[Discussion] How to keep players entertained with a demo

[TheLuiz]

I'm close to release my fan game demo to public, but i've been asking myself on how players can have fun with the game even if it isn't the full version. I mean, most demos go to a certain point and/or certain gym and then nothing, the player can't do much aside from grinding wild grass and explore a limited map.

I do have an idea on how to keep players interested on my game demo, but i'm also asking for your experience and/or advices as a game dev

And also asking for your thoughts as player on how a demo can make you spent hours on it

 

[mgriffin]

In my mind the best games (and this includes Pok?mon) are made up of lots of fun moments, one after the other. So it shouldn't matter how many of those moments there are, what matters is that all the moments that do you have are fun.

Or put another way, I'd much rather play 1h of finely tuned gameplay than have the same experience dragged out to last 4h via grinding, or sparse maps, or poor pacing, or what-have-you.

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. :)

 

[NewAgeSteel]

I'm close to release my fan game demo to public, but i've been asking myself on how players can have fun with the game even if it isn't the full version. I mean, most demos go to a certain point and/or certain gym and then nothing, the player can't do much aside from grinding wild grass and explore a limited map.

I do have an idea on how to keep players interested on my game demo, but i'm also asking for your experience and/or advices as a game dev

And also asking for your thoughts as player on how a demo can make you spent hours on it

I don't think you have to worry about those kinds of things. the whole point of a demo is that no matter how much you give to do or how long you make it, it is incomplete and will come to an incomplete stop at some point. people expect that of a demo.
id say instead of worrying about how long it is or keeping it going, you should just make sure everything you have already is as good as it can be. If I had one thing to look out for its to make sure that you don't have anything unnecessary in your game. everything should be meaningful and with purpose. this will make your game more rich in detail and more fulfilled as a demo. itll make yours stand out from others and gibe people a reason to come back when more of the game ahs been released :)

 

[Becquerel]

I figure as long as a demo has a least one good town and a fairly diverse dex, and you leave off on a good cliffhanger, it can be entertaining.

 

[SpartaLazor]

Personally, I would just shoot for making it a solid demo, don't worry so much about keeping players playing even after they've beaten the demo. That's a really difficult thing to do, and I honestly think it's not really worth pursuing. If the demo is good enough and players enjoy it, they will come back to it when newer versions are released.