Happy With A Habit: Finding Fuel
From Lifestyle Games
Perspectives
This past
Friday was slow, painfully slow. Like a mule that’s dug its heels deep into the
dirt, it was a Friday almost sentient and malicious, knowing full well that the
weekend was only a few hours away. I ran an experiment that went predictably
awry and had mundane conversations about weekend plans. Throughout the rest of
the week, reading news about video games helps to fill in duller spats.
Fridays are a serious offender, however, as little to nothing of value gets
published. This Friday IGN ran a story about how to make a Pokemon GO accessory work. Polygon ran yet another piece about how
the PC version of a new game (BioShock
Remastered) is shoddy. But I did have something to be excited about. I had
something to fuel the rest of my day. In fact, it’s something that is a
constant source of energy from which I can draw, a font that never dries up—lifestyle
games.
Because you
see, Clash Royale was about to get a
big update. Friday meant the announcement of a ton of quality of life changes.
New chests were being added to the game that would give players better chances
at Epic and Legendary cards. Special offers were being added to the shop to
give big payouts for a small cost. Tournaments were about to be restructured
entirely, giving players the chance to play whenever they want. Four new cards
are slated for addition to the game, including the cool looking Mega Minion. While
waiting for an experiment to finish I sat transfixed to Clash Royale’s subreddit, eager to learn as much as I could about
this Monday 9/19 update. I was energized.
 |
Clash Royale's update got me all kinds of excited.
Like they always do. |
No, Clash Royale isn’t a new game. Far from
it. I’ve been playing this smartphone title since it first launched in March. I
have even taken the time to share my thoughts about the game in
review form here on the blog. This competitive deck-based real time
strategy tower defense game has joined a small suite of titles that accompany
me through day-to-day life. Clash Royale,
Hearthstone, and Overwatch are
the three games that, despite new releases and new announcements, exist at the
forefront of my gaming time. The three are also lifestyle games.
Lifestyle
games are living products. Official release is only the beginning of their
existence as a consumer good. Lifestyle games offer a constant but
evolving play experience that’s designed to keep people like me playing for
months, if not years. They receive regular updates that shake up
the ways in which players engage. That can manifest in a couple different ways,
but generally through the addition of new modes and new playable content (like
cards in Hearthstone or heroes in Overwatch). Lifestyle games come in all shapes
and sizes. Most MOBAs, like League of
Legends or DOTA2, are lifestyle
games. Digital card games like TES:
Legends fit the description, too. Most smartphone games have at least some
shades of lifestyle elements, like Puzzle
and Dragons or Kingdom Hearts
Unchained X. Regardless of the genre they come in, lifestyle games are
tailor made to keep you invested.
 |
| If it talks like or walks like a lifestyle game, it probably is. |
For me,
lifestyle games must also provide enjoyment in relatively small bursts. Unlike
an open-world RPG or a AAA narrative title, lifestyle games can be (satisfyingly)
played in half an hour or less. In the case of Clash Royale or Hearthstone,
sometimes even fewer than 10 minutes. The lifestyle games that have gripped me
have done so through exemplary design and an addictive gameplay loop. They
reward, and spotlight, progress as you invest more of your time into them. It
has been fantastic seeing my Hearthstone
card collection grow and my Clash Royale
levels rise. Skill ranks in all three of my lifestyle games show me that my
play hasn’t gone unnoticed and that I’ve made it high up the ladder. My
lifestyle games give me something to do when I get a few moments to spare while
simultaneously being compelling enough on their own to warrant long, dedicated
play sessions.
Hearthstone and Overwatch and Clash Royale
are far more than a time killer – they are fuel. The real reason I’ve become so
enamored with lifestyle games isn’t the availability or the dynamism of play,
it is the narrative of how they are
changing over time. It is the stories behind additions or the retooling of the play
experience. It is so satisfying to be deep into the strategies and issues
facing these lifestyle games and watch how the developers steer the ship in the
right direction. I love to be involved in conversations not just about
gameplay, but about game design. My play experience in a lifestyle game in
small part contributes to the future of the game for everyone. Abusing an
overpowered character in Overwatch
with others in the community can drive changes to their abilities. Discovering
a deck that counters popular strategies in Clash
Royale is me engaging with a much larger discussion. In a way it is like
watching a game grow up, which is something I’ve never experienced before.
 |
Simply playing Hearthstone or other lifestyle games involves me
in the conversation about their development. That's super cool. |
Lifestyle
games also help to fill in the quiet times of an industry I love to follow. Whether
it is the end of a week, the middle of summer, or the weeks between major trade
shows, news about video games can dip quite a bit. It’s a cycle, and one that
undulates pretty dramatically. My lifestyle games are constantly changing,
which provides a near endless font of excitement to draw from. Just last month Hearthstone released the One Night In Karazhan expansion that
brought with it a bevy of fun boss fights and over 40 new cards that have
changed the way I play in all game modes (& will continue to in the weeks
to come). Clash Royale just got a
massive update yesterday and I still have four new cards to look forward to
over the next six weeks. Overwatch
just began its second competitive season that has me clamoring for Diamond
rank. Before that, it was a blast playing the time-limited Rocket League-esque Lucioball in the Summer Games, and my
excitement is still high as Blizzard has been cryptically teasing the game’s
next character, Sombra, for weeks now. Playing, but even just following, these
lifestyle games provides a constant drip feed of new and exciting that makes
every week in gaming feel like an adventure.
 |
| QiuƩn es Somba? |
Whether it
is playing, following or talking about them, I’m happy with my lifestyle game
habit. Hearthstone, Clash Royale and Overwatch have all given me more than their fair share and there is
no sign of them stopping anytime soon. Some habits are worth having. Goodbye
doldrums.
