8 replies to this topic

[xshortguy]

When it comes to casual cell-phone or Facebook games such as Angry Birds, Desktop Defender, and other games of this nature with levels that are intended to be completed within 2-5 minutes each, I ask the simple question: How many levels should there be in a game of this type to justify a price point of one dollar?

Or are other features needed, like bonus content, new game modes, or something else.

[Debels]

When it comes to casual cell-phone or Facebook games such as Angry Birds, Desktop Defender, and other games of this nature with levels that are intended to be completed within 2-5 minutes each, I ask the simple question: How many levels should there be in a game of this type to justify a price point of one dollar?

Or are other features needed, like bonus content, new game modes, or something else.

Well it all depends on the type of game it is, for example:

Is it fun enough to play it over and over again?, then 20 levels to 50 levels is ok (you can use 20 levels if your planning on adding more levels each month or such.

If it isn't that fun to play it over and over gain 50 to 100 levels would do the trick.

I'm putting large number of levels since more levels equals more people buying your game, also because there micro-levels ,

Debels.

[Derme]

This is a question I've been thinking about for a while.

Angry Birds sets the bar way to high in my opinion, the amount of levels they have is insane. From memory when it came out there was only about 20-30 levels, the rest of them have been added post-launch. The thing about Angry Birds is that most of the levels are replayable until you reach the magic three stars.

I disagree with Debels that more levels = more plays, as most the majority of your user base won't play past the first 5-10 levels unless those levels are very good. (I'm fairly sure that's the stat that Mark gave in his Developing for Mobile with GM:S ebook.)

I think that 20-30 micro levels is fine for a initial release, more levels can always be added later. 30x5 = 150 mins ~Approx 2-3 hours of Game Play which in my mind is acceptable for $1.

[MonkeyMaw]

How many levels should there be in a game of this type to justify a price point of one dollar?

Personal opinion here from someone who does buy these types of games on the iPad. If you are putting 2-5 minutes of content in each level, 20-30 levels would be more than enough for my liking. These casual games are exactly that. I want to pick it up one night for 10-15 minutes, be able to beat a few levels, and put it down. Only to rinse and repeat. I want to be able to finish the game, but there are stipulations. At my pace, 10-15 minutes a night, I don't want to beat it in 3-5 days but I don't want it to take a month.

I also agree with Derme, Angry Birds has too many levels. This is why I've never played it through. Nailing the first few levels was spot on as well!

[Funk E. Gamez]

I rarely buy apps of this nature, so feel free to disregard my suggestions... But personally, I would go for a 10 level demo, and if I like those 10 levels I may be willing to buy a 30-50 level game. However, keep in mind, there's only one first impression. If you have 100 levels on launch it has a much better chance of becoming popular than if you start out with 20 and add more. (BUT you must maintain quality throughout all levels regardless of number!)

My 2 cents.

[GM Studios]

The reason Angry birds has so many levels is because of its popularity, if it wasn't so popular I high doubt they would've continued updating it.

I reckon 20 - 30 levels would easily be enough to begin with so long as they're well designed. Also it depends on the game play if it's new and unique you'll be able get away with less levels then if you where trying to sell some kind of clone.

Quality not quantity

[PanicBomber]

I would say this:

Do NOT make ur game too many levels at the START, cause that only takes ur marketing time off. Start UPDATING more levels when the game has more players, just like Angry Birds!

[Tarik]

Justification for charging a dollar is not about just quantity. I'd rather watch a 30-minute short art-house movie about generational tension in a village in China than 2 hours of the judge dredd movie.

If you've got good production values, stuff your 5-minute levels with original level design, tricky changing puzzles, some pretty visuals, I'd be much more interested to play 10 of such 5-minute levels, than repetitive angry birds.

I think at 1$ the length of the game isn't really that big of a deal. Every length is worth it, as long as the gameplay is fun for at least 30 minutes. Compared to going to see a movie, you get 30 minutes of entertainment for at least $5, and you're not immersed or involved as a player.

I think what's important to remember is that you can have some core gameplay which is new, and some post-game gameplay which is repetitive but addictive. That way, you can please players with nice gameplay, but also length for those who want it. A good example is for RTS games: storyline, new maps/story/challenge everytime. And skirmish, same AI, which is still fun, and just builds on the same functionality as the storyline. For FPS games again storyline, very original, scripted events blabla, and then multiplayer for when the storyline is over. That way people get 5 hours of storyline and loved it, got a wow-factor from some insane scripted events, and continue playing 40-80 hours multiplayer before putting it away.

So for a puzzle game, you'd try to make 10 clever puzzles with your own images, some character that walks you through the puzzles, a storyline.. And then you have a feature that procedurally creates new puzzles. Or a function to create your own puzzles and share them with friends, with the ones played most ranked on top, which is crowd-sourcing your level design (and updates) after publishing.

[Chris_Devl]

Yeah replayability of levels definitely sounds like a factor.. Personally I'd say more than 30, preferably 50, should be safe with 80.. In my opinion, a good rule of thumb is to have more levels than the player could remember and list in a matter of minutes.

The thing about levels is that compared to everything else in the development process, they're one of the easiest things to do.. It takes a bit of time but it is WELL worth it.. I mean the effort/time/cost to fun/longevity/popularity ratio of adding more levels is pretty high (so long as the games fun and the levels don't suck of course).

Plus, I don't know about everyone else, but I absolutely love level design.. Often times I find making levels more fun than actually playing the game.

Edited by Chris_Devl, 21 October 2012 - 04:00 AM.