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Market Research: Indie Puzzle Adventure Game Genre And What Players Want

Here's what I learned after spending over three months talking to customers and researching the small indie game puzzle adventure market. So in this article, you're going to get 7 new insights I discovered to help you make a game that the market wants. And you'll also get 3 mistakes you need to avoid so that your target customer can easily find you.

Insight One: What Drives This Market Isn't Story Or Game Play, It's This...

Most indie devs think that the story or gameplay is the most important feature that attracts players to this genre. So devs put a lot of focus and effort into these two parts in their game.

Though story and gameplay is important, it's not the main desire for players. The desire goes much deeper than that.

You see, some people get bored too easily with passive entertainment like books and movies. However, adventure games keep people engaged in the story because they have to work and overcome challenges if they want to advance the plot.

And that's the key desire that drives this entire genre:

Players want to feel like they are the ones who advance the plot.

This is an important insight because if you want to make a game that is marketable, you need to keep this desire in mind when developing your features. Every feature you design should foster this desire to giving the player agency to advance the plot.

Think about it this way: the game engine you're using to make your game was made to fulfill your main desire... and your main desire is to finish a high-quality game, in a reasonable amount of time. Features like a good UI, lots of documentation, fair fee structures... all these features were made to FOSTER your main desire: to finish your game faster.

It's the same with puzzle adventure games. All these features like story, gameplay, theme, etc., foster the player to fulfil their desire to be in control of advancing the plot and shaping the story.

So keep this in mind when developing your puzzle adventure game: the reason the player is here, playing your game is because they want to feel like they have agency in advancing the plot.

Insight Two: Players Want Simple Controls To Advance The Plot

In action games like Dark Souls, it's your skills with the controls that progress the plot. If you can't "get good", then you can't advance the plot. And that's what attracts players to action games.

And it's the same thing with action puzzle games like Tomb Raider. To progress, you have to use your brain to figure out puzzles... BUT... you also have to be good at the controls and platforming.

However, in adventure games, players do NOT want the controls to get in the way of advancing the plot. The way they want to progress the plot is through their skill of reasoning, story comprehension, and creativity.

Again, this is important because remember when designing your controls you want them to feel intuitive so that the player can focus their skill on comprehending the story and using their brain to solve puzzles -- so that they can advance the plot. If the player has to also focus on their skills with the controller, then now it's not an adventure game, it's an action game.

Basically, there seems to be a "sweet spot" in this genre. If you make your puzzles too easy, and it's all about the story then it's a Walking Simulator. And if you add too much platforming or combat, then it becomes an action game. And if your game is all about puzzles and there's not interacting and engaging with other characters, then you have a game like Portal.

Insight Three: Players Want To Overcome Obstacles When Progressing The Plot

Remember, players want to progress the plot through their actions and decisions. They want to be the ones that shape the story (within reason). But they also want some sort of obstacle in the way when trying to progress the plot.

However, this depends on the person.

Some people like to overcome puzzles to progress the plot. To these players, they like to use lateral thinking to solve mechanical, spatial, or logical puzzles. And they will search and explore the environment to help them find clues. Their reward after exploring and solving a puzzle is they get to unlock the next NEW area to explore and solve puzzles. Puzzles and challenges are what keeps them engaged, and pulls them to keep progressing the plot.

And then there is a very different set of people who don't really care about lateral thinking puzzles. These people would rather progress the plot through dialogue trees and comprehending the story. These players try to figure out the best branching paths, and pick the best choice to get the best consequence to see what's next. To them, the dialogue puzzles are more important to them than the mechanical puzzles. These players focus more on characters rather than puzzles. And their reward for comprehending the story and picking the best path is unlocking more of the story, and learning more about the characters and their motivations. Characters and story is what keeps them immersed and what pulls them to keep going.

Let me go a bit deeper with this because it's an important insight in terms of making sure your game is marketable and reaches the right target audience.

Insight Four: Some Players Want Gameplay First / Story Second

I just told you that some players like advancing the plot by overcoming puzzles, and some like to overcome narrative or story puzzles. So let me go a bit deeper, because once you understand this, it'll help you craft a marketing message that will be made specifically for your target customers.

Players who like solving puzzles are the ones that value gameplay over story. These are the people that play games like Myst, Quern, The Return of the Obra Dinn, The Witness, and the Blue Prince. These games let players explore, backtrack, search for environmental clues, and solve lateral puzzles.

Yes, story is important. In fact, to these players, it's essential that the puzzles are integrated into the story or environment. And they don't want a game where you just go from puzzle to puzzle with a story to set the context (for instance, a game like Portal). If a game is just all about puzzles, then it's no longer an adventure game -- it's just a puzzle game with story as context.

So the important insight here is, if you're going to make a gameplay first / story second game, make sure the puzzles are baked into the story, environment, and / or lore of your game. Players want the puzzles to make sense, and be logical. I'll talk about this more in Mistake 2.

Insight Five: Some Players Want Story First / Gameplay Second

Players who value story over gameplay, are the ones that prefer to play games like Broken Sword, Firewatch, or Another Lost Phone.

Players like these games because they like exploring the narrative and characters. Yes, puzzles are important. But the puzzles are seamless and it doesn't feel like you're doing a puzzle.

For example, in the game Another Lost Phone, you have to figure out a password to unlock an app on the phone. To do so you have to read the text messages and emails to gather clues to figure this puzzle out. It's less about the mechanics of a puzzle, and more about comprehending the story and finding clues via dialogue to help you figure out a puzzle.

However, games that go too light with the puzzles start to become Walking Simulators. And remember, players who gravitate to puzzle adventure games don't want a passive experience. They need some sort of obstacle that tests their brain.

This insight is important because when marketing your game, you need to fully understand your target player and what they want and don't want. Does your target player prefer gameplay over story? Or story over gameplay? Because if you don't make it clear what your game is and is trying to do, then you'll never attract your target player. And I'll talk more about this in Mistake 1.

Insight Six: Players Want Missions

Remember, players want to feel agency when progressing the plot. And they get this feeling by doing missions. That's because missions let the player engage in the story so that they're not just a passive watcher. Missions give a player work to do so that it makes them feel that THEY resolved the problem, and THEY are advancing the plot.

And there's two different mission structures that you can pick from:

Mission structure 1 are self-contained areas. This is where the player is thrown into a closed off area. And they have a few locations they can visit. And they can go back and forth in these locations. But the player can't leave until they finish the objectives in that area.

For example, in the small indie game Rosewater, you're thrown into a few small areas where you have to solve mini-missions. You can't backtrack, or go do another mini-mission. You're locked into the area until you finish the mission. Players like mission style, because to them exploration isn't important. What's important is playing a self-contained story, where the focus is on characters, dialogue-trees, and choices the player has to make. And these self-contained areas make it easy for the player to just focus on the story, and not worry about wasting time exploring a big world.

But then there is the opposite mission structure...

Mission structure 2 is all about exploration. This mission structure is designed for players to explore the world or area to help them find clues to solve a puzzle. The game often starts off small and gradually expands as the player progresses through the plot. This mission structure often works best for gameplay first / story second type games. And this is what classic puzzle adventure games did: your world is small, and as you explore, solve puzzles, and progress, your world gets bigger and bigger. You're allowed to backtrack, or do different missions if you get stuck on one.

The mission structure in your game is very important to identify because some people love playing the "locked-in", self-contained areas with mini-missions, and some players love the missions where you can explore and backtrack. But if a game dev isn't clear about exactly what their game is trying to do, then it'll alienate people. It's like making pepperoni pizza but it has vegan cheese on it -- it just alienates both meat lovers and vegans. So it's important to be very clear what mission structure your game is going for.

Insight Seven: Players Have Expectations When It Comes To Different Perspectives (i.e. Point and Click vs. First Person vs. Third Person)

The perspective of your game is very important to players because it instantly tells them what type of puzzle adventure game they'll get.

Let me explain...

In the First Person Puzzle Adventure games, players expect themes of isolation. And they expect puzzles to be integrated with the story or environment. This all started with Myst, where you're on an isolated island. And it's no coincidence that games like Quern and The Witness are also set on an isolated island. Also, players expect that the puzzles are heavily integrated in the story or environment. That's because first person games offer players a more immersive gaming experience. And being in an isolated area, where you have to solve puzzles that are woven into the story or environment add to that immersion.

However, with Point and Click Puzzle Adventure games, it's less about immersion, and more about exploring the environment for clues or dialogue trees. And often Point and Click games are either comedies or they're set in a whimsical fantasy world.

And when it comes to Third-Person puzzle adventure games, players expect to manipulate objects and explore. For instance Cocoon. But remember, there is a "sweet spot" in this genre. If your game has too much platforming or combat, it's no longer an adventure game like Tomb Raider or Tunic. Again, nothing wrong with this. But if you want to attract your target customer, you need to know exactly what your game is (and is not).

So this leads me to 3 mistakes you want to avoid so that you do attract customers and help your game break through an oversaturated market...

Mistake 1: Not Knowing Exactly What Your Game Wants To Be

If a game dev doesn't know what their game is trying to do, then their marketing message won't be clear. And if a game dev can't clearly communicate their games concept, then it'll be really hard to grab attention.

Think about it this way: say you have a migraine headache, and you're buying medicine at the drug store. You see two bottles. One bottle says, "Medicine: cures all types of pain". And the second bottle says, "Migraine pain relief". The first bottle is confusing. But with the second bottle, the concept is clear and simple, and you'll probably grab the second bottle because it's made specifically for you.

It's the same with your game. The more you can clearly communicate your concept, the better chances you'll attract your target.

And to clearly communicate your concept, you first need to get specific about what your game is, and isn't.

For example, in the game Rosewater, I watched YouTube reviews bash the game on how it's linear, and you can't backtrack, and the puzzles are too easy. But when I go read the Steam reviews for the game, people PRAISE the game for it's linearity, and casual puzzles.

My point is, a game dev needs to know exactly what their game wants to be. And its marketing message (i.e the sales copy on the Steam store), needs to specifically tell potential customers what the game is (like the bottle that specifically says, "migraine pain relief").

And yes, when you get specific about what your game is (and isn't), there will be people who will complain that this game is missing this or that... but that's ok... the game wasn't made for them.

It's like somebody buying migraine pain medicine for their sore muscles, and complaining that it didn't cure their sore muscles.

It's the same with your game. You have a vision. Stick to that vision. But also need to know what your players want. And then when you write the marketing copy on your Steam page, make sure to specifically describe what your game is so that you attract your target customer.

And to help you avoid this mistake, at the end of this article, I have an action step to help you clearly communicate your game's concept so that you attract your target customer.

Mistake 2: Leaning On Nostalgia As A Marketing Hook

I noticed that a lot of small indie games in this genre relied heavily on nostalgia in their marketing. There's nothing wrong with using nostalgia. But the mistake these game devs make is, nostalgia isn't enough to get attention. It's like car companies saying, "our cars are safe". Yeah, and so does every other car manufacturer.

When you say the same thing as everybody else says, then to the customer, it means nothing.

My point is, if you're going to use nostalgia as a marketing hook, then you need to specifically explain HOW you've modernized the gameplay. Again you need to be specific in your marketing message.

But here's an even bigger mistake...

If a game dev doesn't understand this market, and learn from the mistakes past games made in this genre, then they're going to make the same mistakes.

Let me explain...

When I reached out to players who grew up playing 90s puzzle adventure games, they told me they avoided games that had the following mechanics or systems:

These are all mistakes past games have made. And when a game dev is inspired by nostalgia, and don't understand what players want today, they might make the mistake of using the same mechanics or systems in their game.

And this is what happened to Broken Age. The game promised to bring back the old-school 90s puzzle adventure experience you got from games like The Secret Of Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, and Kings Quest.

However, this game also brought back some of the issues those past games had. Such as: obscure puzzles, repetitive voice-overs, reliance on trial and error, and hidden objects.

My point is, yes nostalgia is a great marketing hook. But game devs need to learn from past mistakes and not include them in their game. And they can't just rely on nostalgia and hope they get attention -- that's because their competition is doing the same thing. The best way for you to break through in this oversaturated market is to push this genre forward into giving players something new.

So let's talk about that next...

Mistake 3: Copying What Worked, And Not Pushing The Genre Further Into New Gameplay

I just gave you 7 insights to help you design a game that is marketable. But if you truly want your game to break through, and get attention, then you gotta break some rules.

For example, players who love first person puzzle adventure expect your game to have an isolated setting (thanks to Myst). But the trope where you're on an island and you have to figure out puzzles left by some rich guy is NOT what players want anymore. Yes, The Witness and Quern got away with this trope. But today players want something new. For instance, Firewatch took this feeling of isolation in a different direction: you're isolated in a fire watch, it's 1989, no cell phones, just a hand-held radio. Or the game, The Return of the Obra Dinn was set on an isolated ship. Or the game Blue Prince was set on an isolated manor. And don't copy these settings because players have already experienced this setting. It's your job to come up with a new setting.

This is just one example. But my point is, most game devs will look back and see what worked, so they'll copy that. But if you want your game to break through an overcrowded market, it needs to push the genre further. Yes, look at what players want. But don't just give them what they've gotten before. Figure out a NEW way to give them that experience.

So to help you market your indie puzzle adventure game so that you attract your target customers, here's what to do...

Action Step To Help You Make Your Game Marketable

Ok, now let's take what you just learned and put it into action so that you start finding players for your game.

So take out a pen and paper, or open a Google doc. And answer these questions:

1) How does the player advance the plot? Does the player advance the plot by comprehending the story, and choosing branches from a dialogue tree? Or do they advance the plot by solving puzzles?

This question is important to answer because some players enjoy story first / gameplay second... and others enjoy gameplay first / story second. And if you try to cater to both types of players, you'll just alienate both. So you have to be very specific how the player will advance the plot.

2) How are your missions structured? Does the player go from one area to another -- and they can't progress until they finish the area? Or can the player roam around, explore, decide which mission to do next, backtrack? Again, this is important because some players like a more structured story, while others prefer a more "open world". And both are right. You just gotta make sure to be clear what your game is exactly trying to do.

3) Does your game have any of these mechanics or systems: moon logic puzzles, repetitive VO's, dead ends that can break missions, and pixel hunting, hidden objects, or isolated puzzles that don't progress the plot, heavy combat or platforming?

I'm asking because players have certain standards when it comes to modern puzzle adventure games. And don't get me wrong -- if your game has platforming, then say so. Make sure it's clear that your game is an action-adventure game. My point is, make sure you know exactly what your game is so that you can clearly communicate your concept better.

4) How is your game pushing this genre forward?

If you want your game to be more marketable and break through this oversaturated market, you need to figure out how your game is making this genre better. It doesn't have to be a huge innovation.

For instance, Firewatch took the "isolation" setting in a new direction where you're in an isolated watch tower in a forest. And instead of traditional puzzles, the player had to piece together information and conversations to progress the plot.

Or look at Cocoon. People love complex puzzles that are integrated with the environment. But most games like this (i.e. Myst and the Witness) are first person. But Cocoon simply used a third-person perspective, and it offered a player a whole new way to solve puzzles that are part of the environment. The point here is not to copy the success of what games have done before, but to look at these games, and add their own new spin and innovation. And if you can give players what they want in NEW ways, then you'll grab their attention.

So take the time to answer these questions because you'll start seeing how your game stands out in your market. And when you can see how your game differs from other games in your genre, you can then use that and your advantage in your marketing. And remember, the key here is to be very specific in your marketing in what your game is exactly trying to be. Because being specific, new, and innovative is how to attract your target customer.

Thanks for reading. I hope you got at least one idea to help you find players for your indie game. Good luck with game dev, and talk to you soon!



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Dariusz Konrad
My Entrepreneurial Story
Work: Game devs I've helped so far