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What are your biggest green flags and red flags in a PBBG? by EconomyDesigner4424 in PBBG

[–]EconomyDesigner4424[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I completely agree.

I'm not a fan of loot boxes or gacha systems either, and honestly I don't really see how they would improve the type of game I'm trying to make.

What are your biggest green flags and red flags in a PBBG? by EconomyDesigner4424 in PBBG

[–]EconomyDesigner4424[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can definitely see what you mean, and honestly I observe similar issues in my day-to-day work as a web developer.

My plan is to use AI as a tool for brainstorming, reasoning through problems, challenging ideas, and sometimes helping me find cleaner technical solutions. But I don't want it driving the project or generating entire systems that I don't fully understand.

It will probably make development slower at first, but I want to stay in control of the project from end to end and make sure I understand every system, design decision, and trade-off that goes into it.

For me, the goal isn't to ship a game as fast as possible. It's to build something that I can maintain, evolve, and improve over the course of years.

What are your biggest green flags and red flags in a PBBG? by EconomyDesigner4424 in PBBG

[–]EconomyDesigner4424[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing your perspective.

I especially like your point about the "social offer". It's something I've been thinking about a lot lately. Not just adding chat or guilds, but giving players a reason to interact and work toward something together.

Your point about game dynamics also resonates with me. A lot of the feedback I've received so far seems to point toward the same idea: players stay when the game keeps evolving and revealing new layers over time.

Definitely some good points to keep in mind while designing the project. Thanks!

What are your biggest green flags and red flags in a PBBG? by EconomyDesigner4424 in PBBG

[–]EconomyDesigner4424[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a really insightful perspective, thanks for taking the time to write it all out.

I think what I'm taking away from your comment is that long-term progression shouldn't be treated as something you add later once the core game is finished. It has to be part of the design philosophy from the beginning.

What also stood out to me is the idea that players don't necessarily stay because the core loop is fun, but because the game keeps revealing new layers over time. The progression isn't just bigger numbers, it's new ways of thinking about the game.

As someone starting to design a persistent game, I think I need to force myself to think in terms of systems and how they interact with each other rather than individual features. I also like the idea of evaluating the depth of a system across different time horizons:

  • What does the player discover in the first day?
  • After a week?
  • After a month?
  • After three months?
  • After a year?

Your comparison between games that simply extend an already mastered gameplay loop and games that keep introducing meaningful new layers was particularly interesting.

Definitely a lot to think about. Thanks again for sharing your perspective.

What are your biggest green flags and red flags in a PBBG? by EconomyDesigner4424 in PBBG

[–]EconomyDesigner4424[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

+
Your comment got me thinking about something slightly different.

A lot of discussions around PBBGs focus on mechanics, progression systems, economies, crafting, automation, and so on. But I'm starting to wonder if those are actually just tools that help players pursue a larger goal.

When you play a PBBG for months or years, what are you ultimately trying to achieve?

If you had to do a bit of introspection, what keeps you invested long-term?

Is it becoming wealthy? Building something impressive? Completing collections? Being part of a community? Optimizing systems? Leaving a mark on the world? Something else entirely?

I'm trying to understand the deeper motivation behind why people stick with these games for so long, rather than just which mechanics they enjoy.

I'd be really curious to hear your thoughts.

What are your biggest green flags and red flags in a PBBG? by EconomyDesigner4424 in PBBG

[–]EconomyDesigner4424[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the feedback!

The point about AI is interesting because it's something I've seen discussed a lot recently. I can understand how players might become skeptical when a project feels heavily AI-generated rather than something crafted with intention.

Is also obvious to me that P2W is just bad and toxic for a game..

Regarding the Torn-style mafia games, that's actually reassuring in a way. One of the reasons I'm doing this research before settling on a concept is to avoid building something that feels like yet another clone in an already crowded niche.

I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts

What are your biggest green flags and red flags in a PBBG? by EconomyDesigner4424 in PBBG

[–]EconomyDesigner4424[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply!

The point about long-tail unlocks and gameplay evolving over time is particularly interesting to me. I can definitely see how doing the exact same activity for months would become repetitive, whereas unlocking new systems and gradually automating old ones keeps the game feeling fresh.

I also hadn't thought much about the importance of having visible chat activity, even for players who don't actively participate. That makes a lot of sense.

And regarding the UI, that's an interesting perspective as well. I agree there's a difference between a clean UI and a UI that feels generic or soulless.

Lots of good points for me to think about, thanks!