the technology.

Later when smartphones were introduced in the 21st century, they took over the gaming market in a flash. Players were able to enjoy games anywhere without the requirement of any other gaming device. This specialty brought a lot of casual audience into the gaming world. Everyone owning a smartphone started playing games and their focus was mainly in puzzle games and strategy games.

With the popularity of smartphones, the studios started developing digital card games. Soon the mobile game market became a strong platform for card games. “Hearthstone” a successful mobile game simulated the classic experience of playing with cards with amazing special effects. Due to this game even hardcore gamers started giving attention to card games.

Later, the makers of “Clash of Clans” developed a card game called “Clash Royale”. This game was a dream-come-true for all the card gamers. Everyone who has played card games always wished that their card characters were alive and take part in live action. This long time wish was fulfilled by “Clash Royale” which in turn made amazing revenue for the development studio “Supercell”.

Moreover, every CCG player loves variety in terms of cards and “Clash Royale” offered an amazing card collection. With a huge variety, each character in the card was different and had unique ability. Also, the game was constantly updated with new cards/characters with even special abilities.

These two card games once again stirred the mobile game market and increased the scope for future developers to come up with new types of card games like “Bluff Master (420) – I Doubt it”.

Category: Cross Platform Game Development