Shelf Moments
I’ve been trying out a lot of games recently, so I’ve hit a few shelf moments. First, let’s define a shelf moment.
A player encounters a shelf moment when they still want to experience more of the game content, but are unable or unwilling to. A shelf moment is not any time you shelve the game: if you just run out of new content and get bored, you’re done with the game. A shelf moment is a “premature shelving”.
I’m open to alternatives, but that definition fits the cases I’ve been encountering recently.
It should be obvious why game developers want to avoid shelf moments: you’ve put all that content in there for a reason! If you’re discouraging players from experiencing a huge chunk of your content, why is it there? From a sales standpoint, a player who’s hit a shelf moment isn’t likely to recommend the game to his friends (and is likely to sell it used to EB). A reviewer forced to overcome one may be unkind in the final review.
Why do shelf moments occur? I’ll put some examples in future posts, and try to diagnose the issue (in many cases, it’s quite obvious– and easily avoidable!). If you feel like venting about any frustrating shelf moments of your own, please share your story here or in any other shelf moment post!
August 23rd, 2006 at 3:06 am
Parasite Eve.
Shelf moment. Decent game, if a bit linear.
To get to the second, true ending, you had to traverse 100 floors of randomly generated hallways.
I think I made it up to about floor 60 something before saying “fuck it”
Dragon’s Lair.
The ultimate in shelf moments. Random guessing and twitching in the general direction of das blinkenlights does not fun gameplay make.
On the other hand, getting shelved isn’t necessarily a death sentence. I finally got around to finishing Ultima VII (parts 1 and 2) last year, and I’ve still got some interest in returning to Wasteland.
Heck, I haven’t even finished Final Fantasy VII yet, and I’ve shelved that one 2 or 3 times now.
-erik
August 23rd, 2006 at 6:28 pm
When OMM reviewed Requiem, Erik raised a really good point: When a scene in a film is bad, you can just sit through it and continue to enjoy the rest of the movie.
When a level/mission/scenario in a game is bad (too hard, frustrating, tedious, or otherwise blocking), you’re stuck. Games aren’t yet at a point where they’re comfortable letting you skip missions and proceed with the primary campaign. That’s ripe for shelving.
For this (and a couple other) reasons, as a developer, I think it’s wise to err on the side of too easy rather than too hard (assuming you’re in a position where you have to choose between those two).
-Erik R
August 23rd, 2006 at 6:59 pm
That’s a really interesting way to think about it– what if you could just skip the level? Games since well before MMOs have been fixated on making the player “earn” something, but it’s rare to see the other extreme (”do what you want”). If levels are viewed only as a way of meting out content at the proper pace, and one acknowledges that some players just won’t like some content, maybe that’s a good angle from which to rethink the content delivery structure.
This got me thinking about branching and multiple solutions. I tried to find information online about Noah Falstein’s discussion of “convexities”. This is all I found:
http://www.jesperjuul.net/ludologist/?p=274
http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Game-Based%20Learning-Ch5.pdf#search=%22falstein%20convexities%22
August 23rd, 2006 at 10:35 pm
I LOVE the idea of putting in a “skip” function for those looking for a more casual experience.
I recently reached a shelf moment in the hallowed New Super Mario Bros. because of the game’s idiotic save structure that left me replaying three levels ad nauseum just because I kept getting stuck on this one boss that I just couldn’t figure out. STUPID!!!
August 24th, 2006 at 1:29 am
My basic problem with the multiple solutions idea is that it has yet to have been implemented in an interesting way. All too often, it seems like “Ok, now do 20 hours of level grind, hope we made the game-altering decision obvious, and then go do it again a few times. Oh, did we mention that due to our general lack of save points, you’re going to learn the hard way that the universe-shaking-choice happens *right* before one?”
I’m a bitter man.
August 24th, 2006 at 1:50 am
Oh, I was referring to multiple solutions to small challenges. Like in Deus Ex, where you can shoot everyone in the face, or sneak around back and pick the locks, or hack the turrets to shoot everyone in the face.
Deus Ex may not be the best example from a difficulty standpoint, because if the game’s too difficult for the way your character’s specced, it’s going to be way harder if you’re going against the grain. (I can’t hack this security panel– I’ll just shoot everyone! What can I use? A taser? That’s it? Crap.)
Think more Kid Icarus, where you can tool around and get more statue dudes to shoot the boss for you, in case the boss is too hard.
August 24th, 2006 at 5:24 am
well, NSMB has that (you can go back and earn more coins to be able to buy additional saves) but the problem is, if you were able to figure out where those less obvious extra coins are and how to get them, you probably didn’t have trouble with the boss in the first place and don’t need them.
But I agree that having more options is better than fewer.
August 24th, 2006 at 7:20 am
I’ll admit that I have a legitimate copy of Deus Ex by way of some video card bundle, but I’ve not got around to it. (Shit, man, I already admitted that I’m still trying to get back to Wasteland (circa 1987)) I’ll try to catch up, really I will.
But bringing the story arc from the macro- level to the micro- isn’t necessarily perfect. Almost no matter what you do to try to account for every possible situation, there’s probably some detractor like me that will get all angsty because I couldn’t put a towel over my head to sneak through an area, or something equally ridiculous.
-erik
August 30th, 2006 at 3:12 am
[…] Inspired by the comments for the last post on shelf moments, I’ll give save-induced shelving its due. […]
August 30th, 2006 at 3:15 am
ErikL: I think your flexibility in gameplay concern might be addressed in this Deus Ex writeup: http://www.oldmanmurray.com/features/84.html.