"Chasing 'Virality' to Death: How Features Buried Our Game"

Chasing Trends: The Feature Creep That Killed Our Game

We set out to make a charming puzzle platformer. We ended up with a bloated, unfocused mess. The reason? We were chasing virality, not building a great game.

The Siren Song of “Engagement”

Early on, our core loop was solid. Players enjoyed solving spatial puzzles and navigating our protagonist through increasingly challenging levels. We got positive feedback from early playtesters who loved the simplicity and tight controls.

Then came the inevitable “buts.” Playtesters suggested features they’d seen in other popular games. “Have you thought about crafting?” “What about a skill tree?” “Multiplayer would be HUGE!”

We fell for it. We started adding features, convinced that these additions would boost engagement and make our game “sticky.” We were wrong.

The List of Deadly Additions

Here’s a breakdown of the features that ultimately contributed to our downfall:

• Crafting System: Initially, players collected key items for progression. That was clean and simple. We added a crafting system allowing players to combine resources into new items. It slowed the pace, required unnecessary inventory management, and distracted from the core puzzle solving. For example, instead of figuring out how to move a block to trigger a switch, players were now spending time grinding for wood to make a specific bomb.
• Skill Tree: Our character had a few basic abilities. We added a skill tree hoping to give players a sense of progression. The problem? Most of the skills were passive buffs or minor tweaks to existing abilities. They felt tacked on and didn’t meaningfully change gameplay. Players felt obligated to grind for experience points instead of focusing on the puzzles.
• Asynchronous Multiplayer: Someone suggested asynchronous multiplayer, where players could create and share their own puzzle levels. This sounded great on paper, a built-in source of endless content! In reality, it fragmented the player base. People spent more time fiddling with level editors than playing the main game. The quality of user-generated content was uneven, further diluting the experience.
• Pets: Because every game needs pets, right? We added collectible pets that followed the player around and provided minor buffs. They were cute, but ultimately meaningless. They cluttered the screen and added nothing to the core gameplay loop.

Each feature, on its own, didn’t seem terrible. But together, they created a Frankenstein’s monster of a game.

The Cost of Chasing Trends

These features weren’t just irrelevant. They actively detracted from the strengths of our game.

• Pacing Problems: The crafting and skill tree systems introduced grinding, slowing the pace of the game and interrupting the flow of puzzle solving.
• Focus Shift: Players spent less time thinking about puzzles and more time managing resources and optimizing their skill builds. The core gameplay loop became secondary.
• Diluted Identity: The game lost its identity. It went from a focused puzzle platformer to a generic “thing with everything” game.
• Development Time: We wasted countless hours developing, testing, and balancing these features. Time that could have been spent polishing the core gameplay or creating new levels.

We ignored the initial positive feedback on the core loop and instead listened to the suggestions that would ultimately sink our game.

Lessons Learned: A Guide to Avoiding Feature Creep

So, how can you avoid making the same mistakes we did?

1. Prioritize the Core: Identify the core mechanic that makes your game unique and fun. Focus all your energy on refining and polishing that core. Don’t let extraneous features distract you.
2. Ruthless Feature Cutting: Be willing to cut features, even if you’ve already spent time developing them. If a feature doesn’t directly enhance the core gameplay, it’s probably better off on the cutting room floor.
3. Playtesting is Key: Get your game in front of players early and often. Pay close attention to what they enjoy without prompting them with feature suggestions. Observe how they interact with the core mechanics.
4. Say No to "Because Other Games Do It": Just because a feature is popular in other games doesn’t mean it’s right for yours. Focus on what makes your game unique, not on copying what everyone else is doing.
5. Define “Fun” Early On: What does “fun” mean in your game? Is it puzzle-solving? Exploration? Storytelling? Refer back to this definition when considering new features. If a feature doesn’t contribute to your core definition of fun, ditch it.
6. Scope Management is Crucial: Set realistic goals and stick to them. It’s better to release a polished, focused game than a bloated, unfinished one.

Focus on what matters

In the end, we learned a painful lesson. Chasing virality is a recipe for disaster. Building a great game requires focus, discipline, and a willingness to say “no” to features that don’t enhance the core experience.

Learn from our mistakes. Don’t let the siren song of “engagement” lead you astray. Focus on building a great game, and the virality will follow. Or it won’t, but at least you made a great game.