Top Gaming Genres in 2023 USA:
To gain a rough idea of how well my game would perform I researched a variety of different statistics. This first image shows across all platforms, puzzler games were the most played across the US in 2023.
From this information I can see my game should perform quite well.
Top Gaming Genres in 2024 UK:
Although puzzler isn’t on this graph, action-adventure comes second with only a 4% difference between this and action games. Although my game is not packed with action there are definitely adventure elements included.
Top Pc Genres:
I want my game to be usable via PC and mobile devices so looking into statistics for each platform would be very helpful to see how they perform.
Like the previous graph, adventure comes second making it a very popular genre.
Top Mobile genres:
On mobile, puzzler is second top used meanwhile adventure is third. Both genres I’m wanting to use are very successful.
Gaming Gender statistics:
To think about what gender I want my game to cater to I looked into statistics of different gendered gamers.
As you can see, gaming is very male denominated but it’s had a massive spark in female players over the years causing the statistics to nearly be equal.
Because there are still fewer female gamers than male I would like my game to be more targeted to a female audience where the character could be female. But just because the character will be female this does not mean other genders cannot enjoy my game.
Puzzler game statistics:
Puzzler games seem to be more popular within the 0-19 and 20-24 age range. Because of these statistics I’d like my game to be targeted at 16+.
Gris game Review:
Gris is a narrative-driven platformer with light puzzle and exploration elements. The game also revolves around telling an emotional story through the environment rather than the use of dialogue which is very fitting for my game.
Below I will be looking at some Steam reviews to see how well a game like this has performed
Positive reviews:
Overall Gris has a high 94.91% positive rating on steam. This means the majority of players enjoyed this game.
In these positive these are some key notes I gathered that players liked about the game:
- Aesthetic- Almost every review wrote about the amazing aesthetic of this game and how breathtaking the art is. The watercolour art style is very different from most games.
- Emotional depth- The use of emotions portrayed through the environment is what players found very enticing about this game.
- Sound design- The music contrasted very well with the environment. It tells the story well through audio as well as the environment.
- Symbolism- Throughout the game symbolism is used through the environment rather than having dialogue, showing the players the story rather than telling.
- Mechanics- New controls and skills are shown slow enough to understand .
- Storytelling- The story is told well through audio and the environment.
Negative reviews:
To find out where this game did not perform so well I also looked at negative reviews.
According to some players the game did not perform so well in these departments:
- Gameplay- Some players found that the gameplay was repetitive, eventually making it boring.
- Mechanics- Having a small time frame to complete certain puzzles left some players frustrated.
- Platformed- Some players deemed the play forming as basic.
How will this help me with my game?
As my game revolved around mainly puzzles and slight adventure, looking through these Steam reviews were very helpful to see where I need to excel and improve.
With my game I need to make sure the story is told properly in a unique way, possibly through the use of lack of dialogue but through the environment like this game has. I also need to make sure puzzles are easy enough to understand so players don’t become frustrated. Audio needs to fit with the environment so it gives off the emotional message.
What I must not do is make the puzzles too repetitive. As some of my feedback from one of my friends they suggested having similar mechanics in each room so the player begins to get the gist of the game, but not to the point where it becomes too repetitive and easy. Another thing to note is that the time frame to complete puzzles should not be too small. With the anxiety meter in my game I need to give a reasonable time so it doesn’t become too frustrating.
Fran Bow game review:
Fran Bow is a psychological horror adventure game that is known for its dark, surreal storytelling, unique art style, and mature themes that explore mental health, trauma, and reality.
Because my game explores these themes I thought I would have a look into the performance of Fran Bow.
Positive reviews:
This game has 98.8% positive reviews making it more successful than Gris. Below are some highlights of the game they did well:
- Accessibility- Easy enough for non-gamers to grasp.
- Environment and characters- Creative characters and environments that tell the story really well.
- Storytelling- Players found the story engaging.
- Puzzles- Fun puzzles.
Negative reviews:
There was a very small amount of negative reviews with this game but I still decided to look into some. Below are some key point people felt let down by:
- Ending- with this game there isn’t really a proper ending so some players felt let down by this.
- Puzzles- some players found the puzzles too complex and didn’t always make sense.
- Gameplay- searching for items distracted players from the plot.
How will this help me with my game?
As my game uses the themes used throughout this game I found looking at Fran Bows’ Steam reviews useful.
With my game I need to can now think about accessibility and how I want it to be easy to use for players. Like Gris this game tells the story through the environment, but has more interaction. With my game being quite isolated I need to create a game with no dialogue except from on-screen instructions on what to do with each item you collect.
With my game I need to give it a proper ending so players don’t feel let down. Puzzles also need to not be too complex so the message about anxiety isn’t taken away. Searching for certain items to complete a puzzle for a long period of time may mess up the whole message of my game.