Design Spotlight: Geneshift Demo
A week ago, a game appeared on Steam and the front page of reddit: Geneshift, by one Ben “bencelot” Johnson.
It’s a “GTA2 inspired shooter” with zombies, or so goes the pitch. It’s chock full of decisions I disagree with as a designer. And it happens to be good fun.
Keeping in form with my Design Spotlight series, let’s talk about one design choice that I found to be excellent.
The Demo is Multiplayer
Yep, ^there it is. Here’s the why and how I think this is a “good move, bro”: Geneshift is a tiny indie game. It’s going to be crippled, as all multiplayer-focused games these days seem to be, by the fickle, fleeting populations so critical to success. AAAs can’t avoid this flash-in-the-pan world, but indies get the short stick: they often start out the gate as wastelands.
Anybody here ever play The Showdown Effect back in the day? That’s a great example of what to expect in this environment, even with a stellar product.
Geneshift is further hurt by a lack of matchmaking. It uses the classic server browser interface, which is a great way of showing people, “Look at all of these empty servers and how many people don’t play!” rather than hiding it away in a (rage-inducingly long) queue. The queue might be a bitch, but at least players will put a little faith in it every now and then.
For example, Duelyst (which I’ve talked about before) uses a matchmaking system. Back in beta, I could sit upwards of 40 minutes waiting for a match. Yet, by all appearances, it’s doing fine these days.
But Geneshift somehow just might stand a chance. And I don’t mean because Ben Johnson here has the obstinance and determination of a mule, though he does (Geneshift has been in development for 8 years — makes me feel a bit better about how long my own recent project is taking).
Geneshift stands a chance because it’s accessible. He’s not afraid to have a demo that gives away what seems to be the core of the game FOR FREE. He’s confident that:
• players will find and engage with the demo
• players who love the demo will convert to paid for more SP and MP game modes
• and, players who don’t convert will stick around and keep the servers active
It still has tons of empty servers a week on, sure, but all accounts seem to show the community is growing. Who knows, maybe it’ll survive.
The model reminds me quite a bit of CCP’s recent move to open Eve Online to free players. I wonder if it’ll pay off.
Best of luck to this odd little gem and its creator, from a fellow indie.
Normally, as I’ve done for the past few years, I write my posts over on my Tumblr-powered blog. This week, I thought I’d stray from the norm and give Medium a try; it seems more suited to this long(ish) form.
Please send all fan- and hate-mail inspired by this decision to my twitter: Pat Scott (I’m looking for feedback)
