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So, you’ve just completed your favourite game in record time without losing a single life. But what did you get for it? Satisfaction, enjoyment, challenge? These are enough for most of us. If we didn’t enjoy games and get satisfaction from playing them, we wouldn’t bother to buy them. But why not give us some extra incentive to get that high score, find that last Star (or Shine…) or blow that boss’ brains out in record time?
Well, it has already happened in many games. Goldeneye is the obvious example with cheats earned for completing missions on various difficulties within time limits. These cheats made the game more fun, and gave many of us hours of experimentation and hilarity at the hapless enemies’ expense. Other games have been less successful. Mario 64, for all its brilliance, had a bit of an anticlimax when you’d earned all 120 stars and finally opened up the cannon outside the palace. Shoot yourself up, and discover Yoshi! “Whoo, I finally get to ride him” you think (no funny comments… :P) only to discover he gives you unlimited lives and then tells you to go have fun. Getting all 120 stars you’ve pretty much explored to death every world anyway. And you’ve likely become very proficient at the game, rendering unlimited lives almost pointless. Zelda: Ocarina Of Time also rewarded you with a cow in your treehouse when you beat a certain time on a horse race… novel, but hardly a mind blowing reward.
Another way rewards are being incorporated is with games within games… I think this was first used in the SNES/Megadrive versions of Pitfall, which had the original game as a cheat or bonus. Jet Force Gemini and Donkey Kong 64 both included old games that you could access when you advanced through the single player game. Others include Animal Crossing which (I think…) gives you a NES and two games at the start, and more can be earned or traded. These give an extra incentive to play the game and reward those players who put in the hours. I for one would like to see this taken further. With DVDs, it is certainly feasible to store a number of older games on a disk for the player to earn through playing the main game. Wouldn’t it be great to unlock the original Zelda from the NES if you managed to find all the heart pieces in Zelda GC?
Another idea recently touched upon by Nintendo is more of a loyalty scheme. Many people have been going ape over the opportunity to register ‘stars’ online for GameCubes and certain games. Initially these were seen as a bit of a joke. You could ‘buy’ desktop themes, screensavers, printable posters, etc. of your favourite Nintendo games with your stars, but recently the stars have rocketed in popularity due to the addition of real products such as Wavebird controllers and Platinum GBAs. Granted, these rewards are for buying the games, not playing them, but it could be a good start. Imagine if Nintendo released a game where by completing it fully (ie. Not just winning it, but doing/collecting everything, rather like collecting all Shines on Mario Sunshine) you got a code for extra stars. I doubt it would spur too many people on to complete the game just for the stars, but it would be a nice reward for those with the dedication to do so.
Of course, there is a problem with this. People could just use a game guide. The only possible way around this I can see is some sort of randomiser, such as key items appearing in random areas, or randomising the layout of certain areas. But as you can imagine, this is at the risk of a more disjointed game. But even with a guide, tasks like collecting all Gold Skulltulas in Zelda:OOT would still be huge undertakings.
I’m not saying we need to be rewarded, if I felt the need to know there was a reward at the end of a game just to keep me playing I probably would have given up gaming long ago, but rewards are, well, very rewarding… It’s very nice to know the developer thought about the dedicated gamers who would take the time to go back and try to see everything in their game. And it’s always nice to get something back for your efforts.
Well, it has already happened in many games. Goldeneye is the obvious example with cheats earned for completing missions on various difficulties within time limits. These cheats made the game more fun, and gave many of us hours of experimentation and hilarity at the hapless enemies’ expense. Other games have been less successful. Mario 64, for all its brilliance, had a bit of an anticlimax when you’d earned all 120 stars and finally opened up the cannon outside the palace. Shoot yourself up, and discover Yoshi! “Whoo, I finally get to ride him” you think (no funny comments… :P) only to discover he gives you unlimited lives and then tells you to go have fun. Getting all 120 stars you’ve pretty much explored to death every world anyway. And you’ve likely become very proficient at the game, rendering unlimited lives almost pointless. Zelda: Ocarina Of Time also rewarded you with a cow in your treehouse when you beat a certain time on a horse race… novel, but hardly a mind blowing reward.
Another way rewards are being incorporated is with games within games… I think this was first used in the SNES/Megadrive versions of Pitfall, which had the original game as a cheat or bonus. Jet Force Gemini and Donkey Kong 64 both included old games that you could access when you advanced through the single player game. Others include Animal Crossing which (I think…) gives you a NES and two games at the start, and more can be earned or traded. These give an extra incentive to play the game and reward those players who put in the hours. I for one would like to see this taken further. With DVDs, it is certainly feasible to store a number of older games on a disk for the player to earn through playing the main game. Wouldn’t it be great to unlock the original Zelda from the NES if you managed to find all the heart pieces in Zelda GC?
Another idea recently touched upon by Nintendo is more of a loyalty scheme. Many people have been going ape over the opportunity to register ‘stars’ online for GameCubes and certain games. Initially these were seen as a bit of a joke. You could ‘buy’ desktop themes, screensavers, printable posters, etc. of your favourite Nintendo games with your stars, but recently the stars have rocketed in popularity due to the addition of real products such as Wavebird controllers and Platinum GBAs. Granted, these rewards are for buying the games, not playing them, but it could be a good start. Imagine if Nintendo released a game where by completing it fully (ie. Not just winning it, but doing/collecting everything, rather like collecting all Shines on Mario Sunshine) you got a code for extra stars. I doubt it would spur too many people on to complete the game just for the stars, but it would be a nice reward for those with the dedication to do so.
Of course, there is a problem with this. People could just use a game guide. The only possible way around this I can see is some sort of randomiser, such as key items appearing in random areas, or randomising the layout of certain areas. But as you can imagine, this is at the risk of a more disjointed game. But even with a guide, tasks like collecting all Gold Skulltulas in Zelda:OOT would still be huge undertakings.
I’m not saying we need to be rewarded, if I felt the need to know there was a reward at the end of a game just to keep me playing I probably would have given up gaming long ago, but rewards are, well, very rewarding… It’s very nice to know the developer thought about the dedicated gamers who would take the time to go back and try to see everything in their game. And it’s always nice to get something back for your efforts.
Never played a Metroid game before???
I command you to go buy a SNES and a copy of Super Metroid NOW!!!
:)
I command you to go buy a SNES and a copy of Super Metroid NOW!!!
:)
Hmmm... sounds cool, because I've never played a Metroid game before and playing one of the 2D games would be very interesting after playing Metroid Prime. Shame I have no GBA... :(
If you complete Metroid Fusion on GBA, link your GBA up to your Cube with Metroid Prime on, you can then play the original Metroid on your Cube!
Fantastic!
:)
Fantastic!
:)
I think the stars idea is workable, maybe even reward stars for different tasks, ie. a certain number for completing the game, a different number for completing a side quest (such as the gold skulltulas in Zelda:OOT), and others for things such as completing races in under a set time limit or something. With online capabilities for consoles, this could be even more powerful, as rather than a code (which could potentially be stolen with some sort of code generator) the game could save a file to the memory card, which you then upload when you go online with your Cube next. Any code stealing could be eliminated, because even though each 'set' of stars would have a code to ensure a set wasn't uploaded multiple times, this set would never be seen by any users as it would simply be a file on the memory card.
Regarding actual rewards, developers could even reward gamers with exclusive new screenshots, movies, or even demos of upcoming titles. We've heard about Nintendo releasing Zelda:OOT with Zelda GC in Japan for pre-orders, and a fair few PSX and PS2 titles now include demo disks alongside the actual game. Why not incorporate the demos into the game itself to make players earn them?
PS thanks for the reply :-)
Regarding actual rewards, developers could even reward gamers with exclusive new screenshots, movies, or even demos of upcoming titles. We've heard about Nintendo releasing Zelda:OOT with Zelda GC in Japan for pre-orders, and a fair few PSX and PS2 titles now include demo disks alongside the actual game. Why not incorporate the demos into the game itself to make players earn them?
PS thanks for the reply :-)
yeah that'd be good, the stars at the end bit I mean, and the best part is, each code is unique to the code in the manual or something eg, like when registering some PC games, you need a code to install them, and once a code has been used, it doesn't work anymore, and each game has 5 different codes built in, meaning that you can get stars for completing it again, but not as many stars as he first time. How would that sound?
So, you’ve just completed your favourite game in record time without losing a single life. But what did you get for it? Satisfaction, enjoyment, challenge? These are enough for most of us. If we didn’t enjoy games and get satisfaction from playing them, we wouldn’t bother to buy them. But why not give us some extra incentive to get that high score, find that last Star (or Shine…) or blow that boss’ brains out in record time?
Well, it has already happened in many games. Goldeneye is the obvious example with cheats earned for completing missions on various difficulties within time limits. These cheats made the game more fun, and gave many of us hours of experimentation and hilarity at the hapless enemies’ expense. Other games have been less successful. Mario 64, for all its brilliance, had a bit of an anticlimax when you’d earned all 120 stars and finally opened up the cannon outside the palace. Shoot yourself up, and discover Yoshi! “Whoo, I finally get to ride him” you think (no funny comments… :P) only to discover he gives you unlimited lives and then tells you to go have fun. Getting all 120 stars you’ve pretty much explored to death every world anyway. And you’ve likely become very proficient at the game, rendering unlimited lives almost pointless. Zelda: Ocarina Of Time also rewarded you with a cow in your treehouse when you beat a certain time on a horse race… novel, but hardly a mind blowing reward.
Another way rewards are being incorporated is with games within games… I think this was first used in the SNES/Megadrive versions of Pitfall, which had the original game as a cheat or bonus. Jet Force Gemini and Donkey Kong 64 both included old games that you could access when you advanced through the single player game. Others include Animal Crossing which (I think…) gives you a NES and two games at the start, and more can be earned or traded. These give an extra incentive to play the game and reward those players who put in the hours. I for one would like to see this taken further. With DVDs, it is certainly feasible to store a number of older games on a disk for the player to earn through playing the main game. Wouldn’t it be great to unlock the original Zelda from the NES if you managed to find all the heart pieces in Zelda GC?
Another idea recently touched upon by Nintendo is more of a loyalty scheme. Many people have been going ape over the opportunity to register ‘stars’ online for GameCubes and certain games. Initially these were seen as a bit of a joke. You could ‘buy’ desktop themes, screensavers, printable posters, etc. of your favourite Nintendo games with your stars, but recently the stars have rocketed in popularity due to the addition of real products such as Wavebird controllers and Platinum GBAs. Granted, these rewards are for buying the games, not playing them, but it could be a good start. Imagine if Nintendo released a game where by completing it fully (ie. Not just winning it, but doing/collecting everything, rather like collecting all Shines on Mario Sunshine) you got a code for extra stars. I doubt it would spur too many people on to complete the game just for the stars, but it would be a nice reward for those with the dedication to do so.
Of course, there is a problem with this. People could just use a game guide. The only possible way around this I can see is some sort of randomiser, such as key items appearing in random areas, or randomising the layout of certain areas. But as you can imagine, this is at the risk of a more disjointed game. But even with a guide, tasks like collecting all Gold Skulltulas in Zelda:OOT would still be huge undertakings.
I’m not saying we need to be rewarded, if I felt the need to know there was a reward at the end of a game just to keep me playing I probably would have given up gaming long ago, but rewards are, well, very rewarding… It’s very nice to know the developer thought about the dedicated gamers who would take the time to go back and try to see everything in their game. And it’s always nice to get something back for your efforts.
Well, it has already happened in many games. Goldeneye is the obvious example with cheats earned for completing missions on various difficulties within time limits. These cheats made the game more fun, and gave many of us hours of experimentation and hilarity at the hapless enemies’ expense. Other games have been less successful. Mario 64, for all its brilliance, had a bit of an anticlimax when you’d earned all 120 stars and finally opened up the cannon outside the palace. Shoot yourself up, and discover Yoshi! “Whoo, I finally get to ride him” you think (no funny comments… :P) only to discover he gives you unlimited lives and then tells you to go have fun. Getting all 120 stars you’ve pretty much explored to death every world anyway. And you’ve likely become very proficient at the game, rendering unlimited lives almost pointless. Zelda: Ocarina Of Time also rewarded you with a cow in your treehouse when you beat a certain time on a horse race… novel, but hardly a mind blowing reward.
Another way rewards are being incorporated is with games within games… I think this was first used in the SNES/Megadrive versions of Pitfall, which had the original game as a cheat or bonus. Jet Force Gemini and Donkey Kong 64 both included old games that you could access when you advanced through the single player game. Others include Animal Crossing which (I think…) gives you a NES and two games at the start, and more can be earned or traded. These give an extra incentive to play the game and reward those players who put in the hours. I for one would like to see this taken further. With DVDs, it is certainly feasible to store a number of older games on a disk for the player to earn through playing the main game. Wouldn’t it be great to unlock the original Zelda from the NES if you managed to find all the heart pieces in Zelda GC?
Another idea recently touched upon by Nintendo is more of a loyalty scheme. Many people have been going ape over the opportunity to register ‘stars’ online for GameCubes and certain games. Initially these were seen as a bit of a joke. You could ‘buy’ desktop themes, screensavers, printable posters, etc. of your favourite Nintendo games with your stars, but recently the stars have rocketed in popularity due to the addition of real products such as Wavebird controllers and Platinum GBAs. Granted, these rewards are for buying the games, not playing them, but it could be a good start. Imagine if Nintendo released a game where by completing it fully (ie. Not just winning it, but doing/collecting everything, rather like collecting all Shines on Mario Sunshine) you got a code for extra stars. I doubt it would spur too many people on to complete the game just for the stars, but it would be a nice reward for those with the dedication to do so.
Of course, there is a problem with this. People could just use a game guide. The only possible way around this I can see is some sort of randomiser, such as key items appearing in random areas, or randomising the layout of certain areas. But as you can imagine, this is at the risk of a more disjointed game. But even with a guide, tasks like collecting all Gold Skulltulas in Zelda:OOT would still be huge undertakings.
I’m not saying we need to be rewarded, if I felt the need to know there was a reward at the end of a game just to keep me playing I probably would have given up gaming long ago, but rewards are, well, very rewarding… It’s very nice to know the developer thought about the dedicated gamers who would take the time to go back and try to see everything in their game. And it’s always nice to get something back for your efforts.