The Replayability

#1

Hey everyone!

I’d like to find out your opinion on the importance of the game being replayable. As a matter of fact, I am a huge fan of tiny or big details, which change depending on your playstyle. Also, having a substantial number of routes for the plot development pleases me greatly in any game. (That’s why I try to incorporate both these ideas in my writing/GM’ing/etc.)

So, what do you think about it? Is it better for a game to be a singular, deeply personal experience? How many times do you usually replay a game (not necessarily CoG one)? Does the feeling when the truly game adapts to your choices and changes according to them mean much to you? Please, share your thoughts and ideas!

#2

Usually I only play a game once so the first playthrough should be as fulfilling as possible.

#3

Even though I replay games from time to time, they tend to be the same play through. I’ll try time and time again to master than one build, until I can make it perfect in my eyes.

#4

If I like a game I replay it loads of times (with new MCs and repeated playthroughs both) , and while I do like it when there are a few large branches, I consider them to be second in importance to the smaller decisions that really define the MC. I’d rather replay the same path with several characters, than a bunch of different paths with what is essentially the same character.

#5

I do like to replay games and would be even more motivated to do so if there are multiple routes and achievements from getting to those part of the story. Alas, time is also a factor. If it takes 200+ hours to satisfyingly complete a game and there are plenty of sidequests/story branches that differed greatly depending on my choices, I’ll have to settle for one playthrough and maybe look up videos to see what I missed out on.

Choicescript games are fine since I don’t think it’ll ever take that long to finish a playthrough.

#6

I like “good” replayability. By “good” I mean things like different paths. If I really like a character, I would never want to be mean to them in any playthroughs, so a mean path wouldn’t add replayability for me.

Hinting at other possible paths encourages replays. In the Gueniveve game, you get cloned and your husband doesn’t know which you is real. If you like your husband, you can sleep with him and he will wake up with the real you, but if you think your husband is an idiot (because he is) and don’t stay with him, he doesn’t know the real you. I didn’t like the husband, but I would still replay a good loving wife just to see what happens on the other path that was hinted at .

However, anyone who finishes your game has to do so at least once, so the first play through has to be good. People would prefer one five hour game over 60 five minute play throughs. Add things like personalities that can add replayability, but also add customization for the first/only play.

#7

I have a really weird “fetish” in which I like to code very specific hidden paths in my games. An option or a sequence of choices that at first might not seem to be connected or have any evident repercussion might snowball things into a spiral of unpredictable madness that eventually makes sense in the end.

The trouble I have is that sometimes it gets too specific. For those who find that hidden paths it can become a very unique and surprising experience, but for the most part people aren’t even aware that those things exist. Still, I do it that way in an attempt to project onto players the feelings of amazement and discovery I had while playing a few games where such things happened. Those surprising consequences of my actions were among the most memorable experiences I had with gaming.

Of course, I also try to make sure that the “vanilla” experience is a satisfying one, but I often spend too much time on things only a small percentage of players will see. It’s a bit paradoxical because I think advertising the existence of such paths might undermine the amazement of finding them on your own.

Still, I find it more “fun” to it that way.

Now, as a player, I think getting the game to acknowledge my decisions and getting “control” of what character does is by far the most important part of an interactive fiction. I love reading stories, but the more input I have on their development and the more my actions cause repercussions or ripple effects on the narrative, the better.

#8

I share that “fetish” of yours somewhat - it is truly more “fun” to have very specific paths.

#9

I replay CoGs all the time, but nostly because I use CoGs as an outlet for roleplaying. I replay these a lot because I like trying to see these stories from the point of view of different characters.

As for how important replayability is, it’s very important to me, but making sure the story itself is good is always the top priority for me.

#10

I like replaying games. Really. In PC games I like to do that in Mass Effect and Dragon age universes. But every damn time I will essentially be with only one RO (Liara and Leliana, duh), be a good girl and save everyone. Also, Destroy ending in ME for life.)
In interactive fiction games on PC (like games from Telltale and Life is strange, Life is strange: Before the storm) our choices doesn’t really matter (even if they say it does). And yes, some details will change but in the end it makes more damage, than good. Like in TWD:3 (new frontier or something) they literally crushed Clementine character. They didn’t care what she did in TWD:2, with whom she ended up - nope, it didn’t matter. And in the end this sh*t with first episode destroyed everything for me with their games.
In CoG I did replay a few games, like Fatehaven, Samurai of Hyuga and SLAMMED. Again - with the same choices I did.
So as you can see - I like replayability, but in the end it doesn’t really matter to me if my first playtrough was good enough. I will replay it with the same character, with the same choices (maybe i will try to do better in the next route, but anyway), even with the same builds.

#11

Well, non-COG games can usually be saved at any point, so I tend to just make a decision to see what happens, then go back to the last save point and choose differently until I pick the decision I like best. You can’t really do that with COG, since there are no save points. Instead, what I tend to do is just skip through all the text I’ve already read whenever I do a re-play until I get to the part I want to change. :yum:

#12

Lol, that drove me nuts! It seemed like every single choice I made have massive consequences that effected everything and everyone in the game, then at the end, it’s like… Yeah, forget every single thing you did throughout the game, 'cos none of it matters now. :yum:

#13

I like replaying games to see just what the author thought of and how sneaky they can be with tiny details. On the other hand the same curiosity clashes devastatingly with my unwillingness to take certain parts in a couple of games. Sometimes… I just can’t get myself to pick a choice. no matter what. (and often this is nervewrecking)

#14

I’ll replay a game if I love the first playthrough (for example, Metahuman Inc, or Tin Star). If the first playthrough didn’t interest me, Im not doing a second one.

#15

Personally choices don’t have anything to do with my replays, it’s all about story for me. If I love a story I’ll play it over and over picking the same choices. I might try something different for like a class if a game has it,and sometimes a different RO if one of the girls didn’t totally stand out as my favorite, but the choices for personality and morality are pretty much set in stone (What? Like I’m not going to play sarcastic Hawke? :stuck_out_tongue: )

Wow! We’re the same!

I’m replaying the DA series right now actually and am on Inquisition again and laugh at the remark about Cassandra saying my Herald is not what she expected…Seriously? You didn’t expect a blonde haired, blue eyed lesbian warrior named Elizabeth? You were just tracking 2 of them before you met me! :astonished: That is how fixed I am on my choices, my characters could all be sisters :stuck_out_tongue:

#16

My usual procedure is to play a CoG once, to get my own personal experience of it, and then to read the code in order to get the full experience. Otherwise I might entirely miss parts of it, and I wouldn’t want to do that :fearful:

A few times I’ve done more than one playthrough :thinking: but certainly less often. I did so for Psy High because I didn’t know how to read code yet, plus trying out different personalities is lots of fun in that, I’ve done so for Hollywood Visionary, because I ended in pretty significant failure and ignominy the first time (though actually the first playthrough was a much better story in my opinion, just kinda a tragic one :cry:), I did so with the original Zombie Exodus in order to get to all the missions, and I’ve done so with Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven because I have two different main characters I play :smile:

#17

I don’t mind a single playthrough, if it’s deep and meaningful like you suggested. What do I prefer though? I prefer a story that I can become deeply immersed into the character. Choices, especially impressionable ones, tend to help with immersion. If playthroughs can be truly affected by changing reactions, responses, and whatnot, then it’s all the better. That’s how I accidently stumbled across CoG as a college sophmore about about four years ago. Obviously I haven’t left and stayed long enough to find the forums. :two_hearts: My favorite ‘re-playable’ non-CoG is Dragon Age: Origins and my favorite CoG/Hosted is Tin Star. Those two games alone took me months to get over (and so so many playthroughs) before I wanted to set them down. Inquisition is pretty close to those two. My avatar’s actually one of my Inquisitors gazing at the moon in the Forbidden Oasis. Anyway, yes, I guess I do like replayability. :blush:

#18

Hmm, I do wonder if you’re somewhat regret the decision to read the raw .txt scenes on some games :grimacing:

#19

I rather wonder why you’d do that. I mean, yeah, I’d love to read some stuff I don’t dare to choose… but reading the raw file is… naw… Takes all the mystery out of life.

#20

I sometimes read the code after a playthrough. I’m not skimming the text like I would do in a normal replay which means I’m more able to see the subtle changes the author added in and appreciate all their hard work when reading the code. I’m able to see if there are drastically different paths that I might not have ever known about because I might not want to choose the specific choices that lead there ( especially if there is a male genderlock requirement). I’m able to see if it will change the game if I choose A instead of B without restarting everything just to find out the game is linear. There usually aren’t anymore spoilers than in a typical play through and author’s usually don’t have *comment s that if you choose this option, you will die in six chapters, or immediately spoiler things.