Key Takeaways:
Puzzle games go beyond the traditional gaming segments
Tetris is a gaming
behemoth that seems poised to be around forever
Delivery technique is crucial when bringing micro
transactions into the fold.
(“From
Russia With Fun!” Perfect. Credit :superluigibros.com)
Despite my passion for interactive entertainment, my family
has not been nearly as interested in the hobby. My brother is a fan, but he got
more interested in the media in his teenage years. My father could care less
about video games today; however, when he was in his mid-twenties he did make
his own map of Ganon’s castle from The
Legend of Zelda[1].
My mother though has always been a huge fan of a handful of games over the
decades. She enjoyed Tetris when it
was first released and today she is a Candy
Crush expert. Her absolute favorite game is Dr. Mario, and she’s damn good at it. It took me to get to my 20’s
to stand a chance against my mom, and while I can beat her today, if I let my
guard down for a second I’m doomed. She never gives up. The point of this story
is that her favorite games have been puzzle games, an extremely underrated
genre that has been able to continuously evolve over console generations. Tetris is a gaming icon, and is
currently the greatest selling franchise of all time. Candy Crush is one of the most dominant mobile games today, worthy
of a $6 billion in the recent sale to Activision. Regardless, what if I told
you that there would be a genre of games that never drastically improves
graphics, has no inherent targeted segment, and almost never has a story, would
you think it could actually be successful? Well, if I had to bet on one genre
to stand the test of time, it’s the puzzle genre, and the commitment to
gameplay is what makes it stand above the competition.
(The
man behind the blocks – Alexey Pajitnov. Credit: Wikipedia.com)
To begin, let’s start in the past, back when the Soviet
Union was around and gaming was rebounding from the crash of 1983. Everyone
remembers how Nintendo and Mario were able to resurrect the hobby, but back in
1984, a man by the name of Alexey Pajitnov single handedly developed a game for
computers to take seven different types of puzzle pieces and rotate and arrange
them across a floor to complete a row of blocks with no gaps. Once the row was
completed it would evaporate. This game is Tetris.
The trick of the game is that the puzzle piece fall one by one in real time, so
while the player tries to position the correct pieces he or she must also
prepare for the next block. Furthermore, as the game continues the rate the
blocks fall at increases, thus making the player more reactive and thoughtful.
The concept of the game is incredibly simple in nature, but challenging as the
player progresses. Different strategies lead to different point totals and level
increases. There might be nothing more satisfying in gaming than taking one of
the “I Block” (a 4 length block with no dip, simply straight) and rotating it
vertically to knock out 4 rows at the same time. The game was a hit in the
Soviet Union, spread to Europe, and by 1987, North America as well. Little to
no marketing efforts outside of advertising were necessary as Tetris was a global phenomenon.
Interestingly enough though, Pajitnov saw little in royalties for a number of
years, since he created the game from the Soviet Academy of Sciences.
Therefore, the rights to the game belonged to the Soviet Union, and while they
had their own issues distributing the rights, ended up receiving funding for
Pajitnov’s creation. After the Soviet Union was dissolved Russia retained the
rights until 1996, after which Pajitnov received them and started his own
company, The Tetris Company. Tetris
is still around today, and during its lifespan has amassed an astronomical 495
million sales across all the platforms it has been ported to, which is
remarkable. It was also used as a selling point for the original Game Boy
console, which led to 35 million sales of the game. Needless to say, Tetris has to be considered one of the
most successful games of all time.
(Simple yet satisfying. Credit:
gameboygalazy.wordpress.com)
The question then becomes how and why did this simple game
become a global obsession. The truth is that while there may have not been a
lot in the way of advertising, the game itself targeted all segments. In most
of my previous posts I’ve (shockingly) focused on games I’ve enjoyed, or games
that might be more applicable to children or young males. Tetris appeals to everyone. In fact, it could be argued that puzzle
games as a genre appeal to everyone. Being able to appeal to women, adults,
children, etc. goes a long way when creating a hit. There is no one segment it
targets, instead casting a wide net across all age ranges and genders. Even my
Nonna (Grandma in Italian) has played Tetris[2].
Furthermore, being the puzzle game that
it is, Tetris goes beyond the
conventional norms of gaming. Gaming is sometimes negatively portrayed in the
media for its excessive violence or foolish antics that can be argued bring
little to no benefit. While I would naturally argue the opposite, Tetris presents a strong argument
itself. Tetris has been studied
extensively by scientists over the years, and findings have shown that Tetris can improve your brain’s
efficiency and has been known to help people with post traumatic stress
disorder reduce flashbacks. I would argue that the puzzle genre as a whole
could offer a lot of similar benefits to Tetris,
even if other games have not been studied as extensively.
(Candy
Crush, today’s puzzle champion. Credit: knowyourmobile.com)
Puzzle games have continued to show up since Tetris, but their adaptability to
current industry dynamics may make them indispensable. For example, Nintendo
has always played its part in the puzzle genre. Tetris has been a mainstay on its consoles, but Dr. Mario has found its footing as well,
along with Pokémon Trozei. Nintendo
has strategically placed its characters into unique puzzle concepts to get
multiple sources of buy in. Furthermore, developers realize that puzzle games
are great in long or short bursts, but play especially well when users are on
the move, which I would credit Tetris
for primarily. Regardless, the Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, and current
Smartphones have seen a plethora of puzzle games, all with their unique styles.
Currently, Candy Crush is the puzzle
game of choice, and with its brilliant micro transaction strategy has become a
force in gaming. Although micro transactions sometimes have a negative
connotation in the industry (“Pay to win” is a term I use occasionally to
describe poorly designed games with micro transactions), if done correctly,
there really is no harm in them. By done correctly, I specifically mean giving
the player the opportunity to beat a game without needing to pay extra, but
releasing certain benefits should a player want to pursue a purchase. A perfect
example is how Candy Crush deals with
a user running out of lives. When the game begins a user has 5 lives and is
given the opportunity to complete as many levels as possible, and each level
has a designated amount of moves the user has until he or she has run out of
opportunities to complete the level, at which point a user will lose a life. If
the user loses 5 lives he or she will have to wait until at least one
replenishes, which is timed at 30 minutes after the first life is lost; however,
the user can also choose to instantaneously replenish the stock of lives for $1
instead of waiting. This is the perfect opportunity for the game to gain some
revenue without coming across as obnoxious. That really is the key to a micro
transaction – it’s never about the transaction itself because users expect it.
Instead, it’s about the way the developers say it. Delivering the message is a
big part of the battle, and will continue to develop as the industry
progresses.
(Time manipulation and platforming to
solve puzzles – Braid. Credit:
insomniac.ac)
What I find to be most interesting about puzzle games as a
whole is how they’ve worked their way into all different genres. Puzzle
platformers are a legitimate genre, with 2008’s Braid a perfect blend of the two. Furthermore, The Legend of Zelda, one of gaming’s longest running franchises, is
particularly known for its head-scratching puzzles. Some might even say they
are the biggest draw of the games. I know I’ve struggled with some in dungeons,
but nothing feels more satisfying in a Zelda
game than figuring them out.[3]
Pac-Man is even technically
considered a puzzle game, giving the genre even more staying power. Yet, in
today’s gaming, no one seems to be excited about puzzle games. E3, the largest
gaming convention in the world, just wrapped up last week and I do not recall
seeing a puzzle game mentioned. At the same time, maybe it does not need the
publicity. Although it seems blasphemous to write that, puzzle games do not
typically need the huge budgets the other games showcased at the conventions have,
and if they are truly of quality, they will seemingly catch on with the
intended audience. Nevertheless, I find it puzzling (sorry) that there isn’t
more of an emphasis on driving users to the content, because though a puzzle
game may find its audience naturally, it still seems like an awfully big risk
to set it out into the wild with little fanfare. That’s why I truly wonder if
the genre will move forward, or will it continue to be made up of Tetris and Dr. Mario remakes with the occasional new fad jumping in on the
action every few years. I give a lot of credit to Jonathan Blow, the creator of
the aforementioned Braid and The Witness (released earlier this
year), as he has been able to take the puzzle genre and create new ways to
experience it, through different genre elements and strong narratives. I think
he holds the torch for moving the genre forward, but as an indie game developer
it is uncertain whether the majority of the industry will follow his lead. I
can only look forward to see what comes next.
Sources:
[1]
Fun fact: he referred to Like-likes as hamburgers
[2] To
be fair, she’s a pretty cool Grandma
[3] Or
a kickass boss battle
