Introduction to my research

Nowadays it’s very common for single player games to also offer an added multiplayer component to extend the lifecycle of the game. The problem is that most multiplayer games assume that the player has experienced the ins and outs of the whole singleplayer experience.

The difference is that most singleplayer experiences often rely on a slight learning curve that slowly builds up. The result is a gray area between the singleplayer and the multiplayer component that needs to be bridged. A lot of players don’t bother to check out the multiplayer component or quit after having touched it briefly because of this problem.

Another big problem is the nature of gamers who do play multiplayer games. Experienced or hardcore multiplayer gamers expect that every player they meet has a certain level of understanding of the game, especially when teamplay is involved. Not being able to meet this level leads to frustration on both sides and ruins the experience for both types of players. The player eventually quits playing the game out of frustration. This benefits neither the player nor the developer.

To solve problems like these, game developers use matchmaking systems that divide players into different skill levels, and place the player into a lobby with players of the same skill level. Although this sounds good in theory, this solution doesn’t always work like it should. This leaves many gamers into matches that are still too hard or too easy, which discourages the player to continue playing.

Systems like this also rely on player population, and only function optimal with a huge players base that can only be found in AAA games. A smaller player base results into long waiting times to find players of appropriate skill, and most of the time, players are put into matches with very varying skill levels anyway.

The big breakthrough in online gaming should be a system that makes it possible for hardcore and casual gamers to be able to enjoy the same competitive multiplayer experience, without being divided into different individual games.

During the following months I will be researching fun and frustration in competitive multiplayer games. Conducting this research will hopefully help me to design mechanics or a system that can be incorporated into exciting multiplayer games to enhance the player experience for both new and veteran players. This leads me to the following research question:

“ What game design or level design elements can create an equal (artificial) chance to win and agency for both veteran and new players within a single level? ”

I also will be building a game to as prove of concept and to support my thesis. The be able to build this game I teamed up with Tom van Kruijsbergen who will implement a experimental audio system into the same game. More information about his research will probably be posted soon.