Re: Opinions on what makes an audio game engaging
That's the thing Dark, I've been through the AAA ringer at a big studio and played a lot of videogames though so yes I'm both negative from being burned out by thee industry as a whole, and burned out by the usual crop of games both video and audio though.
I asked a friend of mine who is a published author why she never wanted to write for games, and her response was, paraphrased:
Because writing for games is so limiting compared to books.
I get that, I get it being a writer myself, and having been at a big company....I'm cynical about games and audiogames, I'm cynical because of having to test the same version of a game over and over and over again....week in, week out and get into verbal fights and arguments over game X in the studio.
Now...what, IMO makes a game engaging?
I said game, so....videogame, audiogame, it don't matter...
Personally, I think simplicity really, simple mechanics that are easy to pick up and play but hard to master. Back in the 90s, Papyrus released a bunch of racing sims that got sold in big box stores, your supermarkets, your big chain stores. They were easy to play but hard to master, you could spend hours in it practicing and tweaking your car to get a faster lap time, or trying to win the championship. Some 20 years or so, nearly 25 on, are those games simple? Yes. But they are simple, simple physics, with flaws, but engaging because you have things to do, you're trying to qualify on pole, or learn a new track, or racing a full season to win the title.
Same for RPGs, you go through the main quest, but I'd argue an RPG can be less engaging because of the writing.
So, simple pick up and play mechanics? Check.
Low system requirements:
What I mean by this is I can run it on a low end system, or for audiogames, I can run with Orca or SAPI without any additional software. I can run it on a Pentium III or equivalent for example, I don't need a mega super high end rig with a Titan GTX to run a game.
Next: Addicting gameplay
Do I neeed to explain this one? Again, Puzzle Quest 1 and 2, the match 3 gameplay is addicting because of its simple nature so you get hooked easier.
So what audiogames do I feel tick those boxes?
Warsim has the easy but deep gameplay, I wish it were on Linux but......it has addicting gameplay and low requirements BUT it's not perfect. AHC has easy gameplay but it is, at least to me, just another RPG. That's not to say it's a bad game, mechanics wise, it's just an accessible RPG, which personally I don't exactly care for frankly.
What else makes a game engaging?
Let's see......
A rich world...but.....this isn't a must, it's nice BUT the gameplay can carry a game if the world isn't super detailed, I feel like some games do go overboard with describing every tiny little thing and it gets too cluttered.
Which leads to my next point:
Only essential sounds:
What I mean by this is you do not need a sound for every tiny little thing happening, at all, it gets overwhelming and turns me off games, personally. The same goes for sounds/ambience, if those are too jarring...nope, uninstall
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