Reward System

At this point in our development of Heroes of Rock we have an action game. The player action isn't much different than what players usually do in action games. We have player interaction right now but to make our game "fun," we have to give the player more of a feedback system. When players accomplish something, they get that endorphin rush for that accomplishment. There's only so much that players get from deleting pixels off of a screen. 

To increase player satisfaction, we need to implement more satisfying reward systems to make players feel good when they play the game. We want players to have more fun. 

• Enemy feedback - when player attack an enemy, we need to have more feedback that the player is doing something
• Enemy collision -  Right now our attacks go past the enemy. This lack of direct collision is confusing to the player and it disconnects how the player feels about hitting an enemy. They don't feel like they are really affecting the enemy.
• Increase speed and pacing of game - We have crafted this "metal" experience but our game is currently paced in small bits of action. That isn't very metal. If we want to maintain player satisfaction, we need to have longer periods of excitement. 
• Melee sounds for actions - Player feedback is very important and I think we are especially missing audio feedback. When players do something, they need to feel like there is a direct response. For an action game, melee sounds are super important. The player needs to feel like they are dealing damage to enemies or they don't feel like they are directly having an effect. 
• Reward sounds - Part of the action game genre is feeling good about the amount of destruction that you are causing. Video Game fun is just like gambling fun. Pulling a level on a slot machine isn't very fun but when you hear bells & whistles or even an announcement of your win, the player feels very good. We need to implement audio reward systems to help the player feel that gambling rush. 
• In the Unreal/Halo games, when a player hears "killing spree" there is an immediate rush of accomplishment. 
• In the Call of Duty games, the player is rewarded for each kill they achieve and the manner in which they kill the enemy. This helps the player feel good for each action they accomplish. 
• Power of the Player - An overall feedback that we need to demonstrate in our game is that the player is powerful. Our game is about being a rock god. If the player doesn't feel powerful, the core of the game is lost. In general, the player needs to see that they have some power in the universe. 
• Blood decals  - Gore makes players feel powerful in their destruction. We've developed a system so that we can splatter blood on the ground and the environment. 
• Blood splatter on the screen - After the area of effect explosion multiple enemies are killed. To intensify the effect, we will splatter blood on the screen. 
• Area of Effect Explosion - We need a moment when players can "jam out." When players really start to button mash, they rapidly hit the strum bar up and down. Our AOE attack allows players to perform that "jam out" session and then rewards them with a huge explosion. This gives the player that experience that they are looking for and it makes them feel powerful. 
• Uppercut - Our current uppercut works but we need to intensify the effect so that the player feels better when they perform the move. The player needs to launch the enemies in to the air.