Review [Issue 19] What makes Tanki so replayable?

[SakuraVisions 120]

 

What makes Tanki so replayable?

 

To this date, over thirty-seven million players have joined Tanki Online. Thousands of new players join every day, but what makes them stay? Despite being away for about half a year, even I have been drawn back into this entertaining game. There would not be much of a community if all the players got bored after the first week, which can and has happened with some other games. How does Tanki keep players entertained for years at a time, and how does it compare to other popular games of different genres?

 

 

Goals

 

 

Why do you work hard in school? To get good grades and have a better chance at achieving a profitable career for you, correct? Looking at the other side, you strive in the workplace to earn your pay and get promoted to the next position. From the very first “for newbies” Sandbox battle you spawn in, Tanki sets goals for you - get crystals, buy equipment, become stronger. Rank up, then rank up, then rank up again. By the way recruit, it will take months of consistent play to become the strongest level, and years to have a full garage without gaining crystals from your wallet.

 

Establishing these goals and giving players motivation is the first and most important step to keep you in the game. It’s fun to work towards a goal, and players get a great feeling of satisfaction upon completion, before working on the next goal to climb up the strength ladder. Get equipment, become strong enough to join a clan, fight in professional battles and work your way up to become a legend.

How does this translate into other games with varying replay factors? Shooting games like the Call of Duty series are often criticized for not being able to be replayed much, especially offline. After the campaign, there is generally not much else to do other than play online and rank up there. With Tanki, a constant task looms above your screen every game in the rank bar, as you try to scrape together those last points for it to glimmer yellow and display that rank of Generalissimo.  

 

However, what if a game doesn’t have a goal? Can it be replayed at all? Well, some games benefit from not having any large goals, but instead having no distinct end point. A great example of this is Minecraft, that is very popular around the world (but Tanki still has more registered accounts, although unsure about actual player count). The game consists of surviving in a block world with friends and building creatively, in which the game only gets boring when your imagination does. This strategy of captivating players is becoming more popular in the gaming industry in more recent years.

 

 

Content

 

 

Eventually, everyone is going to hit full garage and two million points. What’s to keep them in the game after that? Adding additional content is a great answer for player’s boredom after achieving all the goals in a game. Tanki is a game that is constantly updated with new content. New guns, tanks, maps, paints, you name it has been added in the last few years. Rebalance to micro upgrades to new physics, with much more still to come, especially in 2014. A lot of the top players would have left a while ago if not for the exciting updates that always put a spin on the current game.

 

How do other games compete in the industry? Most console games release downloadable content, either for free or for a price. Plus and premium versions of games can be purchased usually with such content included. Other games like Tanki push out constant updates that change the game. Still others release consistent updates to balance the current metagame, that forces players to be very adaptable in order to stay in top competitive form. An example of this would be games like League of Legends or Dota 2. 

 

Another form of content Tanki does rather regularly is special events. There are the expected discounts for the winter holidays and other important days of the year (holiday paints usually accommodate), but the developers also implement special features for certain days of the year. In the past the gold box has been changed numerous times, like 305 crystals for Halloween 2012, or 3000 this year. Changing the gold box encourages players to hunt for a lucky catch and thus play more of the game.

 

 

Community

 

 

Probably the most varying from game to game, the fanbase determines the longevity of the title quite a bit. Friends are made from battle to battle over a player's Tanki career, and obviously one would want to continue playing with said friends, and it’s a lot more convenient to play the game everyone is already comfortable with and has access to than to branch out and try other games everyone may not like. Joining a clan and fighting in wars encourages activity and dedication for the game itself.

 

In the actual community, there is a lot of “community content” to sift through to keep one entertained and involved. Examples would be contests, forum discussions, Twitter and Facebook posts, even reading this article in the paper now. Participating in the community and inputting feedback is a vital part in the development of the game, which in turn changes the content of the game. It’s all a related cycle.

 

While being on the receiving end of community content can keep people interested in the game itself, creating it can be just as if not more rewarding. Contributing to the forums, making videos about games, and helping out others are all awesome ways to keep yourself active. What’s more, creating content yourself makes you feel great when you see positive response and feedback from others who enjoy it. Games with loyal communities tend to live a lot longer than games without.

 

 

Conclusion

 

 

Overall, there are several components that contribute to a games replayability, and even more that aren’t touched on in this article. But the real thing that keeps Tanki up competing with other top games is the combination of all factors put together. Not lacking single player interest and content or a thriving environment for players to connect to each other, Tanki is in a good place to live a long life, as it already has for several years. What keeps you sticking with the game?

 

Thanks for reading!
ShadowVisions

Edited July 31, 2017 by Hexed

[crackgold2 399]

;)  :P

[Remaine 4,687]

A superb article.

[r_GoldRock30 68]

A satisfying read, and a well-written article.

 

I would say the Community is the strongest factor for me (and many others here), but the Content and Goals certainly succeed in keeping players sufficiently entertained whether they have discovered the Community or not.

[FaaiqBilal 221]

battlefield 4 is king <3 tanki not as king as battlefield 4 ok

:3

kewl article anyway

[UAA619 97]

A great read and a well-written article.

 

For me, the community is the most important factor that keeps me here because achieving the goals is not as easy as for other people because I'm only allowed to use my PC 45-60 mins per day. Also, I've noticed that console games such as FIFA and Black ops etc.. get boring after a while and the only way it gets fun again is if you have friends who you can play together with(I'm not talking about online, it's mostly too laggy..), but if you don't, then like in my case it just gets too boring after a while and you look for another game, which is why I quit FIFA for Tanki, although I sometimes play it with friends at their house..

 

BTW, Great to see you back as a reporter. Used to love reading your amazing articles.

:)

[doduobird 315]

What keeps me playing tanki is my goal of everything M3 xD

[r_whydotheyme0 3]

my goal, tank for me is more then a game, it is my life

[Piety 70]

Would it be write in calling this with a title; how to brainwash tanki players?

[cornierauto 9]

battlefield 4 is king <3 tanki not as king as battlefield 4 ok

:3

kewl article anyway

on ps3 it is awesome 

[ThemasterRC 0]

great game :ph34r:

[ThemasterRC 0]

XD

Edited January 17, 2014 by ThemasterRC

[A_Jl_E_H_T.00 615]

Yes, Minecraft has less accounts, but those are the ones which you need to buy, there are also cracked launchers who use people who dont have Premium account...

 

 

 

..just sayin

[MyLife_MyReign 256]

Great article shadow,

The community is the most important part of the game.

The other thing which keeps me addicted to this game is lot of new friends.

The new updates, the incredible work of the developers, the moderators, the new events and the sales just brings me closer and closer to this game.

I would just simply say,

THIS IS THE BEST GAME FOR ME, NO OTHER GAME CAN EVEN BE WORTH BEING COMPARED TO THIS GAME.

ITS NOT JUST A GAME , ITS MUCH MORE!!!

<3 <3 you TANKI :D

Edited January 20, 2014 by MyLife_MyReign

[prajwalkandel 71]

All i know is : its a drug for all kind of human

eg : kid, young, teen and old ppl

[meronnatu 151]

Lol the ppl who play this game makes the game xd replayble  ..and yh the tanki stuff do thire best to keep thire players stay most of the time.

 

Awesome article tho..gj Ninja

Edited January 21, 2014 by meronnatu

[ATHENA123 56]

I love the article but the easier question would have been what doesn't make tank so re playable.

I love it all :D

[doughnut2100 763]

Very true.

 

Just pointing out that minecraft is by far more popular.

 

But I personally enjoy tanki more.

Edited January 25, 2014 by doughnut2100

[SpHryfBoss 573]

So, how does this help me write my essay on the Harlem Renaissance?

[doduobird 315]

So, how does this help me write my essay on the Harlem Renaissance?

Few weeks ago we learned about that xD I'm in 6th grade and we had to answer 5 multiple questions on it :D

 

It was pretty easy, lol I don't think this will help you though

[SpHryfBoss 573]

Few weeks ago we learned about that xD I'm in 6th grade and we had to answer 5 multiple questions on it :D

 

It was pretty easy, lol I don't think this will help you though

I'm in 7th 0_0

I have to write a 5 paragraph essay on it lol

[doduobird 315]

I'm in 7th 0_0

I have to write a 5 paragraph essay on it lol

I feel you bro :) In 5th grade we had to write DBQ's (Document Based Questions) lol and I totally failed :D

I forgot to cite all my evidence  :blush:

[JonathanBernatowicz 119]

Great job ShadowVisions! :D I LOVED it!

[japutimank 12]

i dont no but tanki is my life:) :D :D :ph34r: :ph34r:

[spartanleo2 20]

i don't know what TANKI ONLINE is just awesome  :P