As a fan of uniquely made video games, I stumbled upon a brand new “capture the flag” game called Last Flag. And, I must say – it was made with love. The game has a cartoony art style which some have commented saying – has been over used, by bigger shooter franchises. But, I disagree.
Personally, I think that the cartoon-style (with a touch of disco) works well for them.
But, my one issue with this well-made project is that – they don’t seem to have considered adding an offline mode. Which would allow players to play the game (versus bots) without having to depend on their servers.
Why I think Last Flag should have offline bots
Consider this an open letter to the developers of Last Flag. In my humble opinion their game would do well to consider adding bots because of various reasons. But, with less that 10 day to launch.. do you think that these pleas can/will ever get addressed? Ever?
I hate to say it (though ‘hate’ is probably too strong a word) but, this game reminds me of Team Fortress 2. A continuously celebrated cult-classic game, which happens to be playable offline. But, I digress. So, allow me to focus of 3 reasons why Last Flag needs an offline mode (versus bots)
1. Discoverability of Last Flag
Let’s be honest, the game development market is oversaturated. Now, more than ever. And, weather devs like to hear it or not – many new studios launch a game, and eventually shutdown before servers BEFORE the whole world even knows about your game.
– It’s tough to get people to see your game, and the pick your (new) game over the established giants with more players in their servers. Given the choice, most gamers would rather invest their time into a game that is widely/expensively marketing and heavily populated with other players already.
And, my final point on ‘discoverability’ is that – Making an offline game allows your game to be picked up and resurge itself in the very distant future. New players can unpredictably dig up the game, and start playing it (even if the servers and the studio no longer exist). The game will remain both discoverable and playable.
2. Trust
Having watched some of your (Last Flag devs) YouTube videos, it is clear that you guys poured your hearts and souls into this work of art. You seem to be gamers too. And, as gamers you should be able to acknowledge that the market is increasingly bitter. Players are unhappy over the rate at which game servers getting shutdown.
And then, in the midst of all of that chaos and unrest. Last Flag has stepped in as “yet another game which can only be played online.” No servers, no more game.
New players like myself will struggle to trust that such a game, will remain playable for long. Which is why, you would earn a little bit of trust by adding an offline mode.
3. Security
My final point is that – people feel insecure about the gaming industry as a whole. Many studios keep coming and going. And if anyone makes the mistake of getting emotionally attached to a video game that will quickly get shutdown, that person (or persons) would be devastated.
In other words – If I play and enjoy your game, only for you to inevitably (one day) shutdown the servers. Where will your players be able to find another game like this one? Where else will they be able to find the exact personalities and characters found in this game?
Conclusion on Last Flag
The fear of getting emotionally invested in a character or a unique game that’s irreplaceable, will keep countless would-be players away. Please devs! Strongly consider adding an offline mode with bots. Bots that come with adjustable difficultness, e.g Easy, normal, and hard.
