Design What makes a compelling survival mode?

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ToxicWolf1132

Guest
So I'm working on a survival mode type of game, and I'm wondering what are generally considered important aspects to making such a mode fun. Just to be clear, a survival mode is when the player is placed in an arena with the goal of killing as many enemies/surviving as many waves of enemies as possible.
 

Genetix

Member
Linear vs progression throughout the game. After the first 10 waves has your player leveled up, do they have more powerful weapons. The game has to balance being challenging without being impossible. How do you reward players for their efforts? How do you punish them for dying? There are a lot of questions to ask, but many will depend on exactly what you are building.

Of course the gameplay itself should be 'fun', the controls should feel tight... after that, what keeps someone playing past the first 15 minutes? What is the goal they are working towards?
 
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Ampersand

Guest
A very important factor is risk vs reward. Who cares if it scales if you're just handed everything you need to survive? There needs to be a priority set on time usage. Zombies was very popular because of the fast paced risk vs reward. Do you have time to go three buckets over to get the gun you want? Would it make more sense to board up entrances in the bucket you're in? Do out have time to grab that power up and kill the baddies by yourself or would you be better off reviving your teammate? Decisions like these must be made fast and will directly impact how the current situation plays out. This makes for very compelling gameplay when you make the correct decision. You can see this in games like League too -- the gameplay puts an emphasis on time usage, which makes for a rewarding sensation when you make a good decision.
 
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zendraw

Guest
just work on it and you will find out, theres no formula to it. and these modes usually come when you have a finished engine/game. do you have one?
 
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fxokz

Guest
Progression. For example, when i was playing zombies on black ops 1. The moment i reach round 30 i'd just quit to the main menu because there is literally nothing else i could obtain. Same could be said with some tower defense games. After getting the best of the best all upgraded units it just feels boring yet i always come back because the start is ALWAYS fun despite being repetitive.
 

Genetix

Member
I should add back - there is not perfect answer here. One of the absolutely best ways to get the game right is to test play it hundreds of times, each time closely observing things you like and don't like, then tweaking the game so that those things you like happen more often. 'Fun' is a hard idea to capture or identify. To that end, also try to have some friends or family try the game out and watch them play it. Notice how they play a bit differently then you would - watching someone play a game for the first time, without any idea how it works can help out a ton.

Ultimately, you can grab a stone from the river and it will be rough. If you polish it enough it may some day be a gem.
 
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