03-31-2011, 05:29 PM
I think you are all on the right track. PBM needs to find a way to thrive in the emerging world of casual gaming, where players clock in for a few minutes during conference calls to check on their strawberry farms.
The synchronous "pulse" serves to keep major actions and initiatives on an even field for all players, and the asynchronous "actions" let players fine-tune and obsess over their position in the interim.
It's a good hybrid approach that could lead to the best of both worlds. I'm not familiar with GagGames or Rimworlds, but if either of them invites the player to contribute creative content, then keeping an asynchronous channel open makes complete sense. For instance, if a star captain discovers a new world, then you could let him log a narrative of this discovery or some related encounter, which could then be discovered or unlocked by other players.
The synchronous "pulse" serves to keep major actions and initiatives on an even field for all players, and the asynchronous "actions" let players fine-tune and obsess over their position in the interim.
It's a good hybrid approach that could lead to the best of both worlds. I'm not familiar with GagGames or Rimworlds, but if either of them invites the player to contribute creative content, then keeping an asynchronous channel open makes complete sense. For instance, if a star captain discovers a new world, then you could let him log a narrative of this discovery or some related encounter, which could then be discovered or unlocked by other players.