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Today I have one question for you. Why do you buy games? Probably to play them. Although some games on my shelf I have never played. But well most people buy games to play them. But why do you buy game A and not game B? Because of a better rating on Board Game Geek? Or because of a better rating on a Youtube Review Channel? Typically these are the things that draw my attention to a game. But not the actual factors that make me want to buy the game. Every game has to have something very special, something unique, something that I can immediately understand as an interested person. Something that makes me want to play the game and something that I will never forget. In game design, we call this a hook. A good hook can make the difference between me buying a game or not. In today’s episode, I want to take a closer look at how to come up with a good hook and how to make it so dominant that no-one will ever forget about your game!

As usual we start to define a topic before we go into the details. And we will do the same today: 

I will talk about some examples later but let me give you one example right away. The unique deck game idea of Keyforge is a great example of a very good hook. Here is how they describe the game on their website:

“Enter a world where anything is possible in KeyForge! In the center of the universe hangs the Crucible, an artificial world built from the pieces of countless planets. Here, in the world’s first Unique Deck Game, created by legendary designer Richard Garfield, two players step into the roles of mighty Archons, racing to forge keys that unlock the Crucible’s hidden Vaults. […]
With a vast array of creatures, artifacts, and abilities and over 104 quadrillion possible decks, every deck is completely one-of-a-kind, and no two battles will ever be the same!”

These are the sentences that stick with the audience and that makes them interested. Can this even work? Will this be fun without deckbuilding?

No game, no matter how good it is, can be successful if no one ever plays it. Therefore, the game needs something you can advertise. This could be one of many things. It could be a unique game mechanic, it could be an original theme, it could be a novel execution. The key is that the designer has to make sure that there is something built into the game that makes someone stop and want to know more about it. I look at so many games every week and only a few of them make it to the next stage in which I invest a bit of time to inform myself more about the game. Typically these are the games that have a very strong hook that also resonates with my personal preferences. Your hook may not work for everyone, but it should work for your target audience. 

A hook is not only important to sell a game. It can also be very important to make people keep coming back to your game.

Let me clarify an important aspect in advance. Even though the hook becomes most important in the sales phase of our game, we can’t just tackle the issue then. We have to think about how to make our game special from the early design stages. How to make it stand out. 

As I mentioned before, a hook is only as good as it fits the target group. That’s why it’s extremely important to first have a good understanding of the target group you want to address with your game. The goal must be to get as high a hook-target-audience-match as possible. If this expression makes any sense. Let me give you one example. 

In order to come up with great game hooks you will need to become good at evaluating hooks. A great way to do this is to examine the hooks of other successful games. I have made a list of areas in which other games have come up with great hooks. 

The key to a good hook is that it’s simple and easily understood. A hook has to grab a person’s attention and to do that it has to have a clear and digestible message. As they say you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. Remember that your hook doesn’t have to explain much. Its role is not to educate but to tease. Its job is to make the potential player interested in learning more.

When describing your hook think about the experience it will create for your players

Jamey Stegmayer: “For my Kickstarter campaigns, I always tried to have different types of hooks like a must-have component, a unique mechanism, eye-catching art, and something special about the campaign to get people excited. I don’t think one hook is enough for a Kickstarter campaign.” 

Sometimes it is enough to be the first one in a certain genre that goes to market (E,g, Aeons End as the first co-op fantasy deck builder)

Progress:
People who feel they have made some progress toward a certain goal are more committed to achieving that goal.
⇒ Gloomhaven, level up of characters, new gear, progress in the story

Loss Aversion:
As human beings, we strive to avoid pain. If you somehow manage to transport this kind of progress and customization across multiple sessions, it can also create another feeling. The feeling of losing something when you would stop playing the game. All the things you’ve achieved so far. That is called loss aversion. A very powerful emotion. Because people really don’t want to lose something they invested a lot of time and effort in.

Envy:
Envy is an emotion which occurs when a person lacks another’s superior quality, achievement, or possession
Game Example: Slay the Spire → See what the perfect build could be, but you never get there

Scarcity:
Not all items are created equal! Create unique items and make sure that players understand the different rarity levels.
Example: Kickstarter Campaigns, Rarity in Booster Packs in Magic, Strong combination of cards in Keyforge.

Sources:
Music by Mathew Pablo

http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/RyanClark/20150917/253842/What_Makes_an_Indie_Hit_How_to_Choose_the_Right_Design.php
https://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-209-the-hook/