(1/9) THREAD: I've been trying to figure out what makes great VR games "fun," which is really difficult because it's not even clear if that can be quantified. However, after years of playing and observing two key concepts stand out to me.
(2/9) None of this will be news to veteran game designers, but I hope this might be useful for new and indie developers hoping to make their mark in VR. So here are those two key concepts:
(3/9) EMBODIMENT. VR is about your body, not your fingers. If moving your body isn't important to your game, it might work best on a flat screen (I've seen some 'MOBA in VR!' games that really need to recognize this).
(4/9) ENGAGEMENT. Players need to be engaged or they will be bored. Great games are constantly TEACHING and then CHALLENGING. You start with a mechanic (which itself should be fun), and then you challenge the player with gameplay which forces them to demonstrate they understand.
(5/9) ENGAGEMENT (cont). Once a player passes a challenge, you teach them something new (or a more advanced version of what they first learned), and then challenge them again. Sometimes the challenge should force players to use what they know, but in a new way.
(6/9) ENGAGEMENT (cont). Sometimes challenges should force players to use several things they've learned but simultaneously. And ultimately everything the player has learned should be challenged together at a climactic moment at some point.
(7/9) ENGAGEMENT (cont). Key to making this cycle of teaching and challenging fun is to make sure the player's path is designed with intention and affordance, which means being very smart about how you clue the player in to what they should do in a given situation.
(8/9) If you do this right, you have a deeply engaged player who looks forward to the next moment of gameplay, and is driven to continue to game to continue learning.
(9/9) These ideas apply to EVERY game genre. Don't think just because you're making an FPS or just because it's in VR that it will be immersive and fun /just because/ its an FPS or in VR.
