Why the longevity?

Back in the summer of 2012 when I was surfing through the iTunes Store in search of a couple of new games to play, I stumbled across an app called Restaurant Story...

In my early days I would marvel at the grandeur of other players' diners - whether that meant the lavish décor on show, the sheer size of their places or even the number of appliances bubbling away. Once I began to get quite serious with the game and discovered the Storm8 Forum (or the TeamLava Forum as it was back then), I realised that some of my fellows had been playing for a long time and had built their empire over many moons.

And now, coming up for three years on, I like to think that I'm among those veterans who have seen it all. I've reached level 99, mastered every recipe, was fully expanded until the surprise recent addition and have amassed quite the collection of premium content over time. And I'm not alone. I've grown alongside many of my neighbours and have reaped the rewards of patience.

But why the longevity? What is it about this beautiful game that has kept so many players captivated for so long?

I think the primary reason has to be the regularity of updates. We've had a weekly update of some description every week... since records began! I've got a log of updates stretching back to May 2011 (click the link 'Update Archive' at the top!) and there has been at least one update every single week over the last four years. In the early days those updates were rather sparse in content and came on Fridays. Then they switched to Thursdays before moving to the current Wednesday slot.

It's quite an achievement that Storm8 have continued to inject new stuff continuously over the last few years. The prospect of something new every week keeps most of the playing community coming back for more. Indeed there are some long term players who only stop by on a Wednesday to check out the latest update!

And the unpredictability of the updates aids the cause. Will it be goals? Will it be a box? Maybe an LTO? The teasers posted on the Storm8 Blog obviously tend to temper the speculation, but sometimes even they don't give a clear indication of what's coming. The uncertainty is an additional attraction in my opinion, and means that I shouldn't really complain about boxes!

Getting specific, it's the goals which are the greatest draw.

Introduction to Rainy day goals

For most players the quests are a fundamental part of the game and give them a target to reach which can keep them occupied for at least a few days, if not a few weeks. I suspect that if goals ceased to be the playing population would decline very markedly.

Beyond the updates, there's a lot of activity can be had in Restaurant Story which encourages longevity. I mentioned some of these already, but it's worth reiterating them. The task of mastering every recipe in the game is a mammoth one, but from personal experience I can reveal that it is a hugely satisfying one. Not only is there that feeling of completeness when you have every mastery meter filled up to the top of level four, but there's the lovely reward of gems along the way to keep you motivated. With well over 400 recipes in the game if you've done all the goals, this is a challenge that takes a lot of time and patience to complete.

For a lot of players the global goal is to reach level 99. It's therefore rather ironic that this achievement yields much less than recipe mastery. You don't get anything special for making it to the maximum level, and moreover there isn't anything new to unlock beyond level 75. This is a flaw I've covered many a time before, but nevertheless, there's a certain satisfaction comes with making it to the top. The time-frame for doing it does vary from player to player depending on playing style - I did it in around 9 months but I've read of many others who have done it significantly quicker.

Expansions are another source of longevity. Saving coins to branch out and give yourself more room to house your growing collection of goodies is a laborious process, but again it is a rewarding one.

Notification for new expansion

I'm not ashamed to admit that there was almost a tear in my eye as I reached the summit of this particular mountain over two years after starting out. And with a new expansion added recently it appears that this particular journey is going to be continuing!

In my view the last key factor in keeping players hooked is the community itself. You do get to know people in the game, and the bond formed between you and your neighbours is unique. It goes without saying that players come and go, but I do have a number of neighbours who I have been enjoying the adventure alongside for a very long time. The interaction between each other has grown to become a fundamental aspect of the game, and is something which has kept a large portion of players coming back, even if they've grown bored with the game itself.

And of course there's one more reason why I'm still going strong: the blog! This blog has become a staple of my life, and has been a fantastic experience! Having it on the side also helps keep the game interesting. If there's a good update then I'm happy as a gamer, and if there's a bad update I'm happy as a blogger because I can vent on here!

So there are plenty of reasons why I, and so many others, have stuck with Restaurant Story. With the sequel game now flourishing there is likely a bumpy road ahead for the original, but I've been predicting that for a good while now so perhaps I underestimate! But I can say at this point that I expect to be among those displaying the ultimate attribute of longevity by being a regular player right up until the very end, whenever that may be!