Things We Can Learn From: Fantage

One of my favorite things about Fantage is that the game designers discovered a way to get around animating legs; they used hover-boards. This saves time, effort and adds a unique twist to the game. (I'm pretty lazy haha.)

I like the social aspect of the game; most people get really into Fantage because they can talk to friends and meet people. 

However, it takes forever to earn money and everything is expensive. Honestly people just ended up buying money (with real money, which is great for the company but most likely won't attract new players). They left out the "fun" factor in collecting items. Some may say that it is enjoyable because you play mini-games to earn money but after the 20th round I just can't bear it. 

They can solve this by either making games give you more money, lowering item prices or creating new "stores" that sell new objects for a cheaper price so beginners can buy small things before they get really into the game and decide to put in the effort to buy expensive things. 

Imagine playing Connect Four twenty times in a row with a computer. Not fun.

Another thing is that non-members can barely do anything. This, like how money is hard to earn, may discourage new players. Non-members are actually very important in social games; they may invite their friends to play who may buy the membership and therefore help the company earn money. This part isn't for Scratch games, however, since you can't earn money. 

To wrap up this post, the main lessons your can learn and apply to your games are: 

1. Find cool ways to get around animating legs. (For lazy people like me haha, plus it reduces lag.)
2. Social aspects of games are very important.
3. Don't forget about the fun factor! Make sure goals aren't too hard or easy to reach.

If you have anything additional to say about Fantage, feel free to comment below! I only played Fantage for roughly a week so I didn't cover everything. 

Thanks for reading, scratch on!

—Stang