Just One More Try...

Gaming can be addictive. The most addictive genre, for me, is Rhythm Games. All great rhythm games have the "just one more try" mentality to them. You're sure you can increase your score by 1000 points if you would've kept the combo, so you keep on trying.

One of the finest examples is Guitar Hero. Some songs on Expert have repeating patterns which players will recognize immediately. For example lets look at "Closer" on expert:



As you can see it's a very simple song. Although it is unlikely you can full-combo the song on your first try due to some tricky transitions. You'll be tempted to keep on playing since you know you have what it takes to full-combo it. Once you full-combo a song on expert you get a sense of pride and enjoyment. Then you try to full-combo more difficult songs and this keeps you playing for months.

Another great way of keeping the player playing is having difficulty build up during the game but not to make it unfair to the player. Make the player feel as they screwed up and not that the difficulty is just too high. For example: "Jumping Jack Flash" from Elite Beat Agents.



This is entirely possible to beat (as I have done) with a lot of practice. Every time you die on the last verse makes you angry but you know you can improve. Once you finally beat Jumping Jack Flash after the hundredth or so try, you feel it is your greatest accomplishment as a gamer. It is certainly the hardest game I've ever beat fully.

Since most rhythm games are simple and only require minor gaming knowledge, they all have a pickup and play sensibility. It is easy to get friends and family to start playing and once they play Slow Ride on easy for the first time they will be hooked. I've seen many casual players become fanatical and make their way up to the expert skill level.



This is why Guitar Hero III was the best selling game of 2007 and gave Activision their greatest profit in their history. This is why Elite Beat Agents got critical acclaim and won several game of the year awards. As long as there is great music and creative designers there will always be the next challenge for rhythm gamers.

What game(s) have a similiar effect on you? What game do you play that has the "one more try" mentality? I'd like to hear about it in the comments.