Deciding which Bonus "Features" to add to your game

[aozgolo]

So for the purposes of this post, a "feature" will be a specific gameplay element that is beyond the standard expectations in a RPG (Battles, Shops, Dungeons, Quests, etc.). Here's a list of examples of "Bonus Features":

-Casino

-Monster Capturing

-Class System

-Crafting

-Fishing

-Home Ownership

-Commodity Trading

-Mini-games

-Arena

You get the general idea. I recall as a teen when first getting into game development, I would be overzealous and naive in putting down that my game would have 100+ hours of gameplay with like 20 bonus features all before setting down my first tile.

Now that I'm older and wizened I have taken a much more reasonable and moderate approach and think up ideas for cool new features or features from other games I really like and then determine if they are really a good fit with the project I am working on.

I am curious to learn though how others tend to go about adding bonus features to their games? Are they usually planned in advance? Added as they're thought up? What steps do you take when deciding if a feature is right for your game or not?

 

[BlackLiquidSorrow]

I wouldn't consider classes and crafting to be bonus features, an arena maybe. 

 

[aozgolo]

I wouldn't consider classes and crafting to be bonus features, an arena maybe. 

They are things not typically considered necessary for a RPG, most old school 8 & 16 bit RPGs had neither, which is why I consider them "bonus"

 

[SLEEP]

For me, i'm trimming all the fat and not including any "bonus features". However, maybe i'm being dishonest with myself, because I am including lots of gameplay varients to serve the story. I'm making a story driven game, and deciding based on what fits the story, and that's how i'm picking pretty much. Although I think i've trimmed the fat pretty well, I don't consider varied gameplay something trimmed and fitted into bonus feature boxes tbh

In a 20 hour jrpg, a minigame or something makes a good gameplay varient to spice up monotony. In any long game, some variation is a neat idea.

 

[HumanNinjaToo]

When I set out to add gameplay aspects to my game, I only wanted to add things that would enhance the gameplay. I always want to avoid adding things in just because they're cool and/or look pretty.

For example, I really like Galv's fishing script. It's awesome and looks really great. But, there is really no reason to include fishing in my game. So I will not. I will have enough trouble tinkering with enemy behavior, parallax maps (which I've only recently started to add), and storyline changes depending on faction status.

The Faction status (through a reputation script) is a feature I decided would enhance my game. The reason is: I wanted the player to be able to choose from four heroes when starting the game. Each hero has a different faction alignment. Faction status plays a role in which characters (13 in all) can be recruited and at which points in the game. It also affects the story progression, i.e. which faction will the hero take along with them to the end game.

I don't really feel I need to plan a feature in advance, just the story. If something within the story comes up that may be easier with a script as opposed to eventing, I will look about for a fitting script. But, to reiterate what I've previously stated, adding gimmicks for the sake of adding gimmicks will only depreciate the overall value of what may have been a good game.

 

[Mouser]

Crafting definitely counts as a bonus feature.

I can say this: I spent some time away from my project, and when I came back and when over my notes, there were more than a few 'features' I kept asking myself "What the hell was I thinking?" A cRPG is not an MMO. You don't need a lot of other "stuff" as time-fillers to keep people playing your game from month to month. Tell your story, and tell it well. Give it a good ending and let the game end. (Bonus content after game completion would be one of those 'bonus features').

I'd say most games can use "something" to differentiate themselves from all the other titles out there. But that "something" doesn't need to be a huge involved system of features. Sometimes the little things, in the right places, make the largest impact.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

IMO, don't add something just for the sake of having it, so in a sense, don't add something to be just a bonus... If you're gonna add a feature, make it be an integral part of the game instead of just a bonus.

 

[Misaki]

Bonus features. I don't know how many I thought of when I made my first tiny project, but I ended up only making one feature out of the dozens of ideas.

 

[Tai_MT]

I'm not the kind of person that likes "Bonus Features" or "Giving my game extra features".  You see, I grew up with games like Secret of Mana, Final Fantasy 3 (Jap 6), and Chrono Trigger.  I was a teenager when things like Card Collecting/Battling minigames rose to popularity in an RPG (or when things like the Golden Saucer became popular).

Growing up in that era, you kind of realize one thing if you've been paying attention:  These things are distractions from the game itself.  If a developer wants to distract you from the game you're playing by giving you another game to play... Well, they're basically admitting that not only do they not care about the core game you've bought, but they want you to not care about it that much either as there's these other great minigames you can play instead!  I always hear "These are just a great break from the gameplay!".  Yeah, well so is a save point and watching a movie instead.  Or, I dunno, changing games if the one you're playing is so boring that now you're playing minigames inside of it instead of the game itself.

Tell you what kind of "bonus content" I do like though:  I like the kind that doesn't lock away other content (like the strongest weapons/armor in the game).  I like the kind that is there to merely give you a challenge if you've run out of other stuff to do (like Arenas usually do, though most are constructed rather poorly).  I also like extras that aren't needlessly grindtastic.  You know what kind of "Bonus Content" and "Features" I actually love?  Stuff that is actually part of core gameplay instead of locked away somewhere as "optional content".  As in, a class system.  I like things to have a good reason to exist.  Things that don't exist merely because some programmer wanted to try to show off their skills or make something interesting in their game to have some kind of "uniqueness".

Honestly, if you really expect your players to drop whatever they are doing in the middle of your game to play slot machines or capture monsters...  Then you're making your game wrong.  Players should not be turning on your game to go fight in the Arena (unless that's all your game actually is, or that's the point of your game).  Players should be turning on your game to play the story, play the gameplay you've crafted, and ignore the superfluous Blackjack tables.  "The fate of the world rests in the balance!  What?  Play a game of Blackjack?  Yeah, I can deal a few hands!"

That's not to say that there isn't room for these minigames and such.  The problem is that most programmers create them as fully-fleshed out side games inside of their actual game.  They are things so rife with grindtastic behavior and rage inducing "losses", that they destroy any sense of purpose or interest for players who aren't addicted to "completionist syndrome".  These "features" need to be accessible.  They need to be interesting to tinker with, but not so complicated or annoying that they would require their own Walkthrough or FAQ to figure out.

Now, if we're gonna go into crafting...  Making that needlessly complicated is annoying to most players as well.  Or, only crafting worthless crap that you'd never equip just so you can get to the good stuff at the end...  Yeah, that's annoying and stupid too.

[/rant end]

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

Though if it's part of the game's core, it's not a bonus feature anymore, it then becomes simply a feature of the game... like most crafting in games which are integral part of the game...


A feature is a bonus if the game can exist without it... things like a casino with no real purpose other than for the player to "have fun"

 

[Mouser]

Though if it's part of the game's core, it's not a bonus feature anymore, it then becomes simply a feature of the game... like most crafting in games which are integral part of the game...

A feature is a bonus if the game can exist without it... things like a casino with no real purpose other than for the player to "have fun"

By the OP's definition (which is the one that should matter most in this thread) crafting would be a 'bonus feature'. It's something most cRPG's don't have (especially most 2D jRPG style games).

@Tai: Regarding the Use of minigames (that sounds like a good name for a paper, "On the Use of Minigames in the Modern RPG...") - I'm reading a book on Scene and Structure for novelists. The author makes the point that fiction has changed a lot over the years. Readers are much more impatient than they used to be, so you have to give them more Scene, less Sequel or they get bored and put the book down. If our 'ADD society' has filtered down all the way to readers, I think it's pretty safe to say that the attention span of most gamers is shorter than it used to be as well.

Minigames let you take a break from the game without taking a break from the game (which could involve difficult things like removing your ass from your chair). That was about 40% levity, 60% serious, btw. I'm playing Dragon Quest IV and just got to the casino. Now that I've seen the cool things to be won, I've decided not to move forward in the game until I've geared up my character to the gills. The 'shop' the next character in line runs (I'm the Princess, now - I think it's the next one: where you can buy the Sword of Malice) at the start of his story is a nice 'diversion/mini-game' as well.

 

[Tai_MT]

It's not that I dislike the concept of a "minigame" inside my games.  I do understand the whole "distraction" part.  My problem with minigames is that they are fully fleshed out actual games by today's standards.  That, or they're so needlessly complicated and grindtastic that they require their own walkthroughs and FAQs in order to even get the "top prizes" in them.  Or, if they are that annoying, they should at least have a "buy out" option for players if they don't want to mess with it.  You know what a great example of that is?  Pokémon red/blue and the Game Corner.  Yeah, you could learn how to work the slots and which machines hit the most often in order to obtain your 9999 coins for Porygon...  Or...  Well, you could "buy out" the coins you needed with your Pokeyen and buy Porygon that way if you didn't want to mess with the slots at all.

However, my problem with "minigames" stems from all the nonsense Final Fantasy has pumped out into the world since 7.  Other RPGs have picked up this stupid idea and ran with it.  We've got the card collecting and battling in 8 and 9.  We've got the Chocobo raising and racing minigames.  We've got Blitzball and whatever that theme park building thing is in X-2.  That's not even counting some of the smaller minigames like playing jump rope in FF9.  These are just some of the more egregious examples of how not to do minigames and why I currently dislike them as "bonus features" in games.

These things are so pointlessly huge and annoyingly grindtastic that only the most sadistic players would ever ENJOY them.  Most of the time, they aren't even a challenge because a week after the game comes out, someone has released a detailed walkthrough on how to complete it with minimal time and effort.  As a result, these things have relied more upon the RNG than actual skill, strategy, or even tactics.  It only becomes worse when some of the best equipment in the game is locked away behind these massive annoying time sinks.  This does two things:  Relegates the best equipment in the game to pointlessness (if you can beat the game without it, then you won't try to obtain it) and communicates to the player that the only way to obtain the Infinity Rainbow Katana +9 is to waste a large chunk of your life obtaining it.  I don't know about you, but I play games for fun.  You know, I don't play games that try to do a good job emulating my ACTUAL job (boredom, monotony, pointless tasks, reward not worth the effort, etcetera).

With that in mind, there are minigames I have enjoyed.  I enjoyed Blitzball for the 5 hours I played it.  After that, it bored me to tears and I never went back.  I liked Voltorb Flip in Pokémon (get some pokemon in the game earlier than usual without the effort or cash to obtain them by simply doing logic puzzles).  I liked the arena in Final Fantasy 6 (some of the best equipment in the game was locked off behind it, but there were other ways to obtain this equipment without ever having to set foot inside the building).  I liked the "Coin Golf" minigame in Fable (despite how absolutely broken and poorly programmed it is... it could be awesome and fun if someone hadn't worn their pants on their head that day at work).  I like the "Side Challenges" in Defiance, in which you're put into an area with special rules and you have to obtain high scores (like shooting chickens or getting a high multiplier).  I liked the hacking in Bioshock 1.

Typically, I like the "short and sweet" stuff that doesn't interrupt flow of a game too much or doesn't drag you away from the game too much.

Also, why don't people just have their gaming consoles right next to their computer like I do?  Saves time getting up and such, you can just change games from there.  Don't need minigames that way

 

[CWells]

I was thinking of an arena but I dunno. I mean, when I try to make a game, I do so with the intent of creating a fun and enjoyable battle mechanic. i stress over the numbers unhealthily.

But right now, I'm thinking about adding a second story, secret story parts to unlock. Not exactly what I would call quests, just stuff that reveals more of characters. In one project, players can unlock special suits by finding certain equipment or completing hidden tasks. When the suit is found, a darker part of the story/history of main character would be unlocked. But keeping with my theme of fun combat, the suit unlocks a whole new set of features only available through this particular piece of equipment.

But, I like extra content like the above more than other things. The thing with crafting systems is, I've never found myself playing a game where I thought crafting would enhance my experience by rewarding me with useful/exciting enough features for me to want to use them for long periods of time. Except in some rigid MMORPG's.

Oh, monster capturing was fun in FFX.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

Blitzball is the best minigame ever made by FF for me. If they make it a stand alone, I'd gladly get it.

Also, why don't people just have their gaming consoles right next to their computer like I do? Saves time getting up and such, you can just change games from there. Don't need minigames that way

Space maybe? Or not enough appliances. For example, me: The only TV at home is the one at the living room so I really can't afford to put my laptop beside it.

I don't know about you, but I play games for fun.

me too, and I like minigames, coz they are fun.


Another factor could be money, if they separate the minigame from the game itself, they will sell it for some price while the price of the actual game would probably still be the same. so you'll just end up dishing out more money.


@CWells - maybe try Summon Knight 1 and 2 on the GBA, crafting is an integral part of that game...

 

[plasmablade13]

My favorite kind of bonus features are the kind you unlock after beating the game.

The Kirby series have started to do this a lot (I'm using Kirby Super Star Ultra as a specific example), where they have an arena (in other words a boss rush based on the main story), a harder difficulty setting, and a scenario mode where you play as another character, the latter having an entirely different final boss, and after all of that has been completed, a true arena would be unlocked, with an even stronger version of the final boss.

Other things, like mini games can be fun, and there are games trying to reward people for getting a certain score. But sometimes that can be optional.

 

[orochii]

Ditch the "bonus" idea. And that's it. Also forget about making the next Final Fantasy or whatever your conception of an "RPG" is. Or continue not caring at all.