A lot of conversations in the gaming industry focus on the hottest game at the time. When battle royales became a genre, people flocked to games like PUBG and Apex Legends. There was also the Among Us craze, which garnered a lot of attention for its mechanics revolving around deception and group dynamics. Trends like these can last for days or weeks, but rarely for several months. For many of these games, the novelty fades and another title takes the top spot.
No matter what the hottest game is at any moment, gamers will always have a go-to in their library. This is the game they always come back to, even after extended periods of not playing it. It is their #2 game and, arguably, the one they spend the most time playing. RIFTSTORM aims to be that #2 game.
Gaming’s Constant Evolution
There is always something new happening in gaming, whether it is a fresh innovation within a genre or the creation of an entirely new one. At times, games become so acclaimed that they influence future games, such as the Grand Theft Auto franchise or Baldur’s Gate 3. Others find success by remaking older games and integrating new technology, as seen in Final Fantasy VII or Resident Evil 4.
Players enjoy these games for a long time, then wait for a new installment or another franchise to come along. However, there are some exceptions. These are the games that have made it past the trend and hype phase to acquire consistent playerbases and longevity surpassing their peers. Some examples include the following:
- Recent iterations of fighting games like Tekken and Street Fighter have managed to maintain loyal playerbases for 5-10 years through consistent updates alongside new content.
- MOBAs like League of Legends and DotA 2 have remained popular for more than 10 years due to being the first of their genre and continuously evolving their games.
- Path of Exile has been running for more than 10 years, thanks to a strong community and deep mechanics that engage a more hardcore group of players.
- Games like Stardew Valley and Red Dead Redemption 2 have sustained tens of thousands of players through their immersive nature and enabling players to influence the world around them.
Ultimately, a game’s goal is not just to catch the audience’s attention but also to retain it and turn players into a loyal community. Confiction Labs has been exploring what makes these games fun and what keeps players coming back.
Playing WITH Friends vs. Playing AGAINST Friends
In multiplayer games, people typically engage in competitive or cooperative gameplay. Competitive games have a lot of appeal because they bring out players’ inherent competitive nature, testing their skills, knowledge, dedication, and ability to work with others to achieve a goal. Players feel a sense of satisfaction in winning and proving they are better than the opposing team.
However, there are limitations and challenges to competitive games. Since players are constantly tested, not everyone can play these games for long stretches. Once they plateau or fail to see the results they desire, it can lead to a lot of stress. People often have a love-hate relationship with competitive games, with some of them taking long breaks once they burn out or quitting completely, even if they still follow the game through esports or other media.
Cooperative games, on the other hand, show a lot more longevity and better feedback overall. People tend to get into gaming because of their friends, and some of their fondest memories are from playing together. Many players still have these games installed on their devices in case they want to play with their friends. Rarely do these games evoke a negative experience.
When building RIFTSTORM, we considered the feeling of playing with friends and creating memories together. One reason the game Dungeons & Dragons has endured is its inherently cooperative nature, with players collaborating with each other and with the dungeon master to create a story. Another reason is the direct impact players have on the world around them and their freedom to choose how they engage with the game.
The Long-Term Value of a #2 IP
All successful IPs with a long-term vision understand that being at the top is not equivalent to long-term success. While it’s a good position to be in, there will always be a new trend or game that takes the spotlight. Ultimately, longevity is what matters. Being the #2 game means players are consistently returning to play, and that is more valuable than temporary popularity.
The longer players engage with the IP, the more its value increases over time. This consistent engagement builds a deeper connection that integrates with players’ lives, transcending different forms of media and persisting through the next generations. A fan can create content, buy merchandise, go to events, and introduce the IP to their children. It may not always be the most hyped game, but loyalty is maintained for years. Some games that have exhibited this increasing long-term value include Pokemon and Minecraft.
Building someone’s #2 game requires developers to open themselves to player sentiment and act on it with care. Collaborative Entertainment can help facilitate this to foster a deep connection between games and players. A developer can present an idea, receive feedback from players, and adapt. A player can share an idea, be validated by the community, and influence game development. More than just playing the game, players are now contributing to it and making it a part of their lives, which elevates the game’s value over time.
Building RIFTSTORM as the #2 Game
Positioning a game for #2 starts on a mechanical level. This intentional positioning requires a set of ground rules in the game design, aligned with the goal of ensuring long-term value. Most #1 games require a lot of time on the part of the player, with play sessions spanning hours and days to achieve mastery, which then becomes the core motivation for playing. This has been seen in games such as Warzone, League of Legends, or even single-player titles like Baldur’s Gate 3. They demand a player’s undivided attention for an extended period of time.
To become #2, the focus has to be on building shorter play sessions that make it easy for players to exit and reenter the game. Being a looter shooter provides players with long-term goals, while the roguelite elements offer fresh experiences at each playthrough. This results in shorter play sessions that lead to the game’s longer lifespan. In the crowded competition for a gamer’s time, RIFTSTORM is designed to be the game players can come back to time and time again.
While conceptualizing and developing RIFTSTORM, we focused heavily on what gamers would be interested in, observing what they value based on which game features have been gaining momentum across the industry. These are some of the ideas we’ve adopted into RIFTSTORM:
- Gamers want deep and expansive lore that can stir their imagination but retain enough mystery to keep them guessing. Genshin Impact developer HoYoverse has seen success from designing expansive and mysterious game worlds.
- Gamers desire a satisfying game loop, and they will continue playing games that bring a sense of fulfillment. This is what made the roguelite genre popular, because players can keep playing and be rewarded with progression and loot.
- People want cooperative multiplayer experiences because they can play with friends and enjoy a lower-stress game environment compared to competitive games. Players will always come back to games they have bonded over with their friends. Recent examples include Helldivers 2 and the Monster Hunter franchise.
With RIFTSTORM, there was a strong interest in the secret agent battling monsters theme that blended science fiction and fantasy. We wanted to replicate the satisfaction players could experience from looter shooters and roguelites by focusing on the gameplay loop and the rewards that people get. We also wanted to create a cooperative multiplayer system that made it easy for players to connect with friends. With these things in mind, we began fleshing out RIFTSTORM and the Occultical universe.
The team also noticed an increasing interest in multiplayer games with progressing storylines and content. Players are investing in games where they can make a tangible impact. It’s one of the reasons RPGs remain one of the most popular genres in gaming.
Collaborative Entertainment offers players the opportunity to delve deeper into the gaming experience. Creators who want to contribute to the game can not only show their works to community members but also submit them to the Occultical Repository. They can contribute directly to the game’s lore, influence its future, and potentially receive incentives for it.
It starts with a developer’s willingness to make the game a collaborative journey with the players. Some developers get criticized for being out of touch with what the players want or for pushing a vision that their audience doesn’t resonate with. Collaborative Entertainment opens the door for many creative minds to build a game together. With this foundation for RIFTSTORM, players can keep the game as their #2 for a long time.
Wishlist RIFTSTORM on Steam and learn more about the game here.
Read the interview with Confiction Labs CEO Arief Widhiyasa for his perspective on being #2.
Learn more about Collaborative Entertainment here. Follow Confiction Labs and RIFTSTORM on X for the latest updates.
