How to keep VR users engaged: Connections
VR designers can use human connection to build their player base no matter the size of the market.
We need VR users to play for a certain number of hours in order for new habits to be formed. Word of mouth and friendships are the best way to get this started, but we need to give users reasons to stay. VR designers should facilitate friends, mentors, and players to connect and teach each other how to make the most of the virtual world. And to give users reason to come back.
Collaboration and connection will keep players coming back.
Human connection is VR’s most powerful growth and retention tool.
This early on in the industry you need people to share experiences and help other people learn about VR. You’ve got to make it exciting and natural for a friend to teach another friend how to play, sticking together until they are good enough to go out on their own. This needs to be inherent in the system from day 1 or you may struggle sustaining a player population.
VR designers can ask themselves a potent question: What systems facilitate human connection?
How about rewards for friending new players and teaching them the ropes? A mentor system that isn’t overbearing. We want the system to feel as natural as friends helping each other for no reason other than friendship. The system must facilitate, not push.
If you have enough VR players (I assume we won’t for a while, but for the sake of discussion…) you can use matchmaking algorithms to guess at skill levels and attempt to put new players together such that they can all learn at the same pace. This is tough because algorithms can place bad players with bad players and all the sudden you have a growing skill gap that can never be filled.
Let’s assume we won’t have a VR player base large enough to warrant matchmaking systems for some time…
A friends list that is easy to use and reminds people to add each other after a game.
Encourage players to connect with each other. Provide pre-selected messages if you must. VR users don’t always have a keyboard handy or a microphone turned on. Simple messages like “Lets play together!”, or “____ added you as a friend!” should work. You can hint at players to friend those who beat them on the scoreboard, “Woah, you’re really good, want to play again sometime?”, as a means to encourage sharing of experience.
Designers will figure out more solutions as we go I have no doubts. For now it is all about building networks.
Must have features include:
-People see that others are online.
-Friends can join the current games their friends are playing.
(Bonus: Friends can watch friends playing)
-Inviting others into your current game.
-Inviting players who are not in-game to begin playing.
-Connecting with new players as frequently as we can.
(Prompt users at the end of a match to friend each other)
Look to Rec Room for a good example of social features.
The Rec Room friends list is easy to use once you find it. And once you do, it is easy to add friends from the Nearby and Recent lists. I find myself adding everyone with scores near or better than mine every round I play. And so far I have gained quite a few friends so now there is always a game of paintball to play.
With a couple million VR headsets out there now, surely some other games can succeed beyond where Rec Room has paved the path.
How would you facilitate friends lists and collaboration within a VR game?
