Game Design: God of Light

Well, wouldn't you know it. Just as I start up this blog and plan to do a huge series of things for Landmark & Ever Quest: Next my computer up and dies on me. So I've gotten a tablet for school and I realized that I'm not limited to talking about PC games. I've been watching a LOT of Extra Credits and I've got a post planned for that later, but for now I've been playing some android games. There's a lot of crap out there, but I'd like to take a moment to shine some light (lame pun intended) on one game doing it well and talk about why.

God of Light by Playmous is available on the Play Store for android devices and iOS devices. This is a gorgeous game showing that android games can have good graphics, the sound track is lovely and calming, but neither of these elements is what makes God of Light so great in my books.

Exploration
This is the first physics puzzle game I've ever seen that incorporates exploration of the map as an integral mechanic. I've seen a few where it was a passive result, such as some levels of Angry Birds. Here the core mechanic of spreading light reveals the map and awakens more parts of the level for you to use. You don't know how it all works right off, you have to discover step by step what the level has to offer you in terms of tools.

Learning Curve
God of Light presents the player with a solid learning curve, teaching the tools needed in a smooth progression while providing the experience of accomplishment when you've figured it out. It never punishes you for getting it wrong, but if you take the easiest route you won't get the top rewards and you will know you could have done better.

Non-Combat
Like most physics games God of Light is a non-combat game. In the first several levels I have found no hint of aggression or violence, no enemies in your way. The lights went out, it is your job to spread the light and reawaken the universe. Simple, elegant, totally unobjectionable. Nice to see well made games with such a message of peace and harmony.

Monetization
This is a free to play game and lovely games like this are not cheap to produce. I'll get into my views of a post-capitalism world in later entries, but for now, game developers need to make money to keep making games that we love. But they don't have to be jerks about it. God of Light does this quite well, and this is where I really want to point out what they have done.

Part of the Mechanics
The monetization is not tacked on as some separate entity, it is an integrated part of the structure of the game. The currency is fire flies. You can find one fire fly in each level if you explore around for it. You can purchase 30 for $0.99, 70 for $1.99, 120 for $2.99, or 300 for $3.99. You can use a fire fly in game at any time to illuminate portions of the map and show you 'the way' to solve a puzzle, sort of. At lower levels it tells you exactly what must be done, at higher levels it only tells you what the end state is, not what you need to do to get there. It only lasts a while, so use that illumination wisely. Fire flies are also spent to unlock additional levels. Or you can just purchase the Demo Unlock Access for $1.99 to open the levels.

Not Selling Power
The physics puzzle genre has no real way of 'selling power' anyway, so I can't really applaud them for 'not selling power'. But know that selling power is a BAD IDEA for any game unless it is completely solo without even a 'leader board' to compare scores. Some may argue that being able to use fire flies to reveal the level is 'power' since you can get through the level faster and get a better score. I would remind two things here, 1) fire flies can be earned in game, and 2) you can repeat a level you have beaten to get a better score by doing it faster from memory now that you know what you need to do. In this case, using a fire fly will actually slow you down.

In-Game Ads
Ads in free games were inevitable, it is a carry over of the television ads providing us free tv shows to watch, which itself came from radio spots. However, you don't need to beat your customers over the head with ads. Hulu has been learning that showing 1 ad at a time is far more effective than showing a string of three or four all together. It is less annoying, keeping that annoyance from carrying over to taint the viewers opinion of both Hulu and the product/service being advertized. God of Light has taken this two steps further, making ads effectively optional and rewarding players who choose to participate rather than punishing those who do not.

In God of Light, at the end of each level you are presented with the option to watch a sponsors video, which typically lasts around 20 seconds, for a few fire flies or to skip it and just move on to the next level right away. It is entirely your choice, no pressure. This is one of the first games where I am enjoying going through the ads, not because they are great ads, but because it was entirely my choice for when I want to participate and get the extra reward. These rewards are 'worth it' without being over powering. It is the equivalent of finding the fire flies in a couple more levels.

It is important that we recognize when developers are doing it well, not just yelling when they get it wrong. This encourages more producers to follow in the good models, balancing the monetizing so it does not piss off your players. No players means no income. This needs to be a partnership, not a battle.

Playmous, I applaud you for how you have handled God of Light. Well done, and thank you.