What Is The Certainty Factor At Every Moment In Your Game…

Hey,

I’ve been watching various people play these social games. One thing that amazes me here is that there is very little opportunity to get confused. Once a person finishes one step, there is a prompt or dialog box that directs the player to do the next thing.

These are “guided interactions” and work well with keeping the casual gamer engaged. At GDC this year, one panel discussed how one game did poorly, but then they had much better guided help in a follow-on game and the 2nd game did a lot better.

I like to coin this term “Certainty Factor”…at every moment of these successful social games, the “Certainty Factor” is at 100%…that means, the player knows 100% for sure…what to do next.

These social game designers leave nothing to chance…they know that without the prompts, most of the players would be lost…and either quit…because they do not know what to do next…or just move onto the next game.

By making sure the “Certainty Factor” is at 100%, the people play the games much longer. Let’s say the player is done planting on their farm, then a nice dialog asks them to help their friend’s farm…and once they do that, another nice dialog may pop up to ask them to send gifts, etc.

These are activities the player would not have thought about themselves…they’ve got 100 other real-life things to think about. The dialogs remind them as well as raise the “Certainty Factor”…so that the players know what to do next at that moment in the game.

As Indie and Experimental game developers, on the edge of innovation, I think it is important to ask…”What is the Certainty Factor at this moment in the game”…make sure it is 100%…once that happens, you’ll be on your way to ensuring that people keep playing the game.

If the “Certainty Factor” is below 100%…ask yourself, “What do I need to change/do to increase the Certainty Factor?” Should I add a dialog prompt? Should I have an arrow pointing at the next goal or place to go…should I have a hint pop up? Whatever is needed to make the Certainty Factor 100% helps.

Also, keep in mind that you can also have the Certainty Factor go to 200%…how is that possible? Well, as a designer, you get to 100% by making the next step absolutely clear…and then you get 100% more for making sure the guidance/dialog you add to raise the Certainty Factor is both FUN and FUNNY. Laughter helps!

In any case, what is the Certainty Factor at each moment in your game? Most of the non-successful games I’ve seen have a factor of usually 0% or even negative. What do you need to change to raise the “Certainty Factor” FOR EVERY MOMENT in your game?

Feedback and clarifications welcome 🙂