There’s nothing like the excitement of being in a room full of friends, all screaming at the same TV screen and competing to get the best controllers. Local multiplayer games are hard to come by these days, when online matchmaking allows you to play with thousands of strangers. While it’s easy to assume that playing video games online is the height of efficiency, we forget the very important aspect that made us enjoy playing in the first place.
Physical reactions are always more fun than silent, text-based ones. The joy of gaming comes from seeing the sheer panic on your friend’s face just before you take away their win. Those are the kinds of moments you don’t get to experience when playing online anymore.
Setting up: take casinos as an example!
We have all been to social events that seemed fun at first but turned out to be boring. This can happen when there are long tutorials in a game that lasts for two hours, when someone is not familiar with the complex buttons on a console, and when people spend most of their time on their mobiles. Planning an interactive event is hard work.
To maintain players’ interest, the software must allow people to join and leave easily without having to learn anything. Party games, races, and simple physics-based games are perfect for group experiences, since players can pick up any controller and start playing immediately.
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What digital casinos teach us about instant entertainment design
While the idea of incorporating a digital casino into couch gaming might seem strange, the logic behind the user experience design in such environments is exactly the same. Both types of gaming environments have to address the following issue: how can a completely unfamiliar person be made to feel comfortable and happy within the first minute?
Professional gaming app developers invest millions of dollars in researching human behaviour to eliminate anything that could distract players. They know that users won’t bother reading an extensive guide and might even give up playing altogether if faced with a complex options menu. I can name some examples of best practices adopted by casual multiplayer games you can find in casinos: check the Casinos Analyzer site to see what is offered.
First, visual feedback: large, vivid buttons and colours make it instantly clear to participants what effect their actions have in the game. There is also a low barrier to entry. This allows gamers to start playing without having to configure the controls beforehand. Then, easy logic. Using logic that does not change halfway through the game to ensure all participants feel the result is absolutely fair. And, lastly, we have high pacing density: rounds are extremely fast and yield immediate results, ensuring there is no break in the anticipation cycle.
When a game applies these rules, it becomes way easier to share with a crowd of mixed skill levels.
The essential elements of a great community gaming session
If you look more closely at what makes some multiplayer events successful and others unsuccessful, the answer lies in the pacing. Such events should be organised so that all the games are fast-paced enough to keep everyone involved without leaving anyone idle for too long. If a match lasts forty minutes, it is inevitable that the other gamers will eventually get bored and leave.
Experienced organisers adhere to several key principles to ensure their events are interesting for both seasoned players and total novices. Controlling the night’s flow boils down to managing just three key factors.
- Choosing games: Select games that take a short time per round and are easy to control, to allow players to switch rapidly.
- Positioning of chairs: Arrange the seating so that every participant has an unobstructed view of the screen.
- Turn rotation: Play a ‘win-stay’ game or rotate turns after every round.
Keeping the rotation moving quickly avoids the biggest killer of any social night: boredom. As soon as the controllers start changing hands regularly, everyone in the room becomes invested in the outcome of each round.
How New Zealanders approach casual entertainment groups
According to the data from the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association’s New Zealand report, roughly 79% of Kiwis play digital games, and a massive 36% of those players name social interaction as their main reason for picking up a controller.
This statistic is important because it shows how much our perception of time spent in the digital world has changed. Gaming used to be a solo activity that took place in people’s back rooms, but now it’s a big part of family life and social events.
The reason there are so many gaming parties now is because people want to have fun together. People want something that brings all the participants into one room. They want to have people around to talk to, whether it’s at the weekend or in the middle of the week.
Fictional gaming tropes that real gatherings never experience
The reality of playing multiplayer games often involves plenty of laughter, food, mess, and misplaced controllers, but this is rarely captured on TV. Those in the media love to transform regular enthusiasts into laser-focused cyber athletes, but that has nothing to do with reality.
Hollywood ignores reality entirely, focusing instead on certain clichés. Some of the most popular clichés that Hollywood uses are:
- Silent genius. The figure sits in absolute silence, his eyes fixed on the monitor, executing input with impeccable precision, his face devoid of expression.
- Imminent rivalry. Casual friends who become deadly lifelong rivals after just one match of a cartoon racing game.
- The controller. Using an unusual controller or even a virtual reality headset for a basic platform game that only requires two button presses.
- Perfection from the first try. A novice playing the game for the first time outdoes an experienced opponent without being told how to jump.
These kinds of exaggerations may work well on TV, but they are not realistic. The best thing about playing against other people who live nearby is that you don’t need to play perfectly. You can make mistakes and still have fun.
Multiplayers Rule
To sum things up, there is nothing quite like the fun you have when you play games with your friends. There are lots of good things about the internet, but nothing is as good as talking face-to-face with other people. To enjoy gaming more, players should choose fast games that don’t require much effort. The only way for technology to help people meet is to give them a controller.
