Two games and a pandemic later, two -point studios recently released the next game in its management SIM franchise – two points museums.
But in different species in the climate full of counterfeit titles, surely in standing. There is a challenge. Keeping this in mind, two -point design director Ben Huskins explains Games Industry.Bs They The team had some plans for their sleeves to keep them separate from the rest.
He says, “For us, we do two point games to differentiate from other management Sims.” “First of all, we are absolutely inclined to the fact that we do not take ourselves too seriously – we are not trying to imitate the truth. It allows us to connect ground elements with things that are very wild and amazing, and we can take so much freedoms as we need to take some freedoms.
“Our younger people are full of personality and charm, and they almost helps to show what is happening in the simultaneous imitation, and they also offer these moments of comedy aid.”
Personality is a way in which the two -point games are distinguished by their rivals, but the developer still faces to appeal to the players who are not familiar with the previous games in the series.
Haskins explains that the team thinks of a variety of players who enjoy management Sims, which includes each of the “Manic Managers” who want to control every detail with creativity and customs “decoration”.
They also consider what fans want from the game and compare it to the needs of new players – all of this is about maintaining a balance between familiarity and access to access.
He noted, “This is a way for us to test our decisions along the way. We are not scientific about it.” “There is a lot of overlap between these different groups and play styles, but this is a useful thinking experience because we are designing every feature.”
The team focuses on the early times of the game to introduce the basic features, then focuses on how they can slowly add heavy players.
Haskins emphasizes that the first impression means everything, even specializes in how the fans who do this game work. Two points want to eliminate expectations from their sports, while also knowing it.
“Finally, our goal is to make sure that an advanced player can reach the depths of the game at a pace that is satisfactory to them, but the more comfortable player is not overwhelmed,” says Haskins, but the more comfortable player is not overwhelmed. ” “This is a challenge, but it’s something that is important to us. So we want to invest in fixing this time.”
“The other thing we focus on is ‘accessible depth’. Management Sims usually have many complex systems, which always challenge new players without controlling them. With every feature, we think about how we will introduce it to the players, and how to introduce it to the players.
We wish for someone to pick up their sports and immediately at home. Be able to feel, then slowly introduce them in depth as soon as the game develops so that within a few hours they are rotating the plates that they never thought. “
“We are absolutely leaning on the fact that we don’t take ourselves too seriously.”
It translates into specific features in each game settings. For the museum, it is an exhibition, campaigns, and to ensure that the museum operates effectively.
“(Accessible depth) was really useful because we were discussing our point of view about decoration and customs within the museum.” “We wanted to be satisfactory for creative players who could focus on the display space, but at the same time serve a gameplay purpose that engages decoration for players who focus on making their museum more profitable or more efficient.”
Like any management SIM, two points produce its games with a complex system that provides detailed control to players.
To develop such a game system initially, Haskins says the team ensures that it has a “repetition time” to focus on proto -typing and experience before focusing on new features and mechanics.
“Being able to play something, though it is rough and ready, allows us to know what is working, what is not working, and what is resonating with us internally – repetition is key during the entire development.”
“If anything is not working, we are not afraid to re -design it. We will prepare this repetition time as soon as possible to ensure that we will give time to correct ourselves.”
The focus of two points on repetition can be seen on how the team has made each game in the series using the same base concept of management SIM, but also how it has differentiated them. Not only in ordering, but in the ways that players interact with the game more widely, so that the things that come before it can be reused only. .
“With each game we decide what are the most important features, and where we want to focus,” Huskins noted. “Everything is designed with these pillars in mind. We want every game to stand on its own, so it is important for us to find the unique hooks that make it different from our previous games, but also from other sports (in the same gender).”
This time there is a unique hook campaign for the museum. This is a feature where players send staff teams on treasury hunting to collect items and antiques to keep space in exhibitions.
“From the beginning, we knew that the system of this campaign would be the key to the game – this feeling of research and discovery, and focus on creativity and customs.” “When we designed the game, we kept back to these high -level ideas to ensure that everything could be strengthened: creative freedom and that feeling of discovery.”
The exhibition system was influenced by DLC for two -point hospital (sending paramedics teams to save patients) and on two -point campus (where students go to digging sites and expose ancient antiques).
He made it clear, “The combination of these two things became the seeds of the idea that eventually turned into our campaign system.”
“We knew that the campaign system was going to be one of the (important) features of the game, but it would also require a lot of experience. The first version was extremely ancient – you would click a button, a progress bar would be filled, then a random exposure in your inventory would appear. It was enough to add us to more layers.
“We finished 15 repetition of the campaign system, everyone teaches us what works better for the game and add additional layers of strategy.”
The two points are making these games, which are integrated and for nine years the legendary has been arranged in two points county.
“We want every game to stand on its own, so it is important for us to find individual hooks”
Each game has helped improve the next one, in which Haskins emphasizes that the museum will not be a game that is without the hospital and campus education.
He explained, “The hospital taught us a lot in the development view and the design of the game itself.” “We learned about creating a SIM game that is accessible, how to provide players in the game and gradually introduce them with deep management mechanics.
“Likewise, how to design the user interface for a SIM game that keeps it friendly but provides people with a level of control over the management SIM.”
Talking about the special lessons learned, Haskins remembers how the console version of the hospital started 18 months after the start of the PC in 2018.
He emphasizes that it was a long distance, but he “given the time to know how sports should play with the controller” and that “these learning have increased all sports since then.”
With the hospital’s baseline, the team managed to make their creative muscles flexible on the campus – especially with the customization of the players.
“Players had more freedom to design their buildings, decorate their buildings, decorate the paths and the region.” It was a real step towards the museum’s wide -ranging tools. “
The difference in campus development was that it was mostly distant, as we first discussed with the team while creating a museum in November. He also had to compete for the first time on the launch of the game on several platforms.
“It was a real challenge right now, but an invaluable experience is moving forward.” “After the release, we also edited the campus and also eliminated the content produced by the user-so we now have the foundation for the release of the museum.”
“The museum is really the end of everything we have learned from the hospital and the campus. Massive freedom and creative tools widely expanded suits. The depth of the administration, both takes the best bits from the games and the Museum’s gameplay is ready for them.
“Even the game structure has been developed, which we learned from the hospital and campus’s 3 star system and re -conceptualizing it as a bit more open, less linear and more about the player’s choice.”
Haskins added: “This is as if it was the right game. We wanted the players to be associated with their museums, provide them with reasons for returning and make sense of investment in time to design and improve the exhibition site. The staff also feels more important than ever, adding to the hospital staff.
“We want to maintain amazing players with every new game, so we probably don’t do what people expect from us.”
Speaking of players, Huskins emphasizes the importance of community impressions to impress and move the direction of each game. The player’s suggestions make it in every repetition, which makes the title unique than the last.
“We develop on social feedback,” he says. “We have learned a lot from both the hospital and the campus that we have been able to apply in the museum, both from a development point of view, but in terms of resonating with our players and what the players want to see in our sports.
“We get a lot of excellent suggestions from the community, and some of them have been able to include the current sports through free updates and DLCs. But some we are backing ideas for future games. In the museum, we have been able to include some of the features of the previous games, such as the capacity and the use of the features.
“Of course, we want to keep amazing players with every new game, so we will probably not work what people expect from us.”
