Today, I wanted to discuss the ideas of ideas – how the games come around and how that can affect which games you may want to choose to play.
I have recently picked up an old game that I’ve put down – Gems of war (I will call it GoW here). At the core of it, the game is a match 3. Other games that you may have heard of that falls into this category are – Bejewelled or Candy crush. It’s one of those games that you slide gems (pieces) to match 3 or more of the same vertically or horizontally and it dissappears. You finish the map if you do x.
The marketing/product person in me is fascinated at the variety of ideas one can come up with this simple concept. In my memory, I can think of at least 8 of these that I’ve played, each with a subtle or massive difference/twist to each other – be it making it a puzzle (e.g., Candy crush) or putting an combat/RPG element to it (be it Battle ships, or Gems of war). Having re-played GoW, it made me think of why I like this version and why you may prefer candy crush.
TL:DR to this is, don’t follow the fad, but know what you like.
Let me explain. Each game at the core has different element. Each or any of these elements would then strongly influence if you enjoy spending your time doing this activity (game) or not.
Some games are inherently social (words with friend, is no fun playing on your own), some games are designed to be immersed alone (I love The Room series) and others are designed to compete (Clash of clans). When comparing the the match 3’s, Candy crush feels more like a puzzle (wipe all the red pieces) while CoW is a deck building/RPG. Here, the old Magic the gathering monster rears inside me, asking me to build another deck. For me, this is why this game tugged me so much, compared to other match 3’s, which may have gave me the satisfaction of chain reactions, something was missing.
And this made so much sense to me. Another game I love playing is Summoners war, another “deck building” game that isn’t heavily PvP.
For you, this might be different. You might be a social player so you like the games that your friends play. You may enjoy first person shooter with an element of X. When you figure this out of yourself, that’s when you find that game that sticks with you. And ironically, won’t mind spending a few bucks here or there.
And if you know of any different games that mixes elements of team/deck building with unique play style (I think I’ve seen a game that uses poker and blackjack mechanics to play), let me know, because I will be very keen to try it out.
Happy gaming everyone.