I've always considered mobile games to be the natural progression along the curve of arcade games. And, naïvely, it's easy enough to justify this when I think of the short play-sessions, this need to get the kids 'hooked', the energy/stamina systems that push revenue along (arcade tokens).
Speaking of energy systems: is there - possibly - a better way to implement them? I see a lot of folk complain about energy systems but I wonder how they'd react if they had to pay for a token each time they wanted to continue a session in their favourite Final Emblem: Saga (flawed case, and though I'm kidding,
still it amuses me).
Are paid downloads the only alternative that forgo energy? I've heard these have been seeing a steady decline or don't work (or haven't worked for a while now). Is this true?
I'm being plagued by an idea for an energy system that still lets players continue their play sessions, so I thought I'd throw it out here. Frankly because it's flawed and I want it out my head (presuming a FF:Brave Exvius-esque game):
- Tying the energy to an arbitrary UserAvatar that can 'earn' more energy by progressing through the game (FF:Brave Exvius does this with ranks; FE:Heroes adopts a similar system)is generally what I've seen and, well, this seems redundant to me (because you're grinding your units' levels anyway).
- Using Brave Exvius as a springboard: why not tie it each unit instead? Give them a little 'stamina' bar that refills at the same (maybe quicker) rate, that grows in stamina with each level the same way.
- And the player can micromanage this if they really want to keep playing or whatever. The 'pay gems to refill energy' would probably be replaced by a 'do something and let your party rest at an inn'.
Only one advantage comes to mind: it makes a kind of sense for living, breathing
somethings to get tired in-game from the player's unceasing prodding.
It does sound more maddening than the current systems in place; and if nothing else, at least it's achieved that. Hurrah for new lows--