Customization techniques allow the player to show imagination and feel part of the inner world of the game. By adding such tools to the project, the developer increases the attraction and retention of the target audience. Customization is an opportunity to show your own creativity and feel pleasure from the game process.
Character customization features
By entering the settings of the character’s appearance, you make the player feel like a stylist who solves certain issues. For the user, this is an opportunity to try different images that he might like to try on himself. Some of the customization techniques are so great that you can practically transport yourself into the game!
It is because of this that games with the tag Makeover or Fashion have gained popularity. They open the world of high fashion and style to the player. Customization gives a new meaning to the performance of the main activities of the game. Because the player gets additional goals that he is interested in achieving.
Let’s take a look at the various character settings that increase player engagement in order.
Naming
A very simple and useful function. When the player can name the object himself, the distance between him and the game is shortened. The player can give a name as the main character. But if specific images are written in the game, it is enough to allow giving a name to the mascot animal. An example of such a misnomer is the feature that allows you to name a cat and a dog in the game Merge Villa.
Appearance of the character
A whole series of games is built around the topic of changing the main character’s image. Projects showing the world of high fashion are popular. An example of such a game is Makeover Merge and Fashion Link.
The internal narrative of these products focuses on the theme of reincarnation. Being part of a team that creates a real show is a powerful incentive to play and come back again and again.
Reincarnating the appearance of the character for the player is not just a change of colors and hairstyle. This is a success story that happened because of his efforts. That is why it is important to create an interesting story that will stick and lead.
In Fashion games you can change:
- skin and eye color
- hair color and hairstyle;
- makeup;
- clothing and accessories.
The gradual change in the details of the hero’s appearance activates the desire to see things through. Since it is nice and fun to do this in the game, it becomes more and more difficult to quit the process. The more creativity a player can show, the stronger the internal atmosphere will hold him.
The advantage of appearance customization mechanics is that, having a constant number of characters, you can add many options of clothes, hairstyles and accessories to the game. The Emily’s Life event in Makeover Merge lets you play as the first character in a cruise setting. The idea of collecting an additional set of clothes and seeing your favorite character in it creates additional interest and significantly increases player engagement.
Easter, Halloween, Christmas, Chinese New Year, Thanksgiving, and many others are popular in Western Europe, America, and Asia. Each event provides an opportunity to create a new interesting collection that will add variety to the game. Such events provide an opportunity to optimize efforts in creating new content and arouse the interest of the target audience.
Special game modes
If you don’t change the pace of the game, it can cause fatigue in the process. Character customization with a time limit will help to add intrigue. These are separate events that last from 3 days to a week. During this period of time, the player is forced to quickly complete the game tasks in order to collect the premium set.
This is exactly the idea used in the Emilys Life event, which immerses the player in the atmosphere of vacation on a cruise ship. Acceleration of the pace does not cause discomfort, because the scenario of the game event is completely organized. Such a move causes a feeling of excitement, a desire to reach the end and see your favorite character in a new set.
In conclusion, customization techniques are additional tools that make the game more interesting. They allow you to fully reveal the potential of the content and create a reality that will increase the interest of the target audience in the project. Thanks to customization, the developer optimizes efforts to create additional objects. This is a plastic technique that allows you to create interesting combinations with other game mechanics and convey them attractively to the player.
author Vaclav Yeager
