Game Design: Never-Ending
15 Never-Ending
The game is endlessly playable without doing a restart.
15.1 Room for Continuity
Most games provide room for continuity through a New Game Plus or having an End Game.
Mechdamon does not differentiate play modes, and the player continues with the original 12.1 One Mission.
15.1.1 No Hard Stop
The game does not end abruptly, nor does it give a signal to the player that the journey is waning. Instead, more options and impetus for gameplay open up the longer the player plays.
15.1.2 Enemies Progress
Like the hero, enemies in the game evolve and progress.
They return stronger in future fights with the hero.
As there are no generic enemies in the game (8.3 All Unique Enemies) and they are all identifiable (8.3.1 All Named Enemies), the hero will recognize and appreciate the new challenge they will provide.
15.1.3 Content Unlocking
The game’s recipe for an endlessly playable game is Content Unlocking.
The longer you play the game, the more content that gets unlocked.
Players who continuously play get rewarded.
15.2 Playability Over Replayability
The game encourages a single, permanent playthrough rather than restarts. This old save file will also become useful for future games through item transfers and cross-content unlocking.
15.2.1 Single Save Slot
The game has only one save slot, in alignment with the goal of a single, permanent playthrough.
15.2.1.1 No Menu Restart
There is no menu option for restarting the game. It has to be done in-game through a ritual (11.3 Mechanic as Lore and 11 Mythological Design) where the hero destroys his most prized items.
15.3 True Adventure
The game aims to provide the player an adventure as long as he wants to play.
The game, by itself, will never stop or take this away from the player.
15.3.1 The Endgame is the Game
Hence, the game mimics as much as possible the endgame that it is meant to lead to.
This is to provide a continuous experience to the player and preserve the integrity of the game as a single-flowing adventure.
15.3.2 Gameplay First
The game gives priority to the player authentically playing at the expense of not providing him a deterministic packaged experience.
15.3.2.1 No Story Pathing
The game does not take the control away from the player nor put the hero on a story path where all the player can do is watch and interact via options made for that path.
All the player receives from the game is 12.1 One Mission.
15.3.2.2 No Scripted Experience
The game does not provide a scripted experience for the player.
15.3.3 Adventure of the Unknown
The game provides the player the Adventure of the Unknown.
The game is best experienced without checking anything online or through guides (2.1.1 No Guide Contract).
Keep the integrity intact, and you will experience one of the purest gaming experiences.
15.3.3.1 Environmental Storytelling
The world will tell you its story.
15.3.3.2 Collaborative Imagination
You play an active role in giving meaning to the game’s lore.
15.3.3.3 Personal Game Story
In the end, the game’s story is the story of your journey.
