State of Decay 2. There are a lot of other games that get occasional love, SOD2 is configured to replay regularly. Whether you want to start fresh, play forever, or restart with all your current toys, it has enough variety, danger, and substance to keep me coming back. Plus, the developer (undead labs) has continued to actively invest, update, and improve the game for years. It's hard to find a studio continue to make such an investment, especially with a limited budget and a non-AAA funded game.
ap1msch
joined 1 year ago
/u/inkyblinkypinkysue nailed it on the FOMO model that games lean into. There are only so many games I can care about at once. It's wonderful and fun if you only have that one game, and never want to play anything else, but few games are that dominant. The model encourages players to drop in and out, just to grind the season pass, and turns the "game" into a chore.
The best alternative is enabling players to earn credit during whatever gameplay they have, and then use that credit to acquire supplemental skins and other items that they might enjoy. Some games mix the two (like World of Tanks) within reason, but it detrimentally impacts new games.
In some ways, a "partner program" would be fun. 10 hours of a grind in game X gives you 10 minutes of a grind credit in game Y. You switch over to game Y and you've earned a little something. You play game Y, and get a little credit in the grind of game X. I know that the purpose of these grinds is for engagement (and making money on season passes) so lobbies stay full, but I would likely buy MORE season passes if I didn't have to select the 1-2 per month/quarter that I care about at the moment. Simply by gaming in my area of current interest, I could benefit across multiple games that suit my fancy.
For example: I play World of Tanks, Gems of War, and Fortnite. I choose 2 season passes out of the 3, because I won't get enough value out of the third. I play the first two to get the value out of the season pass, and then I drop into the third, while having it shoved in my face that I'm missing out. If playing in one were to give 5% credit of gameplay in the others (generalization), then I'd consider 3 season passes, knowing that playing the games I enjoy would help me to earn across all three passes. I wouldn't be buying a pass and then feel forced to play that game all the time until it's complete.
Just a thought...