![]() What they like is that the progress in the game is different from in the dozens of other match-three titles.ĭo you believe it generates more value and engagement for your players? Do you see this appealing to existing match-three game players that are used to a saga map? Usually they say the game does differ, but in a positive way. We definitely haven’t had any negative feedback, players haven’t told us that it bothers them, or that it gets in the way. What is the feedback you get from your players? Do they find the decorative/light base building engaging compared to just match-three mechanics? In simpler words, we put more effort in the dialogue and animation of the fish in Fishdom and in storyline development in Gardenscapes, rather than in designing complex mechanics. What I mean is that we tried to make the user experience as simple as possible - when it comes to building and constructing - and concentrate more on emotions. ![]() I guess the key things here are simplicity, and emotional appeal. What precautions or change in design, if any, did you have to make to ensure these base building mechanics were not too overwhelming for casual players? Igor Elovikov: We just relied on our previous experience with casual downloadable games. ![]() Om Tandon: Was the decision to add a light base building loop made consciously or found to work through trial and error? The exact mechanics seen in Playrix titles (first set of images) can be seen very commonly in midcore and hard-core games with base builder loops as seen in mobile hardcore game (second two sets of images below.) In Tropix it was an island, while in Cradle of Rome it was a whole village.Īctually, those two games inspired us when we created Fishdom, and then Gardenscapes, so what you see in our mobile games now is something that was actually tried and tested a long time ago. Both games were released in 2007 (over 10 years ago!) and had a lot in common - players had to beat match-three levels to earn currency and resources, which were needed in order to construct something. Companies wanted to stand out which led them to try blending genres. Back then no one was even thinking about free-to-play mechanics and the market was saturated with lots of similar products. Igor Elovikov (Creative Director, Playrix): The roots of that decision date back to the times of casual downloadable games. Om Tandon: Why did you choose to move away from a Saga Map? What led the team to break away from this established cardinal rule of the Match 3 genre? As seen below, Players start on Node 1 and progress linearly to the next node within each world as they clear subsequent levels, offering no other significant interaction. No Saga maps! Which have remained unchanged and are hallmarks of player progression in King and Jam City games. Getting rid of the saga map in this genre and unlocking and populating the map with a decoration is very similar to a light version of base building tactics used by midcore and hardcore games. Playrix: Recipe of successĬombining the simple core loop of match-three titles with unlockable decorative elements in a niche environmental setting, powerful daily quest system and a well-crafted story loop is strongly reminiscent of features used in mid-core and hardcore games. Instead Playrix is walking a different path. Playrix is known for a string of successful top 10 grossing hits like Homescapes, Gardenscape and Fishdom in highly competitive match-three category, dominated by the likes of King, Jam City and Peak Games.īut unlike its peers, Playrix is not relying solely on eye candy graphics, super polished VFX and slick and dynamic gameplay which have become the pinnacle of this genre. In the second part of this article series, we put a spotlight on top 10 grossing casual games developer Playrix, which is trying hard to innovate and experiment with casual games, challenging the established norms of this genre, and finding profound success. The first part of this analytical series focused on Rovio Entertainment and how it successfully evolved and matured its multi-million dollar Angry Birds franchise. Why and how are casual games pivoting towards mid-core features? How are top tier Devs like Playrix driving this change in the casual gaming space? Here I have a close chat with Playrix, developer of top grossing games like Homescapes, Gardenscapes and Fishdom, to answer those questions. You can view part one, lessons from Angry Birds 2, here. You can see more Game UX Deconstructs here. This article was originally published on LinkedIn. This article was authored by Digit Games' Om Tandon.
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