The Formula for Replayable Games

What gives a game replayability? In this devlog I go over all the things I'm doing to make my indie game, Bloodthief, more replayable.
➤ WISHLIST BLOODTHIEF ON STEAM: store.steampowered.com/app/2533600/Bloodthief/
➤ JOIN THE DISCORD: discord.gg/aU5naj2fgY
➤ SPEEDRUNNING DISCORD: discord.gg/FfpX2GEurg
This is a devlog for Bloodthief, the indie game I'm working on inspired by Quake, Hotline Miami, Ghostrunner, and ULTRAKILL. In this devlog I talk about Replayability, and all the things I'm adding to Bloodthief to make it as replayable as possible!
Leave a comment below if you have any feedback on the game or questions about my process!
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Chapters
0:00 Intro
1:13 Incentives
5:32 Rewards
10:39 Endless Mastery
16:24 Watch people play your game
17:21 Recap
Featured Speedrunners:
@nudiee
@nyveara
@Rhogar_
@p_3ople
#devlog #gamedev #godot #indiegame #indiedev

[@Blargis3d]

You can playtest the game by going to the Bloodthief steam page here: store.steampowered.com/app/2533600/Bloodthief/ Just click "Request Access" under where it says "Join the Bloodthief Playtest". Thanks for playing and don't forget to wishlist! ♥

[@Korxion]

@@weirdthing729I don’t know if it will be realised to Mac natively, but right now with whisky( it is similar to wine), the game runs super good( for being in a translation layer). Using the stock settings, I can get a steady 120 fps at the laggiest points. But the frame times are good and it does not stutter. My specs are just a base m1 Mac mini with 8gb of air.

[@Multi1]

Then this should correlate to Team Fortress 2.

[@base13music]

Just an idea for the locked doors, instead of having like a whole other set of rooms maybe have like a combat arena that spawns a bunch of enemies and gives the player some kind of buff or powerup if they kill them all

[@sujimayne]

You can have unopenable doors. You just need to make them look different from other doors.

[@roxaskinghearts]

fortnite has loads of problems with cheaters

[@thr3ddy]

Wow, Blargis. It's insane how this game went from a rough concept not too long ago to a game with a speedrunning community. Congrats! I'm blown away.

[@Blargis3d]

Thank you! Yeah the speedrunning community starting to form is really exciting :)

[@Mr.EventHorizon]

@@Blargis3dHey, I’m working on a survival game (low poly) called sticks n stones. This replayability overview has helped me better understand how to make an addictive game. (I like how you hint at emergent gameplay as well, which is much easier to implement then most people think)

[@Cobra_08YT]

Fr

[@R3fuge]

The "broken promises in AAA titles" is a fantastic concept that could use a lot more exploring. (first time viewer here FYI)

[@Blargis3d]

Glad you found this interesting, maybe I'll explore this in a future vid!

[@ultimaxkom8728]

Actually a video topic with high virality.

[@bs_blackscout]

​@@Blargis3d Talking about realism vs practical stylistic design sounds good too!

[@StianGudmundsenHiland]

This put into words something huge I've been feeling since forever!

[@ZealedGuy]

I agree, trying to beat the game as fast as possible is what I consider to be the best replay factor. Really cool! I cant wait for new levels

[@Blargis3d]

Working on new levels now, so stay tuned :)

[@ZealedGuy]

@@Blargis3d Cool! Keep it pushing

[@Nero_9000]

Agreed, playing Sekrio for the 3rd time now and I've beaten Isshin twice now, but I don't finish the fight, I restart the game and do it again until I beat him in a no hit parry only way, just like speed running these challenges are what keeps the game that you've played so many times fresh

[@user-bl9hq2gf6i]

omg you're so right aout th "broken promises" I think that's why as a previous non-gamer I fell in love with breath of the wild. wanna climb a tree? go ahead! wanna jump around on roofs? suure! swim? YES. pick up a chicken, fell a tree, climb the mountain EVERYTHING was interactable. even rpg pixelart games dont usually do this and if you're not used to video games it takes FOREVER to figure out what you can and cannot do (why cant I jump over a fence or go in the water :D) you learn it quickly for sure, but it's so arbitrary for non-gamers

[@M_Mitz]

Hell yea Jake, excited to see where you bring this. Just had some friends try it out and left some feedback.

[@Blargis3d]

woot! Thanks for the support man, appreciate the feedback!

[@Group-935]

One of my most replayed games for over a decade now, is COD Zombies. Talking about the good ones. From 2008 - 2012 The reason why I think I replay these games so much still to this days is because, while there is a formula or strategy to each map, there is just this slight pinch of randomness that keeps the game feeling fresh. You got randmized perk drops, randomized mystery box. Never know what gun you're gonna get. You also on some maps have a set number of rounds before a boss, or special wave spawns in. Not only that, but if you are good at the game whenever you go down or die, it feels like it was your fault, not the games, and that kinda motivates you to keep trying. Not to mention it is wave based, so you have that insentive to keep trying and see how high you can push the rounds. It's also not easy either. As the rounds progress there are more zombies in a round, and there health increases too. It gets kinda crazy after a while, if you happen to have a game where you make it past wave 30 most guns end up becoming obsolete. Then you have to rely on traps or the Wonder Weapons(cause most do infinite damage). Even though the wonder weapons do infinite damage, they typically have little to no ammo, so you need to manage that. Same thing with the traps, even though they too do infinite damage, they can hurt, and kill you. They also need to recharge, and cost points. So they too have downsides that need managing. Oh, don't even get me started on the fact that you need to maintain and manage points and be smart with how you use them( in the early stages at least). Okay, I'm gone. I rambled too much. Long in short of it is. There needs to be a formula/strategy, slight randomness, something to break up the flow every now and then, a goal to work towards, scaling difficulty, maybe an economy, and some form of super weapon, or weapons. That's all. Take care. Something I just remembered. Crimson Land: "The Original Vampire Survivor" It's just called crimson land, I added that last part myself Also, that game of yours looks really cool. It looks like a Boomer Shooter which I love. But not just any boomer shooter, it looks like Quake. It looks like you took Quake, sped it up a bit, gave it a slide mechanic, and made it melee only. Which I love, looks fun. I think I'll pick this game up when it drops fully.

[@overratedprogrammer]

I agree. The best era of CoD Zombies is my most replayable game too. Even something like Minecraft gets boring.

[@carbonmachina]

This is the first time I've encountered this game, and it looks awesome! What amazed me the most is your proficiency in game design and your commitment to principles like 'less is more,' 'make promises and keep them,' and 'mechanical synergy.' It's truly shaping up to be an amazing game. I'll be sure to keep an eye on it. Hats off to you, sir.

[@queehosu3643]

level creator will be one of the best things for replayability

[@TheosTechTime]

I agree

[@The_Azure_]

The bit about locked doors being a broken promise reminded me of an episode of Murder She Wrote. It was show in the 90s that followed Jessica Fletcher, a renown mystery author. In the episode "A Virtual Murder" Jessica is having a VR game created about one of her books (90s fictional VR), and upon seeing a locked door she states "A locked door that cannot be opened is unfair to the players, I mean they'll assume that it holds some significance." Much of that episode doesn't really hold water, but that line is a good one. Kind of like chekhov's gun, but with doors.

[@PandemoniumGameDev]

Really impressive how you went from a very rough prototype to having a community in a couple months! Props to your effort and commitment, the game is really growing into something awesome!

[@OliverBeebe]

so inspiring, absolutely loving every video in this series. I haven't many (or maybe any) devlogs that actual get to this point, talking about playtesting and building a community. keep it up!

[@TrentSterling]

This project is cool. Can really feel your connection to the community involved!

[@mastergame1311]

I agree with the point that different players crave different rewards. I think that adding a multitude of various motivators is a great idea that will result in a more pleasant experience for everyone.

[@noahboddy1484]

Never seen this game or this channel before to my knowledge, but the fact that you as the developer approach game dev the way you do definitely makes me want to try your game just to support you.

[@mancans6862]

Happy to have stumbled across this video this morning. Some great nuggets on designing for an emergent experience.. time to go watch your vlog backlog!

[@SaltyOctopus]

I am loving watching not only your game and community grow, but I am loving your vlogs talking about the process and how much thought you're putting behind everything. Can't wait to chat about it with you further down the road! ;)

[@camscurrent]

Loved this video, this feels like the most “intelligent” discussion I’ve ever seen in an indie game video and my algorithm is full of them now. Others have mentioned demos but being able to see “Ghosts” from the leaderboard a la Mario Kart or Trackmania while also going for timed medals would be awesome. An additional idea would be to have a map editor to let the community make their own levels that have their own leaderboards. My mind also goes to multiplayer servers, like surfing in Counter Strike, where there is another layer of community to interact with each other in real time. I see that you’re working in Godot (I’m trying to learn game dev with Godot right now so this is cool to see) but I figure that multiplayer can become very challenging and expensive. Regardless, you’ve got a wishlist & sub out of me and I will be checking out the demo later. Best of luck on this project!

[@kypaul878]

It’s so cool to watch something like this happen and all the learning required behind it, 10/10

[@5nakey689]

Love the dev logs, looking forward to when you release a build

[@Blargis3d]

There is a free playtest build publicly available to play right now via steam!

[@Sterkson92]

The "promise-reward" anology is actualy a nice new (at least to me) way of thinking about the game design. I just got into conversation about why 1 game is famous even if it`s not that good, while 2nd is more polished, came earlier, and have more unique features, this would help me express my thoughts more clearly a lot 1 hour ago XD

[@darenn-keller]

Dang, I was about to go to sleep and got trapped in your devlog. Very interesting video, I love it! I like this approach of doing your thing and then observe why you have a specific positive trend in your game so you can exploit it even more and teach others about it. Keep up the great work! 😊

[@luisces]

This is one of the best "devlogs" I've ever seen here on KZbin. Extremely informative instead of flashy and full of fillers. Loved your content!

[@htspencer9084]

Rewarding experimentation is one of my gamedev goals for my next project 😊 Thank you for being such an awesome inspiration!

[@NickCastonNZ]

Really interesting and insightful. I'm currently trying to learn more about this stuff myself and this video really helps. Thank you for sharing!

[@BraveAbandon]

The play looks fast and fresh, and i was impressed with your presentation, simple and entertaining. I subscribed around 3 mins in and was joyful i did 4 mins learning about replayability which i was thinking about just days ago and seeing your different approach to it, and ugh the fkn cheaters, and seeing it ACTUALLY get handled ❤️, manually, because you really do care! laughing at that employee meme, i am overall very happy with the sincerity and the whole format and process going through it all. You respect your players and your viewing audience and just feels like you love gaming and gamers and are grateful to be making this, learning, and sharing the progress, the mistakes, and the lessons learned. 10 mins in, you made me remember being a kid and my imagination going wild seeing my first games and being crushed how it wasnt possible to explore the backgrounds, that there were so many heartbreaking limitations. I fully support those doors staying, and opening and being rewarded with something inside, even if its just a trophy type item for the end screen. Or maybe collect them all, like in the game journey, collect all the things and you get the masterful white re-skin rather than the red. Being in first person that is less effective of a reward here, but it's just an example. this video is my first introduction to your game, and probably my only critical opinion so far is thinking the games name bloodthief needs an upgrade somehow. It feels incomplete, like it needs an extra word or two in the title. Your game isnt even finished yet but I can easily see this having some even more amazing sequels lmao

[@synmad3638]

Dude this video is great!! amazingly eloquent

[@Blargis3d]

thank you!

[@dusekdan]

This video is extremely well done and actually explains quite a lot of concepts that make sense. I initially put it into my "watch later", as I checked the number of views and your subs and demeed it "it's gonna be one of those videos I watch for fun, not for learning, maybe later", but that was a pretty incorrect judgment call from me there. Really loaded with good thoughts and tips I can take away. Thank you!

[@FeederFTF]

bro, this video is GOLD. you dropped so many nuggets are legit valuable and it gets me so fired up to follow your example. thanks so much for this. s.n. have you ever looked into teaching? presenting concepts in a way that actually passes on the value is actually not a common skill, but i feel i was grasping everything you were say very easily. I think you have a gift for that bro!

[@RglMrn]

Really great video. I really wish you the best of luck with your game, looks sick.

[@WickedFader]

This is an incredibly good video on legitamate motivation, not artifical motivation like free battlepasses and dailies. I really like the take on the fundamentals, seeing that these are tactics that can be applied to small indie game projects. It just really focuses on the fun people have with games, and what makes something a surprise hit for how simple it was. Especially liked the talk on stacking powers and the 5 vs 31 move set. Just awesome!

[@EnderBoy9217]

Reminds me of the Titanfall 2 tutorial as well. While it also had wallrunning, sliding, and doubling jumping, it had a vast amount of paths that were built into the tutorial and were essentially highlighted for the player to take. It also had a “ghost runner” that would start by taking the simplest and slowest route. After you beat that ghost, you move onto one who takes a faster and more advanced route, until your forced to master the games mechanics to beat the last 3. That doesn’t mean they players still didn’t find their own, even faster, paths through grenade-boosting and gaining speed before starting the tutorial timer, however most of these paths still use a lot of the laid out paths the developer provides. It also has 1 collectible and 1 secret weapon, a grenade launcher which allowed grenade boosting which allowed better times. Not sure if that part was intentional but it worked out really well. That was just a comparison I made, 10/10 great video on map design, especially in single-player linear games, but can still be applied to all types of games.

[@Gherkins]

to be honest, you are the first person on the internet to ask for criticism on a project, then act on said criticism. you have an incredibly fun game! literally just make those animations feel satisfying and it’s gonna be 400 hours for so many more people, but i understand everything is a WIP

[@The-ASMR-Outdoorsman]

Some really great analysis. Would love to see some more of this kind of stuff!

[@benjoe1993]

Love the design focused nature of these videos. Thanks for sharing :)

[@voxelheart]

Genuinely great video with amazing insights on game design I dont hear talked enough. Brilliant!

[@schouffy]

You've earned a subscriber. Your videos are straight to the point, super interesting and filled with useful tips. Hats off.

[@aprazoh]

its really interesting to hear a devs perspective on how players play their game and what devs do to enhance the experience, its nice to see a thankful dev that respects fans

[@elfrangofrito]

I've been developing my understanding of game design for years now, yet your discussion of sparking curiosity in players was so insightful my mind got genuinely blown away. It feels like it's been right in front of me this whole time yet I just never thought about it. Thanks for the video! Also, have you played Neon White? It feels like it would be a fantastic inspiration for your game. The way you talk about your game immediately made me think it should have some sort of time medals.

[@FlimsyVein]

These videos are so inspiring!! great job!!!

[@Blargis3d]

Thank you! Glad you're liking them :)

[@PixelAfterDark]

Great content, thanks for sharing! I added few of these steps unconsciously to my game,good to know :D

[@tentcoding]

Really well structured video, and game looks awesom!

[@jasonjohnson4133]

Excellent point about mechanics playing together... really changes the feel when you can incorporate them in various ways

[@flip2dip]

I’m and industry lead game designer and I gotta say this is one of the best game design videos I’ve seen on youtube in many years.

[@irgendwer3610]

ok so you basically made Sonic the Hedgehog

[@TigburtJones]

I’m glad I happened upon your channel, you are great and informative

[@darty4421]

THAT GAME LOOKS SO SICK! THE FACT THAT I WANT TO DOWNLOAD THAT AND DO THOSE FAST SKIPS THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT MEANS YOUR GAME IS PROBABLY AMAZING!

[@Joshimuz]

As a speedrunner it's really nice to see a dev actually understand the hobby. People think that speedrunning is done to play as little of a game as possible. I often get comments and such about how speedrunning is stupid and I should just play the game casually and not rush through and miss everything... what those people don't understand is that I already had maxed out all the games I run, you (normally) don't just go from 0 to speedruns. You've done everything else there is to do, there is no more content, no more replayabliy, you speedrun to give the game endless replayablity, not the otherway around (not to have as little playtime as possible) EDIT: And as you sort of touched on, glitches are fun! (as long as they don't impact first time/casual playthroughs and are intentionally done/triggered). OOB is always fun to do, and while it must feel bad to have your entire level/game broken, speedruns have categories for exactly these situations! I haven't looked but I would be surprised if there weren't two separate "In Bounds" and "Out Of Bounds" categories!

[@benrex777productions9]

I think from a learning perspective, this is probably the most high quality devlog I've watched. You pack so much knowledge and experience into your videos.

[@Blargis3d]

Wow that’s really kind of you to say, thank you!

[@benrex777productions9]

@@Blargis3d Most devlogs focus on practical implementations. You skipped a lot of this stuff and talked about the storytelling and gameplay aspect. That was something I haven't seen a lot. I plan on showing the series to two of my friends sometime in the future. I really enjoyed it.

[@vefafox]

I have to be crazy or at the very least horribly out of the loop. Why is this the only Indi dev i've seen who's making youtube content like this? Really enjoyed this. Subbed. If anyone has any recommendations for other devs talking bout their games please share.

[@Cmdr_Kraid]

This is very indepth for game design, you should totally make a vid series on what you found useful in your process! Kudos mate

[@FirstCrimson]

Fantastic video- I'm working on a level based game as well and struggling a bit with replayability, I'll have to adopt some of the concepts you presented. Cheers!

[@BuzzsRoom]

can't wait to get this full game, keep up the great work Blargis!

[@Nocto231]

This video is so good, I love the idea this game has! Can’t wait to see how far it goes!

[@julesromeuf3140]

You are both a great gamedev and an awesome video maker too buddy, keep up the good work and people gonna give you back that a hundred Time more !

[@VedaWarlock]

great video! learned a lot. thanks and good luck with your game

[@Sieghiro]

That was an interesting watch, thanks for the video!

[@reshift2245]

I think the mission challenges of the recent hitman games are also pretty good for replayability, maybe you could combine the rogue like stuff with the challenges. Like show the challenges you were able to complete (fast time, pacifist, etc) and then also suggest two or three randomly that you made no progress towards to get you interested (maybe the collectables ones). The player feedback on unlocking those in hitman just feels so good.

[@droidy365]

16:03 I agree, it would be quite interesting to have a castle exterior with enemies on top as an alternate path that feels natural.

[@astropolski]

Very well explained and structured video. Thank you.

[@DavidtheSlothClassic]

Hello, first video I am watching of yours, was super interesting, and you made a lot of good points I think. Your game also looks super interesting, wishlisted it on Steam so I will not forget about it. It reminds me a lot of SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell, and I mean that in a positive sense.

[@JuhoSprite]

After watching your devlog series I tried the game myself and oh boy, I haven't had this much fun playing games in a loong time.

[@Eggysgames]

Awesome video. I will definitely be taking this advice into my game.

[@hipunpun]

Impressive! Can't wait to see what's next!

[@RealSCK]

It's really cool to see the evolution of the game and the community in real time. I don't think i've followed this closely along with a game in years.

[@JimPlaysGames]

This game looks so awesome, and this is an excellent dev log!

[@AerixArtGames]

Great insight here Blargis! Everything you discussed here is indeed extremely important to the function of a game's fun-factor and I think when it comes to explaining it all, it could not have been said better. You've earned yourself a subscriber. Looking forward to more content, thanks for the vid!

[@Ryixxx]

speedrunning :3 your game is awesome and the movement makes it fun to get new times on

[@Gonebyebye888]

you are very underrated i actually learned quite a bit that i will put in my own games thanks

[@dueddel]

Awesome video. Loved to watch it. Keep up! 😘👍

[@azumanguy]

game looks great, love the parkour / slide / climb / speedrun aspect

[@zaytik221]

I love how your videos are about your game but we always learn something that we can apply for our games

[@TehDMCmaniac]

Awesome work, friend!

[@Evoleo]

What an absolute banger video, good job!

[@team4star1]

If I can put my two cents in, that section where the player starts and can wall jump out of bounds, I think it would be better to have a little gag or joke or secret the player can find up there, and preventing them from skipping the entire level easily by either making the floor lava, positioning some snipers around the place, or I guess just putting an invisible wall up. In my mind finding a secret alternate route is really cool, even if its intended, if its challenging and rewarding thats all I want.

[@natanmaia3575]

Very happy to see your game getting realized and players enjoying it ❤

[@raeplaysval]

i just tried it for the first time and wow it feels so good! ps. i think you should mention the 110 hours played in your promo- i've been recommended your videos before but only decided to try when i saw that lol

[@vidvad]

As a speedrunner myself, I can tell you that all you're saying is so true!!! Keep up the good work, your game looks very satisfying to play 👌

[@I-OMusic]

Gread video! Tonnes of great info here

[@MLMariss]

I felt I need to mention this: especially second point (curiosity and rewards) is the main driver why and how Deep Rock Galactic Survivor is an absolute masterpiece. It is so simple and yet, so addictive because those two points! I just realized it once you mentioned, so thanks for bringing light on that! Interesting video, keep up the good work.

[@acafecat]

Awesome video man and I definitely wanna pickup the game now seeing it; looks like a lot of fun! I think the point you made of just because AAA titles can afford amazing graphics and giant worlds; if there's no charm and no detail to having the most fun is so accurate; they'll always make the indie scene shine even if the devs are smaller the passion is focused.

[@MrEliptik]

Great insights! Thanks for sharing :)

[@jdpowell6405]

Stopped halfway through the video and joined the playtest. I found myself humming the Doom theme as soon as i felt the movement style. Also, the momentum and movement mechanics immediately made me want to explore. "If I can wall run then perhaps i can slide jump to build speed and wall run to the higher area." "If I string wall jumps and runs together to reach this weird spot maybe there will be something there." Even when there wasn't a reward, just getting to those hard to reach spots was a rewarding challenge. This game is so much fun! Cannot wait to see where you go with it.

[@lilhaxxor]

This is really, really good. Well done, sir.

[@decco0999]

Hey man, just played through that first level, and oh my god this is the kind of game i needed, the movements is so good, excited for more to come. Edit: Just wanted to mention that one of my favourite games recently has been ultrakill and i genuinely think that with a bit of work the movement in this game could really be as good if not better than in ultrakill, hope the development goes smoothly man.

[@Beeen132]

Lol your level design is just like mine in Astral Tracks. Same goals in a totally different setting. I like yours, good luck ✌

[@Itstwistedroots]

Damn, I don’t know how my algorithm got me here but this was a joy to watch. I have zero desire to be a developer but I love your style of explaining thing.

[@BaconEggsRL]

Honestly, this game looks like a lot of fun. What a fantastic way to talk about an interesting topic in games, and promote at the same time! I fully agree with most of your arguments here, especially "less is more". Having over 1000 hours in Rocket League I could relate (maybe a bit too much 😂 ) to that. Great video!

[@swordboy13]

I think a good reward for speed runners would be if you beat a stage under a certain time it unlocks a weapon skin. Your game reminds of me ghost runner and unlocking new swords was always really cool

[@LucasStraub]

Just found your channel. Great insigths here man, my game is a turn based rogue like, but I feel there's a lot here I can learn

[@LucasStraub]

Btw, Bloodthief looks great! Gameplay feels pretty good

[@Yora21]

I think it was one of the Deus Ex developers who did a GDC presentation where he said that games with low visual fidelity are inherently more versatile because you can make lots of different things a lot faster. Especially new mechanics, when you don't need to do weeks of animation for a 10 second thing that the player might never discover. LowFi graphics are not just nostalgia for old people, they are a very valuable tool.

[@liljagey]

Even though I'm last on the tutorial board I'm happy to have seen myself in a clip of the leaderboard. I am also trying to improve.

[@SecretZoneGames]

Thanks for the video I learned a lot🔥

[@Blue_Torch]

You sir have earned yourself a wishlist

[@TheBigYC]

Taking a shortcut outside the intended map to then enter through a windows is hilarious to see. Maybe you should added stuff like that every now and then. I agree with your conclusion about seeing people play, specially on your game where moving a platform up or down a little or adding a little angle can add more options. The whole gameplay looks like a lot of fun.

[@BeardySnorelax]

Great vid ❤

[@user-yx8yj3oy3e]

im realy exited for this game played the play test and im hyped for it!

[@ItsDestroy]

You have some great insight here

[@WangleLine]

Unrelated, but your game looks really fun :D I love this specific artstyle a lot

[@Ryuu28_voidgames]

You are an AMAZING developer blargis