Games monthly: Game design trends (part 1)
As the pandemic situation has shown,games can be very useful. They fill our free time and provide us with a form of escape from the inconveniences of the outside world. Games can help us stay in touch with our friends. Perhaps these are the reasons why the number of players has increased significantly during the last period of time. Following the current trend, the player base could be represented by the third of the total population by the end of 2021. The gaming industry is not only growing, but it is also very dynamic. That’s why it’s important to stay up to date. We at PowerPlay Studio observe game trends closely and we decided to share some of our insight with you.
1) Game platform
Mobile games are becoming more and more popular. The increase in their popularity was influenced by several factors, such as the affordability of smartphones, the performance of current devices and high-quality graphics followed by the bigger screen size. The fact that we always have a mobile phone at hand strongly contributed to this trend as we can play games practically anywhere. As a result, more than half of the players from around the world (approximately 2.2 billion) play mobile games. Publishers of AAA games have already begun to adapt to this trend. They have adopted their famous titles for the mobile platform even that they were originally developed for computers. We talk for example about Dota, League of Legends: Wild Rift, Minecraft or Plague Inc. We adapted to this trend in PPS long ago. The fact that our latest project Athletics Mania recorded more than 98% of registrations from mobile devices is just proof that this trend is really strong.
2) Player profile
The long-standing stereotype that gaming is a form of entertainment preferred mostly by men has been disproven numerous times. Today, more and more women are interested in gaming. On mobile platforms, the gender ratios of players is evenly balanced. Although the number of female players is growing, there are still notable differences in their preferred game genres. For example, sports games like we develop here in PPS, still have mostly male fans. And even though our Athletics Mania is played by more than 300,000 women, which is certainly not a small number, it represents only 5% of the total number of registered Athletics Mania players.
3) Game mode
Marshall McLuhan has already compared the world surrounded by the Internet to a global village in which everyone can communicate with others in real-time, even though they are far apart. This also affects the nature of games. With the ability to play online with players around the world, multiplayer online games are gaining in popularity. Their great advantage is that they also fulfil a socializing function. Players can group together, communicate, track each other's progress and compete with each other. An example of an online multiplayer game is our Athletics Mania, in which players can group into sports clubs according to their own preferences.
4) Game genre
Among the many game genres, the so-called Battle Royale genre is currently ranked in the first place. Its main strength lies in how it keeps the players on their toes, always ready to jump into action. Players compete against each other in a large arena which they can explore and where they can find useful items. In this type of game, players either fight for themselves or group into teams that fight against each other. This genre has reached record numbers in the number of players during the last period of time. The most popular titles of this genre are Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone or PUBG.
We have to say that we won’t be making any games under this trend in PPS. Although it has the potential to attract a large number of players, we still adhere to our mission to connect the world of games with sports. Our games are therefore aimed at narrowly defined groups of players (the so-called niche groups), to whom we try to bring exactly what is still missing on the market and what they would appreciate.
