Get Money from an Underserved Demographic

I'm hardly the first person to point out that many former hardcore gamers now have families and responsibilities that severely constrain their game time. However, I haven't found a lot of insight in any of the articles I've read about how to make games to better serve them. So now I'll talk about what's I believe has been missing from all of those.

Why This is Such a Great Opportunity

These gamers often have money. They deeply miss the epic experiences they used to have, and they're happy to pay if they can get it back. They are especially excited to share this experience with the people they love (some of whom are far below their skill level). However, being time-constrained, they're not going to be spending much time on forums or filling out surveys. It's a group that's significant but mostly silent.

As such, I don't have data to back up what I say here, though it reflects the experience of myself and other gamers I know. Likewise, I hope it has a ring of simple logical truth as you read through it.

What Do They Want?

Mixed Skill Levels: 

This type of gamer wants to play games with their family (both immediate and extended), but it's hard to find something that fits. High skill multiplayer games (Halo, League of Legends, etc.) often have difficult learning curves or even if they don't, you need to get really good to start competing with people online. That's hard to do with limited time and almost impossible to get interest from family members who are very young or less into games.

On the other hand, simple games like Mario Party might satisfy the rest of the family and provide a social catalyst, but they do nothing to sate the desire for the deep and challenging games he used to experience.

Time-Friendly:

These gamers probably won't play with their family every day. Maybe not even every week. When I read articles about making games for people with busy schedules, they usually focus on creating shorter play sessions, but people probably aren't gathering the family all together or calling up adult siblings to play for fifteen minutes. Instead of thinking about short playing sessions, think about games that are easy to pick back up after weeks or even months away.

Somewhat Family-Friendly:

The term "family-friendly" often makes people think "aimed-at-children". That is not what I mean. I am instead referring to limiting objectionable content. Children happily consume media all the time that isn't aimed at them, so as long as the game doesn't have content that parents want to keep away from the kids, this requirement is satisfied.

How Do We Meet These?

Prioritize Co-op and PvE

It's almost impossible to make a high-skill PvP game that won't be ruled by people with lots of gaming time. Matchmaking helps, but going PvE removes the issue completely. 

Differing Complexities (Deprioritize Balance)

A challenge in game design that shows up across genres is that the options that are powerful at low skill levels are often very different than those at high skill. Compare, for example, a archetypical rocket launcher and sniper rifle in an FPS. In a low-skill match, the rocket launcher is your best weapon because you fire in the general direction of the enemy and often get good results. In a high-skill match, the rocket launcher's slow projectile speed stops you from benefitting from your amazing headshot skills, so you prefer the sniper rifle.

In a PvE game designed for big skill differences, you don't need to worry about this. In fact, this can be something to lean into. Design characters/options for different skill levels and embrace the fact that some won't appear at top-level play.

Don't Mess With Your Players' Schedules

Many games like to implement daily quests, daily login rewards, frequent notifications, or other things to keep people focused on their game. For people with a lot of time to game these might be effective for keeping players' attention. For the time/attention constrained, these are penalties and barriers. When I see a login rewards screen, I see a list of things I didn't get because I wasn't willing to give the game any attention over the past week or two. When I go back to a game I haven't played recently and see a pop-up with a "Welcome Back" gift, then it's just one more thing I have to click through to get to the actual game...all while my brain is sending uncomfortable FOMO signals.

Intrinsic Story Beats Extrinsic Story

If you don't know what this means, see my Intrinsic Story piece (https://indulgentcreativity.blogspot.com/2019/10/intrinsic-stories-in-video-games.html). It's hard to return to a game you haven't touched in a month and remember the last thing that happened and the next thing you're supposed to do. Likewise, players may want to play independently of the group, and if you're running through a tightly scripted extrinsic story, this can be difficult.

On the other hand, all of the advantages of a good intrinsic story still apply. Give players lore and setting, rather than a sequence of events. This immerses players in the world without the worry that they might forget that one essential detail that leaves them stuck.

Focus on Repeatable Content

Similar to the story issue above, too much new content will feel disjointed to players with an inconsistent schedule. If you can instead focus on a high lifespan for existing content, it's easier to return to. 

Games That Got it Right

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare

A third-person shooter game with a Garden Ops mode where up to four players defend the garden from the zombie invasion. Graphics are fun and kid-friendly without being childish. The shooter mechanics are simpler than many games but not so simple that a skilled player can't thrive. You need to work as a team, but even unskilled players can contribute.

The enemies waves you defend against vary just enough to allow you a variety of experiences while defending the same location. But they use most of the same core enemies (with a few exceptions for special waves), so you aren't constantly dealing with new mechanics.

Finally, the rewards system is straightforward, though they did make the common mistake of giving you a bunch of rewards right at the beginning, creating a small barrier to the gameplay.

On a slightly tangential note, the sequel added a lot that was positive but also added a lot of unnecessary complexity, particularly to setting up your game. It may be a better game for the average gamer but not for the family gamer.

Battleforge/Skylords Reborn:

The online CCG/RTS (Battleforge) was eventually shut down, but was then re-created (Skylords Reborn) by a group of devoted fans. A large collection of scenario maps is available--each with three difficulties.

For a skilled player, there is immense depth in master-crafting a deck and learning to use every part of it well. For the casual player, there are plenty of easy-to-use cards that are still reasonably effective. The generous supply of cooperative maps allow each player to contribute what they can and still be part of the ultimate success.

The story of the game spans across the maps, but there is no need to remember the story of previous maps if you just want to experience the gameplay. 

How Certain Genres Miss the Boat

Some genres just aren't a good fit for this. Others, however, get pretty close, only failing due to a few solvable deficiencies.

MOBAs

Add good bots, and you're done. Hardcore PvP gamers with lots of time see bots as nothing more than training or practice for the "real game" of fighting other players. These are also the same people who tend to be active on forums and chats, so this view appears to be more widely held than it actually is.

For those who don't have time or ability to master a MOBA or don't want to deal with toxic players, bots are a way to let them access much of the incredible depth the game has to offer--or they would be if the bots were high quality. As far as I have been able to tell, none of the major MOBAs have landed this.

MMORPGs

To start, too many systems and too much inventory clutter. I've had a couple cases of firing up an MMO I used to play, clicking through a bunch of announcements and "rewards", opening my inventory to see heaps of items that I can't quite remember what they're for, and finally thinking "Nevermind. I don't want to play that badly." Multiply that feeling by ten for family and friends who are into gaming more casually.

Further, the issue of "The Game Starts at End Game" (which I discuss solutions to here: https://indulgentcreativity.blogspot.com/2022/04/why-we-like-end-game-better-and-how-to.html) can be an unacceptable time investment to get to the good stuff. 

RTS

Many RTSs just won't work for this. Starcraft, for example, is paced such that it's far too punishing if you are slow or happen to be looking at the wrong part of the map. Supreme Commander, on the other hand, almost nailed it...except that it launched with a memory leak in the AI code that completely ruined big games with bots. I don't have broad suggestions here, except that it's something to consider whether it might fit your game with a little tweaking.

Shooters

Shooters, in some ways, are the best at this. Unfortunately, it's my least favorite of the genres I list, so I don't have quite as many examples as I'd like. Cooperative campaigns or survival modes tend to be good fits. One drawback to this genre is that shooters are often the bloodiest games, though some (Unreal Tournament and Gears of War, for example) allow you to turn off the gore. Definitely something to consider if you're developing an M-rated shooter.

Final Comments

Being this type of gamer myself, all of my blog is naturally skewed toward appealing to this group. However, I try to focus particularly on things that will be positive (or at least neutral) to the experiences of most other gamers.