The Fine Art of Instant Gratification

[LxCharon]

I was looking for opinions on instant vs delayed gratification when it comes to rewarding players. 


While making the systems for my game I realized that I was relying very heavily on delayed rather than instant rewards. Such as much of my game takes place in a hogwarts-esque school for magic, so while you may unlock spells by leveling up your characters don't learn them until you can go back to school to study them. Also it runs on a "monsters don't drop money but things you can sell" monetary system, which is also a form of instant gratification. 


So what do you think? Do you prefer instant gratification over a delayed reward? What system of rewards do you use in your game? (Also more specifically would you be mad as a player if you couldn't learn magic instantly and had to go somewhere else to learn it?)


Thank you!

 

[mlogan]

I guess I've never thought much about it, but as I do, to me it would really depend on the individual game and what it needs. For example, if it's heavy with enemy encounters and I'm constantly needing healing to get through an area, then I prefer to have quick access (in the form of drops) for items that will help heal, whether hp potions or say, mana potions so a healer can use spells. At the very least, drop a decent amount of gold so that when I get to town I can stock up on things I will need. So I suppose in that instance, instant gratification would be preferred.


However, there might be times when saving up gold for that top sword or staff is rewarding in it's own way. So, yeah, I guess to me, it just depends on the game and the situation and how they're used. Either is fine I think, as long as your method does not frustrate the player extensively. (Though I suppose if that's the "gimmick" of your game, then ignore that advice. )

 

[Sharm]

I think it's best to have both.  Let's take your game setup as an example.  The player gets the ability to learn a new spell.  To be pure delayed reward, this event wouldn't alert the player that it was unlocked, they would just have to go study from time to time to figure out when they had new spells.  That'd be frustrating and boring.  But rewards don't have to be big to work.  Let's say that instead when a player can learn a spell there's a little jingle that plays, a text box pops up letting the player know that they did something awesome with a special icon that gives them a hint about what that spell might be.  There's an instant reward and yet they still can't use the spell yet.  Now the player is excited to go back and study and explore what this new spell can do.  But if the player just got the spell with the level up there would be less excitement and it would get old more quickly, even though it was the same thing being unlocked with less work.  Instead of an "Oh cool!  I unlocked something!  Let's try it out!" it'd be "Huh, new spell.  Wonder what this one does."  Instant gratification is all flash and no substance, so it wears thin more quickly, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be used.  It's like spices, you don't make a meal of them, but it's bland to not use them at all.

 

[LxCharon]

@mlogan That's a really good point. I always love that satisfying moment when there's a really good piece of armor, that is a little too expensive, finally is attainable and I know that I worked to get that armor. Which I feel is a use of delayed gratification that modern games don't do as well with. Either having everything available right away (which takes away the discovery of new pieces later/also makes the cheaper pieces immediately obsolete) or makes everything in the price range you are in every time you get to a new town. 


@Sharm I love the idea of letting them know when the spell is available but them then having to wait to get to the school to learn it! 


I believe delayed gratification is done best when it's clear and builds excitement for the player. Something to look forward to, and to draw the player onward in the plot, or leveling dynamic!

 

[BrandedTales]

I also think you need both, but within reason.


I want to quickly argue against delayed gratification, then I'll be more objective:


Having to go back to the school to learn my spell constantly isn't going to stay fresh and exciting, it's going to start feeling like a chore, especially if I know it's going to be a bit before I can get there.  I basically get stuck with the unfortunate choice of finishing what I'm halfway through, or I can slog my way back, and then slog back to where I was so that I have a bit more power.  Grinding for experience or gold (or parts to sell for gold) can get pretty tedious and makes me feel like the game is just trying to be a time-sync, especially if I have to go to the right vendor to sell it.  Why on earth would I want to spend a bunch of time crawling all over town looking for the dude who buys broken swords and hold 17 of them in my inventory when you could have just given me the gold and saved me the hassle (since we both knew where this was going anyways - straight to the shop).  To often delayed gratification translates to:  "Do I stop the story to go get my whatever or do I push on because it feels like too much work."


THAT SAID


I think it can work if you are very careful with the balance of it all.  As mlogan said:  It can be very rewarding to have that moment when you came up slightly short on gold, got it and POW! Big armor.  Likewise, you can add elements to the game to make the choices have consequences rather than just feeling like a monotonous choice: Such as the passage of time.  Sure you can grind for gold, but you are losing days... What's more worth it to you?  


You also can add story surrounding the delayed gratification (which it sounds like you are planning with the whole spell school thing)  Interesting things can be happening in the school while I'm gone.


On the same note, if it's a delayed gratification situation where I don't have a choice (you won't go back to school til the plot takes you there), I go back to my original balance statement.  It can be exciting to see what I'm going to get... But if I have to wait too long, at best I'll be trying to rush through the game to get my whatever, and at worst I'll be fairly bitter that I was denied something what should have been mine.

 

[bustedradio]

I think I'm slightly masochistic because I like delayed gratification.


The prime example I can think of is Dark Souls and Bloodborne. Those game were made to be incredibly punishing if you don't learn how to observe elements in the game. Learning the level layout, learning enemy placement, learning enemy attack patterns and tells, and learning how to fight with your weapons can be pretty overwhelming for new players. But the feeling of narrowly beating that boss that has been kicking you ass for the past few hours with 5 HP left and 0 healing items is extremely satisfy to me. It feels great being able to climb over that mountain and come out at the peak. Then the more and more you climb, the easier it gets and it allows you to learn different methods of climbing or using different equipment.


It's great.


The Persona also does this pretty well (I think?). For example, every enemy has weaknesses. You can change out your party members or your own loadout to deal massive damage. When you hit an enemy's weakness, you inflict "down" status on them. This gives you an extra turn to attack as long as you keep hitting standing enemies with their weaknesses. If you hit an enemy twice with their weakness they become "dizzy" which prevents them from attack their next turn.



So this is how delayed gratification works in Persona, in the beginning on the game, you and your teammates all have limited moves. You and the enemies are pretty much on the same level. They inflict just as much damage to you as you to them. So it can things can go south pretty quickly if you don't play smart.  You can learn more moves as you level up. So first you get a single target elemental spell, then an all target elemental spell. Once you have the ability to exploit the enemy weaknesses, you can down them all and then go for an all-out-attack. this allows you to deal massive damage with the combine strength of your party. Then you fight enemies that have mixed weaknesses, so you can't just use the all target spell because bad things can happen. You have to keep switching up your tactics and man it feels great once you get the ball rolling. Once everything clicks, delayed gratification becomes instant.


Life sims like Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, and Harvest Moon are also great games with delayed gratification. These game are mostly just about doing mundane things and working towards your own goals. In Animal Crossing, the main game goal is to pay off your loans and get a house as big or as cozy as you want. But you can also make your own goals too, like making a perfect town, donating everything to the museum, or just making friends with your little animal buddies. Stardew Valley and Harvet Moon also have pretty similar main game goals too. You have to run a successful farm, but how you do it can vary. You can just plant crops, just have an orchid, just be a rancher, or do all three. But you can also get married and have a kid or improve your town. The satisfaction comes from working bit by bit and eventually reaching your goal.


Though delayed gratification can be annoying if your game doesn't offer a lot of interaction. I can't stand a lot of mobile games that have a lot of waiting mechanics. This can be stuff like waiting for 5 real time hours for your dumb virtual plant to grow or waiting 30 minutes for your hearts to replenish so you can play a level.

 

[sleepingforestj]

As others have said, I believe it's important to have both, to add variation and keep the player interested to keep progressing and playing through your game. Just keep in mind the balance of work / reward. If you have to put a lot of effort into a quest or task, the reward should be just as gratifying as completing that task. I like to use Runescape as an example of great effort/reward balance. It's quests can be long and elaborate, but the rewards often stretch much more than a simple equipment upgrade or money. Think outside the box in terms of rewarding your player!

 

[LxCharon]

@BrandedTales & @sleepingforestj It's true, if delayed grat is going to be used it has to be done in a way that doesn't delay it too long. The longer the delay the better the reward, but even then I guess it comes to a point where is waiting that long for anything even worth it? The only delay grat in a game that is both rewarding and reeaaaaalllly long are trade quests, and most of the time a trade quest is put so far on the back-burner that no one is ever like excitingly waiting for whats at the end of that 30 person trade quest. 


@bustedradio I love that you brought up Persona, those games are a huge inspiration on my personal game making choices. Having a complex but manageable combat system that takes the player time to learn and perfect is a great mechanical way of delay grat. Though on the other hand mobile or f2p games that make you wait (or pay more to not wait) don't even count as delayed grat in my book. As those walls are placed there more to get you to pay than to give you any satisfaction for waiting.