REPLAY VALUE IN GAMES

By: Paolo Faieta

Generally, when we buy a game, we aren’t really thinking about the second or third time we’ll play it. We’re focused on the immediate goals of exploring our environment and seeing what things are available to us. We like to test out controls and get a sense for how difficult the game may be. What I’ll be focusing on is the time you spend in the end-game. While focusing on the end-game certainly eliminates some types of games from our scope, it’s still a vast subject. To that end, we’ll be looking at anything with a main storyline (or objective) that allows you to continue playing after that.

A lot of popular games today combine a few ideas into their gameplay, but we’ll look at a couple of the broader ones. Firstly, there will be some sort of character that’s guided on a (mostly) linear quest, story, mission, or however you’d like to refer to it. Secondly, there will be content following the conclusion of that story meant to keep the user occupied. Either of these things can be used as a hook to bring a user back to play anything repeatedly, and how that’s accomplished greatly affects how a game ends up being received.

Storytelling

Storytelling has been an increasingly bigger part of what games are over time. It started out being a very minor (and usually non-existent) component. A good example is something like Pac Man. The player knew what role was theirs, and who were the ‘bad guys’ but nothing more than that. Now we’re seeing stories that carry the player through their entire experience and shape how the game is carried out. An example where the story was the main driver is a series like BioShock. These games take the user through an immersive city with a clearly explained history. This process has been compared to making a movie, but with much more immersion because the user is allowed to decide the outcome. Despite these two vastly different games, there’s a key difference in their end-game.

With Pac Man, the user experiences the chain of levels and can immediately repeat the experience with tiered difficulty. Inversely, with the more story-driven games in the BioShock series, only the most committed fans would go through the same sequence of events again.

End-Game Content

With the above in mind for storylines, we get to the point where the user usually asks themselves: Now What? In most cases, this question was answered with an underwhelming “Nothing, really”. The rest of the time, the extremes exist where there’s little emphasis on end-game or high emphasis. The examples in this case are too lengthy to list, and there’s many ways that end-game content is utilized. The most common of those, however, are as follows:

• Micro-transactions
• Achievements
• Leaderboards
• Multiplayer
• Downloadable Content (DLC)
  • More playable characters
  • Extra missions

 

Wrapping Up

The replay value of games is an effect I’ve had the pleasure of studying myself in the past with the accompaniment of a Blog. Through that time, I chronicled my progress and thoughts on Call of Duty and EVE Online for a period of two weeks. It’s always interesting to see what features keep your attention and what others may have adverse effects on your desire to continue playing.

If you would like to learn more about Pathways and our continued commitment to gaming and eLearning, feel free to check out our website at http://www.pathwaystrainingandelearning.com/ . We are always looking for innovative ways to combine the excitement of games with the satisfaction of learning!

Canadian Anti-Spam Law (CASL) – The Great Mystery

For many people the new Canadian Anti-Spam Law (CASL) is a little bit of a mystery.
Can you still send newsletters to clients and how about emails that are sent to distributions lists? If you have an “opt out clause” at the bottom of the email does that mean you can send out mass emails and that you are in compliance with CASL? How about American firms – are they exempt from the CASL laws?

Many of us are watching U.S competitors spam ‘our’ Canadian clients – leaving us to believe that this law is creating an unfair competitive advantage. One thing that seems to be clear is that most Canadians do not understand CASL and how it applies to them.

To make things even more interesting, the first CASL penalty was handed down this week to a small training company in the amount of $1.1 million dollars (see the following articles for more details):

http://www.thestar.com/business/tech_news/2015/03/05/crtc-issues-11-million-anti-spam-fine.html

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/crtc-issuing-first-fine-under-anti-spam-law/article23305666/

So how can we help?

Pathways has partnered with Privatech to demystify what CASL means for Canadian organizations. We have created a short eLearning module that explains the most important and impactful aspects of this new law.

For more details, or to learn more about this course, please click here: 2015 PrivaTech Pathways CASL E-Learning Course Framework.

 

The Top 4 Things You Can do to Ensure Success as a Contract Trainer

At a recent Canadian Society of Training and Development (CSTD) event, I got talking to a learning consultant who had recently been downsized from a large fortune 500 company. She was wondering if she should continue to apply to corporate jobs or if she should try her luck at being a contract trainer.

I mentioned that I had had the privilege of working with several very successful freelancers both when I was the Manager of Training at Rogers, American Express and on occasion, in response to a client request in my current position at Pathways Training and eLearning.   She asked me for advice on what I believed successful contract trainers do differently then others. Here are my thoughts on what the most successful contract trainers do that differentiate themselves from other less successful consultants.

The life of a freelancer appeals to many people.  After all there are no worries about corporate politics, bad bosses and for the most part you can set your own hours.  Although, many people think that once they have gotten the sale and have been awarded the job, that the hardest part is behind them, this is in fact not the case.

In my experience the difference between the highly successfully freelancers (the one who are always in high-demand and who are booked months in advance) and the ones that aren’t come down to the following four things:

• Attention to detail.
• Delivering what the customer wants.
• Don’t take feedback personally.
• Good customer service (easy to work with and timely responses).

Let’s look at each one of these in a bit more depth.

#1 Attention to Detail.

If a client is hiring you, odds are it is because they need a training document, curriculum or eLearning storyboard that is more creative, interactive and can be produced faster than what can be produced in-house.   Successful freelancers know that if they are going to get repeat business, the document must be error free. Successful freelancers review their documents several times to ensure it is as perfect as they can possibly make it, before sending it to a client for review. (In my opinion, there is nothing worse then hiring a freelancer only to discover you could have done a better job yourself).

#2 Delivering What the Customer Wants

This point seems self-explanatory, deliver what the customer wants and they will be happy. Although, this seems like a no-brainer, I have been amazed at how difficult this can be for some freelancers.

The most successful independent instructional designers ask lots of questions at the beginning of a project to ensure they understand what the clients wants and do not deliver what they think the client wants instead.

#3 Don’t Take Feedback Personally

Many freelancers find it difficult to accept feedback when a client has red-lined their work. In most cases, the client is trying to accommodate internal feedback and it is less about your product and more about getting to an excellent finable deliverable. I have seen many a free-lancer loose repeat business because they have argued with a client about why they developed the curriculum in a certain way they failed to realize that the feedback is not about them and is more about the quality of the end product (remember – don’t get your back up it’s not always about you)!

#4 Good Customer Service – Everyone wants to be treated well and just because you have got the project doesn’t mean that you can stop being responsive to the client’s requests.

Great freelancers know that in order to get repeat business and to win client loyalty, client requests must be addressed quickly and with the same type of attention to detail that tells the client that their business is important to you.

If you follow these four steps, you will have set yourself up for a successful career as a contract resource!

On occasion, in response to a client’s requirements or request, Pathways Training and eLearning Inc. will hire contractors to work on-site at a client’s location.  If you think you have what it takes to be a successful contractor, please submit your resume to info@pathwaysinc.ca or apply to the following posting https://www.linkedin.com/jobs2/view/25832847.