Completion vs Just Progression

Here’s another interesting article I came upon called Progression is the New Victory. It talks about how games are not really completed anymore and about how a game could be never ending and boring or never ending and fun, mostly dependent on the progression system.

And it got me thinking: I played some mobile games that are supposed to be never ending, or at least very long, and they couldn’t hold my attention for very long and here comes Star Wars: Uprising and I’m hooked. And, apparently, it’s not just because it’s a Star Wars game. They do progression well. Especially since the latest patch.

First of all, the missions might be repetitive but they are not sufficiently difficult that I am currently stuck on two that are too difficult for me.

So what do I do in the meantime? My second point, you can always do something. Even if I run one of the standard missions, I get a sizable reward out of it whether it be money or upgrade materials or equipment I can trade for money or salvage for upgrade materials. And while progression might be a bit slow, it doesn’t feel like much of a grind because I’m getting something appropriate to my position in the game. It’s not skinning 10 wolves for 100 gold pieces.

Thirdly, the crew. You amass crew throughout the game which you can send on independent missions. They gather money, materials, gear, faction support or other crew members and, if you want, you can just check in every day or every few hours and make sure they are busy. Busy getting you stuff and improving your situation. So, if I’m stuck, like I am now, I just do this for a few days and I’ve got better stuff to work with so I can progress further.

Fourthly, the Sector Battles offer great rewards, even just for participating. They happen every few days and twist the regular gameplay mechanics. Missions and crew runs can now contribute to your side of the battle. The more you play, the more you contribute, the better your position in the battle is and the better the rebels do against the empire. The better the outcome, the more you contribute, the greater the reward. But even if you put in the minimum – send your crew on runs, do a couple of missions – you still get something significant.

And, with the latest patch, they added Tier II equipment and materials which are much better than Tier I and take the game to another level.

So, this game makes me think that a game can, basically, have very standard gameplay and even repetitive content and mechanics; but if the progression is fine tuned, it could be great.


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