Better player engagement is something that all game developers want. Better engagement means players love the game you offer them. It can translate to better revenue overall and sometimes to better marketing as well.
So, since the beginning of games, developers have been experimenting with methods to increase player engagement. Developers experiment with new things in their games to make the games they are releasing more engaging.
One such method that has gained a lot of traction in recent years is introducing social features. Social features are certain features that make the game a social experience rather than a solitary one.
Such features have proven to be effective for better player engagement. Even games that are primarily solitary have proven to get benefits from introducing certain social features in them.
Below we list 4 of these features which have proven to be the most beneficial:
Conversations are the center of social interactions. The ability to converse with each other is something that we hold dear. We see conversations as a way to exchange ideas, have fun, and connect deeply with one another.
Many mobile games have added in-game social chats to their games. These allow you to chat with others via text, voice, emojis, or gestures.
In PUBG, for instance, when players are playing team-based gameplay, they can converse with each other. Players can build strategies, make plans, and execute them together using the in-game voice chat facility.
This facility also helps people connect with friends. For example, friends who are separated by distance can play the same game, and during the game, they can talk about their days.
For others, in-game social features like voice chat give the ability to build new connections. By playing the same game, players can make connections with strangers, converse with them, and better engage with the game.
Social media integration is the process where players integrate their social media accounts with the game. By doing this, players can connect with other friends on these social platforms.
Players can play the game together with their friends rather than with strangers. If a friend is not a player, then players will have the ability to invite the players to play the game.
In addition, these games also allow players to share their in-game achievements like the badges and trophies they’ve won with their social media friends and followers.
Guilds are communities within the game. For players, it can be a way to find like-minded individuals and feel you are part of a big team.
Aside from a sense of community, this gives, the guild aspect can also be competitive. It can appeal to the competitive part in us that loves team competitions if it allows us to battle against other communities.
Supercell’s Clash of Clans is one example of a game that has perfected this competitive aspect. The game’s popularity skyrocketed once the game added the feature to form guilds with other players and battle other guilds.
Apart from competing against other guilds, guilds can also enhance solitary gameplay. For example, when a player is low on a particular aspect and needs help from others, they can ask guild members, who will gladly help them. Players can also trade items and offer support of their own for others in need.
Fortnite is a game that has used the event’s features to the maximum. The company has partnered up with several prominent figures and has organized events within the game. These events include concerts like Travis Scott’s famous one to the trailer release of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet.
Events like these are big attention grabbers and great for player engagement. Events bring the whole player base together, like how a carnival can get an entire town together. The events in your game don’t have to be as big as Epic’s events in its Fortnite match. They can be small ones as well.
Leaderboards are another similar social feature. Leaderboards can showcase the whole player base on various achievements. The global leaderboard, for instance, ranks the entire player base according to multiple metrics. This metric-based ranking creates an environment of competition among the whole player base, which is good for the game. Players will compete against each other to get the top positions, while those already at the top would try their hardest not to lose their positions.
The features we have listed in this article are just a few among the many commonly seen in games. But, of course, the features you can implement in your game for better engagement will depend on your game’s genre and concept.
The data of multi-player social features show these features are worth finding. If you find and implement the right social features, it can catapult your game’s engagement levels.
Juego Studios is a game design company that has developed games for several platforms, including mobile platforms like Android and iOS. The team has proficiency in creating engaging games in all popular genres.
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