Creating great GPS Missions (remake)
The second version of the first version of this article...
I’ll keep this article really short – and speaking of that, that’s one of the main points about creating a good mission:
1. Keep it short!
A successful mission is short: less than seven checkpoints, estimated play time less than 40 minutes.
It’s really easy to create something in the mission designer that has 10 checkpoints and covers 7 km. But that’s not a mission anybody is going to finish. Make no mistake, it’s really hard to get people to walk or ride their bike for that distance.
The best reward GPS Mission can give you is, when you see someone has played your mission, answered your questions and took photos at your photo spots. It won’t happen in a long mission. And anything that has more than 6 checkpoints is long.
We’ve been analyzing missions and played missions for months now – and one major finding is: if it takes longer than 50 minutes, people will probably not finish it.
You can be as creative and as fun in a five checkpoint mission. If you have too many ideas, create another mission.
Your goal should be that people will actually play and finish your mission.
This is a nice mission. 745 meters long and 5 checkpoints. Well situated in the city center, proven playable.
2. Keep it safe.
I hope I don’t have to explain this one. Don’t try to send players on railway tracks, large streets, etc.
3. Make sure people can get to all of the checkpoints. Test your missions.
Go out and play your own mission – if you can’t finish it, no one else can. Make sure that all checkpoints are reachable. Don’t place checkpoints inside of buildings, on large streets, in military installations, etc.
You’ll get gold for playing your own mission and you’ll learn a lot about what works and what doesn’t. So, take the time and test your own mission.
4. Don't ask ambiguous questions
If you use questions/riddles in your mission, make sure that the hard part is finding the answer. Don’t make the hard part guessing what format or exact wording the answer should be in.
For example: if you are asking for a name in an inscription on a statue – say if you want the first name or the second name. Is it “Alfred The Great” or “Alfred” that you want? Say something like “Give the first name only!” – Don’t make the player guess.
When asking for dates, it’s good to say “give the year only” or “give the month only” to make the question less ambiguous.
All in all, it’s not too hard to make a fun mission. Think of interesting places, upload pictures, keep the above rules in mind. And make it fun!
Do you have comments about how to create great missions – post them here or in the GPS Mission forum!