The Threshold — Part II

In the previous text, I have been talking about the concept of the participation threshold and the importance of keeping it low. In many cases, when designing a new game or a new game feature you want to make it accessible to the biggest possible amounts of people. However, this is not always the case.

Remember the spam emails that used to proliferate back in the day before Gmail filters finally managed to block them? Without a doubt, you have received at least one email informing you that you had a distant relative who recently passed away in some far-off country and that there is an inheritance waiting for you. Or alternatively, you have been contacted by the widow of some African tycoon asking for your help to siphon out some extravagant sum of money. The setup of these emails was usually so preposterous that you must have wondered who in the world would ever fall for this kind of story. Furthermore, you must have been wondering whether the scammers could come up with some more plausible scenarios.

However, what you probably did not notice is that the preposterousness of these emails was exactly the point. This is a feature by design. They were so outlandish precisely to filter out everyone except the most gullible people. Sending millions of emails costs nothing to scammers. The time spent on courting and grooming possible victims, on the other hand, is very expensive. They want to work only with the most likely targets. The hook email is crafted precisely with this in mind. It is designed to raise the participation threshold so that the scammer would not have to waste their time sifting through a bunch of unpromising leads.

Exactly the same principle applies to many far less nefarious examples. For example, it applies to very many niche games. If you are designing a game for a very broad audience, you do need to cater to a wide variety of people with a very broad spectrum of skills, prior knowledge about gameplay mechanics and UX conventions, interests, attention levels etc. You risk creating bland gameplay focused on catering to the least common denominator. By trying to make a game or a feature meant for everyone, you risk making a game for no one in particular, or indeed no one at all.

Niche games take the other approach. They, by design, chose to focus on a narrow subsegment of potential players. They are then capable of delivering a gameplay experience tailor-made for this particular group. Games such as Euro Truck Simulator are a perfect example of this. This is not only a driving game. This is not even a driving simulator. Alternative history engines such as Hearts of Iron or Europa Universalis series by Paradox are other examples of this. This is very specifically a game designed for people who would like to experience the feeling of driving giant rigs. These games can be highly profitable within their narrow market segment. Sure, they will not make billions in small transactions out of millions of daily active players, but they will make more than enough money to provide sufficient return on investment. Euro Truck Simulator 2 made about 145 000 000 € in revenue since its release, and Hearts of Iron IV made a very similar sum.

A steep learning curve in games also acts in the same way. Games such as League of Legends or EVE Online are notorious for this. This brutal initiation period also acts as a filter. Sure, a huge number of players will bounce off this kind of initial experience. However, the ones that stay will be the ones that made a so significant emotional investment that they are not likely to abandon the game very easily. They will also integrate themselves into the community of likeminded individuals enjoying the toughness of competition. The game company can focus on providing them exactly the that type of experience and further more exactly that right kind of monetization mechanisms.

The interesting thing about this sort of games is that not only survive but thrive thanks to their steep learning curves. If you google about the learning curve of EVE Online you will find articles about this problem dating back to 2008! And the game is still going strong n 2024! This just goes to show how dedicated community can be created using this approach.

This game is not for the faith of heart, but the ones that persevere will likely stay with it for ages.

Key Takeaways

• The high participation threshold is not always a bad thing
• The participation threshold acts as a filter letting only the really interested and dedicated in and keeping everyone else out
• Focusing on a niche user group allows you to craft unique gameplay experience catering to the needs of this particular public
• Niche games can have high average revenue per paid user (ARPPU) thus ensuring return on investment

Links

• The Threshold — Part I
• Learning Curve of League of Legends
• Learning Curve in League of Legends: Basics, Champions, Strategies & More
• EVE Online Learning Curve for Beginner to Advanced Players
• Euro Truck Simulator 2 revenue estimate
• Hearts of Iron IV revenue estimate
• 2008 Engaget text about EVE Online learning curve