Article by Serenety Graphics by Joshua Asi
February 7, 2022
Making games replayable yet fun is the present-day standard for making games, as it creates a loop and incentive for players to play again. And yet, a running problem seems to be slowly brewing on modern titles, which could potentially, and quite inevitably, make games a bit more tedious. Modern game titles and gaming giants use a Daily reward system to keep their players addicted and incentivize them to play daily, increasing the rewards whenever they complete time-gated tasks. Rewarding them for their extensive play time in doing required tasks each day or week is a sure way to keep the game’s play rate at an all-time high. But why is this tactic overall? Well, there’s a simple explanation for that: Daily Reward Systems use the same tactic in business deals where they make you feel the fear of missing out on great deals.
Dailies use a strict time limit to incentivize players into rushing down tasks, otherwise, they would be rewarded less than those who would finish more tasks on any given day. These rewards can range from good to best, which can depend on how difficult said task will be, and how much time is needed to complete said task. Take Genshin Impact as an example: Genshin Impact has a commission system, where it rewards players who drop by the game to do 20 tasks every day with the most valuable resource in the game called Primogems. These Primogems are essential in getting new characters, weapons, and miscellaneous resources that are otherwise difficult to get in the natural gameplay process. Losing a day’s worth of dailies can prevent players from getting the character of their dreams, considering how scarce the resource is. These conditions make players prefer not to miss on these dailies in the fear of missing out on a limited character or item they truly want. Sometimes, some games add more than just dailies, as there are games that even go as far as adding weeklies, which creates more time-restricted tasks into the fold which yields even greater rewards. Creating such tasks not only ensures the player’s game time is more than the usual per day but also gives them a sense of greater instant gratification whenever they religiously do their tasks. Furthermore, some companies even opted in making timed events in their games, which is what the name implies. Even greater unique rewards with no hopes of returning in the far future are added into the mix to ensure activity within the player base and the intended audience they so wish to maintain. This not only drastically entices players to do the event, but also creates a sense of panic for those unlucky enough to want something bad out of the event.
Now at first, the effects of implanting this frantic mentality on the players seems like a great idea, especially in the business side of the equation. However, there are a vast amount of things that outweigh the good in this unfair exchange of brief entertainment and constricting time. One of which is causing stress for players who have little time on their plate and wish for nothing but a few minutes of gaming per day. With weeklies and events usually adding more time for the player to get the maximum number of rewards possible, it does nothing but adds unnecessary stress for players to think about. In the worst-case scenario, players may even avoid their real-life responsibilities to squeeze out every last drop of reward they can get, all to satiate their hunger of never missing out. And finally, it barricades many players’ fun, especially when dailies contain unique items that are no longer obtainable through any means necessary, breaking immersion and fun for the player playing the game.
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