What do you look for in a Game?

So, heres a question, when you are looking to download a new iPhone game, what do you want from it? What makes it good?
And what convinces you to part with your $0.99 and download it?

Here's my criteria when looking for a new game...

Universal - I've got an iPad, iTouch and in a week or so an iPhone. I don't want to have to download a game twice.

No IAPs - or if you do have IAP's please make sure it's child protected!

Has it sold well on the App Store?

Does it have good reviews? iTunes reviews I don't always trust, I put more faith into peoples' impressions on forums like this one

Can I feel like I can accomplish something in a short amount of time (like 10 minutes)? I've found my favorite iOS games are the ones I can play in short bursts. Haven't been able to get into alot of longer games (RPGs, RTS, turn based, although I like these types of games on other devices)

I'm sort of a fan of over-the-top graphics and music in iOS games. By over-the-top I mean flashy, trippy visuals and techno-type music (or just music that gives off a good vibe (think Tiny Wings, Whale Trail, Sad Robot))

I keep coming back to a game if there's a high score to beat (personal or leaderboards), cool unlockables or if the gameplay is super addictive.

Usually if a game is only .99c and matches alot of the above criteria I will purchase with no remorse. I look at it this way, a cup of coffee costs more than .99c, but you get more pleasure/longevity out of a good iOS game

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Last edited by studepaber007; 02-01-2012 at 11:39 AM.

Sadly i dont pay much interest to any reviews in the app store. If someones written a review and its more than 2 sentences i might 'believe it'. But if its a few words like 'great game, well worth it' then i ignore those.

I mean look in one of the sections here, people will write a very positive review for the sake of winning a few dollars in a voucher. So thats one example of how the app store reviews are useless.

Dont go crazy with IAP's with games. Price is important, yes the dev might think its worth $2.99 but the buyers might not think like that, plus if the games cheaper i bet you'll sell more anyway so should make more profit than if it was at a high priced margin.

Graphics arent everything, to me its all about gameplay

I'm a huge fan of vector graphics, simple to do, attracts some retro gamers to the game as well.

Ideally originality, i must admit i cant stand 1000's of angry bird clones etc but i dont mind clones of old classics from the 80's. Theres plenty of brilliant arcade MAME games which arent available or updated in the app store so there are tons of ideas to look at and 'update'.

I dont know why people keep recreating or copying Angry Birds though, if theyre going to steal/borrow ideas then there are plenty of games before Angry birds to look at !

I'm mostly interested in:

-Unlockables that are not near-impossible to achieve/that don't require grinding or IAP. Something like an experience or leveling system, or some kind of in-game currency that can be earned. A good example of this is the Rocketcat Hook games, or Kingdom Solitaire. A bad example of the grindfest thing is Mega Jump or Ninja Fishing. Achievements are okay but not required, I'd rather have an in-game experience than a meta game experience.

-Some kind of personality to the characters or graphics. I prefer non-3D super amped up games because I've found that there is so much overfocus on the graphics that the game becomes kind of dull and lifeless. I'd rather have simple retro or hand-drawn graphics any day.

-Run reliably and does not crash. If it does crash, it gets fixed decently fast (a few weeks at most). There's plenty of other games on the appstore to move on to, so no use wasting my time waiting.

-Does not take up tons of space on my device. I have a 32gb device but it makes no sense to have a mediocre game like Oregon Trail take up 1.2 gb when I can fit 50-100 much more entertaining games into that same space. This is why I generally avoid Gameloft games too. A few exceptions to this are Puzzlequest 2 and FFT: WotL.

-Has reviews on the appstore that are not obviously fake or all from the same person...if I see that I immediately avoid it. Same for if I see it on the forums here.

-I also kind of hate accelerometer games but a few (like Superblox) are okay.

-Is not a freemium or social game. I have tried them before but they're always really boring to me.

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Last edited by SkyMuffin; 02-01-2012 at 01:44 PM.

I think that a lot of the simple 2D games are great, but I find that I only use them once or twice before trying something else. I think because there are so many of them now, it takes something really unique to make me want to return to it again and again. There are exceptions of course, Angry Birds, Tiny Wings, Monster Dash etc.

But the games that make me come back to them tend to be the richer 3D games. A lot of them have slightly frustrating interfaces, but some of them are great and I find them much more immersive, which is big factor for me in looking for a game. A good example for me is Fight Night, which I recently bought for the iPhone. Highly recommended. Call of Duty Zombies is another good example.

I don't like games that stop you every few seconds to explain how something works. I should be able to pick up most of the controls with just a few prompts here and there.

And I like games that challenge you to get better in some way, either by beating a high score, solving a puzzle, moving to the next level etc. But obviously the gameplay has to be enjoyable first. Achievements don't really add much to the game for me.

I wonder in one thing: how to make an IAP child protected? (There are coin based upgrades in my app, and I implement IAP only not to angry possible impatient players.)

Though glad to hear this, but indeed graphics are everything before they go above average. Especial nowadays, if you do a game weak in graphics, even it's really original and successful, it'll soon overwhelmed by tons of clones with better graphics!

Meets most of the above, my app may interest you. Recommend it: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gemania/id471333673?mt=8

Anyway it's free and worth a try. All I need is a decent review if it's your
type.

Mostly What i look for :

Fun to play. ( Obviously )

Some kind of games that would really make me hooked on it! .

Also if the game worth the pricetag , i wouldn't mind spending it .

Fun to Play

High Replayability

Addictive

Gameplay either unique or polished

Graphics amazing