👋🏻 Hello Fellow Living Beings,
I wanted to share some learnings from what we've been working on at Arth House this April
- No code toolset we use to run pre-production
- A broad game format that can last, almost forever...Session Based Games
For context, we're prototyping a virtual play and hangout space focused on creating social impact (health, applied education, finance), leveraging the mutually beneficial networks we build.
We are using a no code toolset that lets us test and work, cross platform - Unreal Engine Editor for Fortnite (UEFN), HypeHype Inc. and looking into Roblox soon.
We're #utilisingAI to improve speed and overall quality of concept presentations, idea generation, building custom soundscapes and admin/PR communication.
Maybe Nihal and I can put together a video breakdown of the game elements we looked at and how we reinterpreted it keeping in mind #gamedesignthinking and limitations of using only #UEFN's no code tools.
Let me know if anyone is interested?
I am excited about what the future holds for indie devs and the game industry in general.
I understand it is going through a flux with the 'radical innovation' of AI.
In Harvard Business Review's The Innovators Toolkit it says,
this period of flux is normal, when buyers and sellers are unsure, until the new tech/system settles in place and innovation goes back to being incremental and less stressful.
It is a process that has repeated itself. Remember the internet becoming publicly available and changing the way we live today?
So "Session Based Games",
(ref Mitch Lasky and Blake Robbins GameCraft ep Forever Games) and experiences, are an interesting concept
The goal is to build an engaging single/multiplayer experience (proto) that can be played/experienced again and again in sessions.
Last month we looked at collaborative co-op experiences and built a play space that quite a variety of people enjoyed.
Next month we're consulting professionals and translating therapy frameworks to video games.
This month, my teammate Nihal Kadam, and I have been working on Session Based Games.
We looked at board games like chess and ludo, virtual hangout spaces like VR Chat, Discord and Roblox, also MOBAs, Deathmatches and Extraction Shooters - and specifically at Brawl Stars, Honor of Kings, League of Legends, VainGlory, Pokemon Unite, Hunt Showdown, Arena Breakout.
In session based games the experience could feel fresh for different reasons:
- Progression of a production ecosystem (sim/tycoon), skill level, abilities, narrative
- Players bring something different each time based on the strategy and elements they use
- The Player brings different desires, moods, recent experiences or interests to explore
They often have similar factors like limited play spaces or time, and have depth balancing strategy and chance #hybridcasual, but they can vary..
..And the rules can be bent effectively if you learn them. Even if only a few, just the ones you need.
