Your Game needs Replay Value
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Hi, I'm Edward Labarca. Creating video games has always been my dream, and now, I'm here to teach others how to turn their game development dreams into reality. Here’s a glimpse into my journey:
• Published Two Games: DodgeKing & DodgeKing Deluxe On Steam
• Worked at a Double-AA Studio: Gladius Studios
• Recreated Classic Games: LBP's Kirby, Mega Man, Pokémon
• Sponsored for GDC 2023: Latam-2023 PRGDA Sponsorship
• Collaborated and Play-tested: Titles like LunarLux and The Bunny Graveyard
• Upcoming Releases: Another TechnoMancer, Meta-Meta
• Active in the Community: Puerto Rico Game Developer's Association (PRGDA)
• Professional Software Engineer - And I started coding just two years ago (2022)!
It wasn’t always like this-pursuing video game development tends to be a common goal for many creatives. It’s the perfect outlet for blending art, logic challenges, and business development. Yet, it’s always been a daunting path, and for a long time, I strayed away from it. The fear of becoming a developer overwhelmed me, leading me to "play it safe" in life. I firmly believe I invested a lot in my engineering career, avoiding my true passion. Here are some highlights from that journey:
2016: Top 4 Future Boeing Engineers at a National-level Engineer Conference; Created a Google-sponsored computer science community for students
2017: Contracted by NASA to record a HASP for the American Solar Eclipse; Began research in soft robotics
2018: Developed Puerto Rico’s first microsatellite (PR-CuNaR-2); Won the National Extreme Engineering Competition
2019: Hired as a Procurement Nuclear Engineer
2020: Lived the expected successful career life... but felt purposeless
Despite all my investments in mechanical engineering, I abandoned it all in pursuit of developing video games. I quickly realized that my dream wasn’t as optimistic as I had imagined. In 2021, I quit my engineering job and lived off my savings while supporting my family. As an unemployed developer with bills to pay, I dreamed of my game being my salvation but underestimated what it takes to be successful in this industry.
You need patience, skill, time, a deep understanding of game design, the ability to avoid common pitfalls, learn to delegate, create time for your project, balance a healthy lifestyle, stay focused, seize opportunities, and say "NO" to temptations. You need to become a better version of yourself to thrive in this world.
Because of my pivot, I’ve learned invaluable lessons. My favorite lesson? Making great games goes beyond the scope of actual Game Development; it isn’t as superficial as it might seem. That’s why I create content to help you become the best developer you can be while avoiding the massive life-changing mistakes I’ve made.
Today, I'm dedicated to accelerating your game development projects by focusing on essential design principles, providing educational and technical tools, and empowering you to elevate your games to new heights. We'll take the right steps together to make this journey efficiently enjoyable.
I know the Game Industry can seem saturated and challenging, but I've seen countless warriors overcome these obstacles. Whether you're learning technical skills, making lifestyle changes to accelerate your project, or just need guidance, I'm here to help you succeed.
Remember, everyone has the potential to create something special. You are capable of making someone's favorite game, experience, or lesson.
To all the knights out there, challenges exist to prove your strength.
Get Up or Get Good - Both outcomes are amazing. Don't give up!
Never give up and keep going! I believe in you.
Edward Labarca
Algorithm Words:
#gamedev #steam #advice #adviceforgamedevs #music #composer #composition #gamemusic #gamemusicplayer #gamemusiccomposer #adviceformusic #adviceforsuccess #megaman #ideas #unity #fruityloops #flstudio #coding #gamedesign #warning #mistakes #career #psychology #brain #tricks #composing #writing #composition #lifehacks #ideas #showcase #pixelart #newgame #upcoming #wishlist #discount #pixelart #animations #essence #2danimation #3danimation #tricks #tips #youtube #shorts #feelings #identity #steam #steamgames #steamsale #gamedevelopment #generaladvice #quick #coding #shortvideo #money #fusing #lbp2 #playstation #xbox #nintendo #oldgames #newgames #retro #howto #gametips #gameguides #statistics #gameplay #footage #entrepreneur #synthesizer #funny #interestingfacts #interesting #roguelite #challenge #money #monetization #course #class #newsletters #steamgame #steamgames
Rouge likes are just the modern arcade game.
-Strong game loop thats immedaitly understood
-easy to pick up hard to master systems and mechanics
-the longer the run goes on the hader the game gets
-run are infinite and are extended through player skill
-items and power ups are often used to enhance survivalbility or sucess in a run
These elements were at the core of things like Pac man, space invaders, donkey kong. the model never really left but was abandoned at the time for realistic simulations and linear experiences. but the Arcade model reigns supreme, rouge likes are in part an evolution of it.
You're absolutely right - look at UFO 50 as an example - it's a roguelite in the sense that it has all of the elements you just described, when in reality it's just an evolution of classic retro/arcade game's feeling(s) while elevating the replayablity aspect. Rouge itself (the game that set the genre itself) is considered an arcade game. It's very particular to see how the "modern arcade game" really showcases how strong arcade game's roots really were, allowing them to cement the industry as a whole.
@@EdwardLabarcaDev look at the distribution and that dictates the game.
- For arcade games you had no time to wine and dine people, you had to get to the fun immediately (fun core game loop)
- easy controls to pick up and play, fancier layouts costed more money.
-the game has to be hard enough to be a challenge, too hard and players perceive the game as "quarter muncher" , "cheap" or Thier skill doesn't matter. the game has to be fair
-ramping difficulty allows both high skill and low skill players have fun
If we look at these elements it distills games down to raw gameplay. I love a good rpg or story game but those are like a fine vegetarian deal while arcade games is a medium rare Steak with fries and a beer .
They gives you it's best bits right up front and a exhilaration with your skills being put to the test. The distribution influenced the design . It's no wonder we saw a shift away when home consoles became a mainstay and those limitations arnt present
@@yoko_bby This is easily one of the greatest breakdowns I've seen. Currently noting this down for the future.
@@EdwardLabarcaDev I forgot another arcade aspect is strong moment to moment gameplay. And time
Think of crazy taxi.
-The timer counting down makes the game more tense with each second.
-Tight corners that are fun to swing the car around
-Unexpected traffic immediately becoming obstacles to avoid
-a ramp that makes the perfect short cut
Even though 1 ride in crazy taxi only lasted for a minute those 60 seconds was so gameplay dense that you can't help but want to go faster, to maybe put another dollar in and go again.
*For brevity I won't break down another game but it's to be said time doesn't mean "timers" but things that build over time. Like in street fighter over time they have more super meter meaning more deviating attacks and supers. Time has past and now stakes have been raised
Now look at risk of rain 2.
-enemys swarm you constantly
-moment to moment you need to keep moving a shooting
-itsms proc chaining is sstisfying
-opening a item box is exciting
-as time passes game gets more difficult
-teleport event bring you into a dangerous location
-new elements like void add more risk and variance
-time as the teleporter is being charged
It's different, sure and the time interval longer, but there isn't many dull periods in this this 4-5 minute span.
Another element of the arcade formula, -moment to moment action.
-dense gameplay (multiple thing happened or were done in a short amount of time)
-time passing ramps up gameplay (adds tension)
@@EdwardLabarcaDev theres a youtuber channel called "the electric underground" who has covered this top very indepth aswell you should give him a look. the videos title is "Why Classic Video Games are GONE, The Death Of Arcade Game Design"
It's really just a genre that respects players well. Run-based systems mean that you don't need to commit dozens of hours to a playthrough, but will probably still need to do that for the W either way. As long as they're designed with a good balance between luck and skill, you can blame losses on luck and wins on skill; but we always know when we really screwed up, or took a risk that didn't pay off and that's still on us as players. Plus, you can inflate it in a LATERAL direction and still get more value out of it, as opposed to say, open-world RPGs where what you typically get is more bloat and conflicts with player levels.
Beautifully stated. Between the player respect, skill-based satisfaction versus luck-blame delegation, and additional challenges/variations of how you go about your run, you tend to get more value of actions you can do per game in roguelites. There's definitely more bonuses to the rougelite genre as a whole but I really think you hit the nail in the coffin with those three aspects. Huge thanks for sharing your thoughts!
anyone can learn make video game but this is the Key point that really matter because without replayABILITY Players will play one time and bench it. for Example mega man Battle network to this Day I still enjoy spend hours doing basically the same things but they make me love that mechanic and all the music as you mention here. I admire your work and video Buddy
Perfectly said - you don't want your game to be benched after one playthrough. (Although players shouldn't feel obligated to do this, but should definitely have the option to do so) - shout outs to MMBN's post-game content. Thanks for your words, GigaChad! 😎
Another nice video which dives in a matter which is (or has to be) very obvious to PC developers. The games that have "Roguelite" tag don't just have "elements of Rogue" but more importantly they become easier the more you play them. They both have stuff like permadeath, choices and progression but the main difference between a Roguelike and Roguelite is: in a Roguelike you start from the beginning in every run, having no advantages carried over from your previous runs aside from your knowledge and skills as a player. This aspect of roguelites in my opinion can also be a disadvantage though; I really didn't enjoy playing Hades that much because you are expected to fail a hundred times before you can really save up the resources and unlock skills to become much more powerful as Zagreus. On the other hand FTL is one of my favorite games ever and aside from unlocking different ships (which don't give you any obvious advantages) you start from zero in every run and you have the same level of difficulty regardless of it being your first run or your 100th.
Perfectly stated - the pure replay value of a roguelite is determined by how it's built, what features it has, and the level of depth you're allowing players to have - something that doesn't seem to get talked about often. As you've mentioned, there's ways where replayabiliyy is forced upon you with "expected death," making players double-down on improving their skills to the game which consequently adds playtime, or how you can simply have a fun stroll and continesouly unlock new content the more you engage with the game's world. Shout outs to Faster Than Light for just being fun and allowing players to keep engaging if they choose to do so. There's many ways to build a roguelite with virtually no wrong answers provided that the game is fun and respects player's time.
Thank you for articulating your thoughts and providing examples - this'll be extremely useful for everyone reading this!
another point to emphasize replayability is that people playing your game becomes a billboard for your game. every time they boot it up their friends see "Friend is playing [Game]" it does create intrest in "what is that?". Imagine opening up your friends list and half of them are playing this new game youve never heard of, that stirs intrigue. This is something to keep in mind to generate sustained sales over a longer period of time
This.
In addition to playing a game for a while and then "making it a part of your life" - you're naturally and socially inclined to speak about what you do in your free time. While this is something that can occur, what can also directly billboard players is when your friend indirectly notifies you via the Steam pop-up interface which is also such a great point to bring up. Huge thank you for sharing that insight since this is 100% true and has happened plenty of times.
@@EdwardLabarcaDev social galvanization is an underated aspect. I remember this year with my friends list exploding with palworld, hell divers and Tekken. It raises my interest to buy and play those games too
I think designs that naturally encourage and value high skill ceilings have greater potential for replay value. Look at classics like gimmick, dmc3, or any cave shmup.
@@wolvertox311 You’re absolutely right - high skill ceiling is another factor that adds replay value. You can also look at competitive games for this reason too. Great insight, thanks for your comment!
Are there any other games with “high skill ceiling” that come to mind?
I very much agree with this video. I was thinking of making a video on roguelikes myself after I launch my game, in essence what i wanted to focus on is how to do roguelikes right. I think you can see a clear trend with roguelikes that fail vs the ones that don't. All roguelikes tend to have some sort of perk/talent/upgrade system. What I have observed is that most roguelikes that fail tend to have boring upgrades. It's better in my opinion to just have a few upgrades with very meaningful game impact rather than hundres or thousands of upgrades that are all "improve X by Y%" since that is just boring.
So my advice to add to this video would be to make meaningful upgrades, the upgrades shown for the game in the video are the exact kind of upgrades I mean. They give you power but also rewards you for adapting your playstyle.
@@beidero Amazing thought process - Forgive for not recalling this correctly, but there’s a roguelite I saw that only had 8 upgrades and those 8 drastically changed the definition of the game itself. Truly speaks to why quality trumps quantity.
Any roguelites you have in mind that inspire your planning process?
@@EdwardLabarcaDev I think Diablo 3, while not a roguelike, the way they designed their talents should be an inspiration to any designer. No talent tree just all talents matter.
@@EdwardLabarcaDev Was in a bit of a rush earlier and had a more of a think about it. I think you can look at classics like Slay The Spire relics, they don't give flat upgrades but tend to change mechanics or give a huge boost that can change your entire gameplay style, often coming with a downside. Or something like Risk of Rain which has a different approach, handing out a lot of upgrades that are interesting and change your character in small ways.
I actually made a small prototype game myself as my first learning godot project a few years ago, it's on itch as a web game for free (itch username is beider). It has the debug menu in the game so you can just walk into the arena, give yourself immortality and 50x level ups then clear the wave and you can see all the upgrades. There are very few percentage or pure stat upgrades and the ones that are there give large meaningful bonuses (eg. double hitpoints). I tried to make cool things like your character releases saws every 15 sec that bounce around the arena, you can upgrade that for more saws. Then upgrade again so the saws explode into even more tinier saws when they expire, etc...
There are literal hordes of channels on youtube playing roguelikes for content - free advertisement XD
Exactly! it's almost in escapable but this continues to highlight the point stated - "If you're going to play this for x-amount of time, how are you not going to talk about it?" Combine that with the idea of streamers just giving you free advertisement and you basically have a secret boost helping your game. When building, keep this in mind.
I'll have to respectfully disagree with you. Playtime != fun. The current trend to boost playtime, which the ground zero is probably vampire survivors, is using underhanded dark patterns straight from mobile game to drive retention, and so, perform better at the steam recommendation algorithm; VS is essentially a clicker that fakes the perception of growth to the player, when to progress you just need to invest time to upgrade your items and being lucky enough to get the right synergies, since its gameplay allows very little actual skill or critical thought. It's a highly sophisticated slot machine, but a slot machine nonetheless, that gets a free pass because it does not have micro-transactions.
Also, the amount of hours in a game can easily balloon if it becomes a secondary activity, like something to play while watching youtube. I routinely put 50 hours in roguelikes or dungeons crawlers that I play specifically for that; it is not a mark of quality, as a lot of those games add very frictive systems intentionally (like grinding or spikes in difficulty) that make the experience arguably worst. A lot (A LOT) of roguelikes use some sort of bullshit mechanic to kill you in the tail end of the run, that can make you lose solid hours in a play section.
What should be arguing is why respecting player time, by making less adherent and more fair systems, is prejudicial to developers nowadays.
Hey man, there's nothing to disagree with because we're already on the same page. Playtime != Fun. (3:54) In fact, I'm pretty proud reading your comment because you're proactively pointing out the flaws of poorly-designed, low-quality, metric-abusing games that developers may be practicing incorrectly. Huge kudos for that!
There are games that are grindy, have fetch quests, how the incremental game genre requires inactiveness, and the "BS of ending runs in roguelites," etc. Playtime doesn't directly correlation to fun - however the main argument/point is that in the context of hosting your game on Steam specifically, Steam ASSUMES that longer playtimes = fun/more desirable since it's one of the few given metrics used to tailor spotlights for/redirect other players to buy x-game with x-playtime.
I absolutely agree that there are a lot of "dark tactics" one can use to artificially pump playtime in ways that aren't ethical or "fun." That's why I also reccommend how when you build a roguelite, you must design in a way so that you are permitting your player to have a normal playthrough and can easily walk away from the game whenever they want. The whole section of player desire is stated to keep in mind that when making a roguelite; you should build systems that allow the player to continue tinkering with the game world to their heart's desires. You can't (and shouldn't) force players to overstay their time in your game, but you should have tools for them to have fun if they wish to continue to return to your game world over and over again.
As +TonyTheTGR 's comment suggests, roguelites benefit players too because the genre, (again, if built correctly with quality in mind - which is another topic to assess), respects player time. Of course, there's no such thing as a perfect game or "perfect replay value" - it all comes down to what the designer does. That being said, I'm extremely happy to see your point of view because your statements lean towards protecting the player's time in an ethical matter and I have nothing but respect for that. Moving forward, all developers should ultimately keep that in mind to benefit the flexibility of what the player wants and how they want to allocate their time.
Just remember the secret benefits boils down to "Steam uses this metric as a benefactor, therefore I *could* take advantage of this if I design replayability properly" - but none of this matters if your game is fundamentally bad, broken, or just not worth playing as you've mentioned.
Keep doing the good work, and I really hope you succeed in your development journey!
@@EdwardLabarcaDev Hey man, first of all, thanks for the answer. This a thorny, complicated subject, as it involves ethics, the practical realities of being an indie dev in the attention economy, and personal preferences.
I very much enjoy roguelikes, but having played a ton of them, I see a lot (specially the more technical, action-heavy ones like Dead Cells or Wizard of Legend) would benefit from dropping that structure, and it creates an artificial barrier in the way of mastering builds; but that also would diminish their player adherence if that mastery is accessible with less repetition; others have such and unbalance of items that can change your run dramatically (Enter the Gungeon comes to mind) that feel a bit slot-machiney in that sense. I could not say if elements like these are planned or emerge from the design processes, but that are precious little critique of them, since they contribute to the sucess of those games, and I also personally like them lot. Hell, I don't think the roguelike format has even been explored to the fullest, like games like Hades or Returnal show.
That said, when we consider Vampire Survivors, whose whole progression is dependent on grinding (it's impossible to win in your first run without the meta-upgrades, unlike most roguelikes), that lack of critique shows it's ugly head. Not only it's success spawned a legion of clones but changed a lot of the "meta" of indie dev to focus less on experience or interesting game design and more in gaming the algorithm by increasing playtime (automation games like Factorio or Forager, or even the wholesome genre, also shares some of that). But VS won a Bafta, and several game of the year awards; there was no critical evaluation of its success, and its consequences for indie devs.
As I mentioned, there is no incentive for not gaming the system to its fullest, specially on the lower tiers of indie development, and that race to the bottom can phase out game design innovation and riskier ideas out of commercial indies; the possible consequence is that space becoming as barren as the mobile market is.
Man I’m so glad I stumbled across this video. I was really on the fence if I should make my next game a roguelite or not
Welcome back, Drew! Absolutely go for it - focus on:
1. Making a strong gameplay loop
2. hyper polishing the roguelite elements (Level up system, Customization options, randomization + modularity, and character builds)
3. and then make sure your loop blends well with the RL elements.
If done correctly, you’ll have players clocking in lots of playtime which gives you that secret boost on Steam. There’s more things to consider, such as appealing characters + gameplay mechanics, what type of genre you’re layering with RL, and how you expose your game for others to see + grow interest in, but overall, the external benefits of having a game based on replayability goes crazy imo.
Glad this helped, can’t wait to hear more about your game!
Is it your first game?
It might be good to make core levels designed first if you haven't done this previously, just to get the mechanics down; and then find out how to shuffle their parts together in a second draft.
@@TonyTheTGR it will be my second game. The first one I ever made was something I made as a joke through college. It’s on steam for free. It’s called “NugQuest”. 😁
I’m looking forward to making a “serious” game now, because I know I can do so much more if I applied myself haha.
@@Dailyfiver Telling you that NugQuest is charming, has a funny premise, and has TONS of recyclable material. You definitely have a huge advantage moving forward - don't forget that.
Any tips of how to increase the replay value of metroidvanias?
-SEQUENCE BREAKS
-Variety in player movement options
-Not tutorializing your WHOLE game at the beginning, but progressively throughout the intended/initial route (but also places where if you know what you're doing, you bypass those tutorial areas entirely without missing items)
-Minimal/Maximal runs leading to different strategies/executions
-More than one way to fight bosses
-Logic-based item randomizer
Great question - After seeing your 'Ascend' video, here's a few ideas I can think of:
1. Randomized Level Sections
Considering that your game probably has static level design, you could theorically have certain level segments that get randomized with different layouts, enemies, and/or collectables that show-up. The more of these you have in your overall game world, the more "unique" each run/playthorugh gets.
2. Speedrun Mode
For games with static level design, one of the best modes you can add is a way to support speedrunning. Look at Super Mario 64 - the game still has revelancy today due to the speedrun community allowing for more records, strats, play styles, etc. Now, this works really when well you have a game with strong player expression (this means have controls where players really feel like they can do "anything" within their given bounds) and once you combine this with a time-task, you'll give players the excuse to redo levels, portions, or whole playthroughs often.
3. Multiple Playable Characters with Different Abilities
This is a bit easier said than done because it requires a lot of game balancing and specific focus to how each player character feels/plays. But ultimately, you can have multiple characters - one that can use hookshots, while the other has a dash, and another with climbing, etc. As long as they don't overlap and can still be played well, this could lead players to trying out new strats.
4. Unlockable Modes
Classic solution, but after beating certain levels or the game itself, give players more challenges such as harder difficulties, boss rush modes, or even a "mirror world" where there are signficantly less platforms avaiable to jump on.
5. Meta-Progression
If your game has a narrative, maybe even dividing the story into chunks so that each playable character reveals the bigger picture could help. Alternatively, you could lower the amount of checkpoints given but let the player gain exp. with their progress and by doing so, unlock certain rooms earlier if they haven't died often. This awards players who 'know' the game deeply and practice their skills on going through it without making mistakes. Although be careful with this exact approach because you should never punish players who want to casually stroll through your game.
Hope this helps!
new game plus with randomized layout look at how rouge legacy does things
As usual great video 😊
Thank you for your kind comment, I really hope this helped you in your development journey!
@@EdwardLabarcaDev I make web games 🎮
@@Don-zo3ts Great to hear but upon clicking your channel, I couldn't find anything about your game(s) besides your banner saying "Pocket Hacker" - is your game called "Pocket Hacker?" If not, where are you advertising/showcasing your game? I'm asking this because it's really important for devs to have a page, post, or some type of media that allows for players to see what you're making. Let me know where we can find more.
@@EdwardLabarcaDevi am planning on making devlogs
Elder scrolls should have been said before Zelda
Forgive me because this is straight-up facts, hahaha - Great input!