Games need Mentor features
It can be difficult being a solo player in an online game, especially if the game has been out for a while. If that game happens to be an MMO or an online RPG, depending on how long the game has been out, you may be overwhelmed by the content that's available in the game.
While you have a lot of content to look forward to, the problem I've noticed is that new players don't have enough people to do the early game content with, because the experienced players have moved onto end-game content, or those players are soloing the early game content for specific items which I do not blame them for doing.
Developers need to start introducing player assist features into their games.
A simple yet effective example of this can be found in Guild Wars 2. If you want to be a mentor and help other players, while not required, you can obtain a Mentoring Badge that you can toggle on and off. When this tag is on, you have a marker above your characters head and you appear on the world map for all players to see.
A lot of players use this tag to show others where events and bosses are currently happening or to show that they're ready to help players with a specific activity and it works fairly well. It's nothing special mind you and in this implementation it really only works in a MMO or other online open world RPGs.
PlayStation has a pretty neat Game Help feature and while it requires developers to incorporate it into their individual games it can be extremely beneficial for players as well as being a feature that can be used in both online and single player games. It keeps players in their game, doesn't force the player to search the web for a guide, which are more often than not a video with a bunch of filler that wastes time because that creator is trying to meet some sort of monetization goal.
Sabrina Meditz
This is a great help for players but it's more of a passive way for players to help one another. In some cases you need other players to show and help you through the steps of say, a raid boss, or a difficult quest chain that is just better off being assisted through as opposed to watching or reading a guide.
The multiplayer functions of most games are fairly easy to use and don't require a lot of steps. Quick Join is usually an option and sometimes a Browse for Lobbies, but I often find that I get put with people who are very elitist (read the previous issue if you haven't already). If you're a player that doesn't meet their arbitrary "requirements", you often just get kicked from the party and if they can't kick you, they'll grief you and ruin your experience until you leave.
Daniel
While you can never completely eliminate this kind of toxicity, this is where games need to start implementing a rather in-depth "Looking for Group" (LFG) system. Monster Hunter has a decent setup with being able to make lobbies with specific descriptors and goals in mind like what monster you plan on hunting, hunter rank requirements for these quests, or if you're just looking to speed through the key quests. It works but it still relies on players to seek out players or lobbies to help out with or vice versa. Or you have the option to simply join open hunts (you can start them as well) which works great for late game hunts.
They can improve that by adding a notification system which triggers an alert for players that are willing to help others and then gives them the option to jump in and lend a hand or not. At least that way the player needing help gets the message out and the player open to helping players can get an alert while doing whatever they're doing instead of that player wasting time sitting in a menu waiting for a help request to appear.
The assisting players are less likely to use a help request/mentor feature if that system takes time away from completing a task in the time between requests. These systems need to work parallel with what the players are currently doing in their game.
The unfortunate part is that a lot of players will only help others if there's some sort of incentive. I'm going to be that snob and say having a larger pool of players able difficult end-game content like a Raid with is payment enough, but of course it's natural to be rewarded for your time.
This leads into my next suggestion and obviously this can apply to any platform, but like I said earlier, this is going to revolve around the Nintendo ecosystem. As much as I'm a massive fan of Nintendo, but they lag behind in social features and do stuff their own way whether you like it or not. At the same time, Nintendo is a company that likes to experiment with weird ideas. If those ideas work out or not is a different story.
The integrated Player Mentor system
With Nintendo's new console on the horizon, it's the perfect time to implement a "player mentor" system. The Nintendo Switch introduced a lot of people to video games and while many of them just want the casual single-player experience, there are just as many players wanting to branch out and play games with more in-depth systems and online.
I know there will be players that don't want to be included and can turn off the option to receive Player Assist alerts. I believe Help Requests should be always on and they only get sent to players currently playing that certain game, which you think would be obvious, but I can see then Player Assist alerts going crazy and sending it to a player who may have the game, but is not currently playing it.
Along with Help Requests and Player Assist alerts, the system needs to include an easy but effective communication system that can include that doesn't rely on verbal or text chat. The Smart Comms in Apex Legends that I mentioned in the previous issue is a good place to start.
Having a non-verbal or text chat option for this would be great seeing that most players will just be offering help for a brief time or only a single match depending on the game. Seeing it integrated on a system level is great too since that would allow Nintendo to update the system and add new types of pings or ping categories that change based on the game allowing the update to be seamless and not requiring the game developers to go back and also make the update as well just an initial integration.
This type of system is best suited to online games, but as mentioned earlier, you can add a variation of PlayStation's Game Help feature for offline or single player games. Of course Nintendo would have to put their "Nintendo" spin on the entire thing, but it would be great to have options.
Now there's the incentive to get players to help others. Nintendo have their MyNintendo points and have already dabbled in Missions to earn Platinum points, so why not reward players with Platinum points for assisting and then creating in-game items/rewards to use those points on. It will only add value to the system as a whole and get more people to get involved.
In the end, it will translate into a greater number of players being included in everything a game has to offer and will make players more comfortable and confident when playing with with randoms. Because that's why I started this publication to begin with. A resource for shy players to help build that confidence and advocate for friendlier social functions for players.