My study association had an Among Us event yesterday, so I got the game and participated! It was fun! However, for a while, whenever I was a crewmate the impostors would win, and whenever I was an impostor the crewmates would win, because I was just so bad... after about an hour of playing, I found out that there is a map, on which you can see where all rooms are (including the names), and where your tasks are (even your fake tasks, if you're an impostor). That really changed the game. xD I would've loved to know earlier!
I try to understand why some games get omnipresent-ly popular and others do not. "Fortnite: Battle Royale" blew up because it is free-to-play, accessible on many devices, has attracted celebrities, was built off of the already-popular Hunger Games created in Minecraft, looks more appropriate to children than other AAA shooters (ex: Call of Duty, Battlefield), etc. The ongoing pandemic was a large contributing factor to the booming launch of "Animal Crossing: New Horizons." Ignoring the pandemic, "Fall Guys" got instantly popular because it's a family-friendly(?) battle royale with charming colorful visuals and characters. Now we have "Among Us," a game released back in 2018 that suddenly blew up within the last two months. According to the developers, their game had bad marketing. Now steamers and Youtubers have brought the game to the forefront of attention. The game's concept is reminiscent to "Trouble in Terrorist Town," which became a popular minigame built in "Garry's Mod." Both TTT and Among Us are metagames focused on messing with people's minds, including telling "lies" to each other about their player identities. ... So, what do all of these games that suddenly popular have in common? Here is what I think (in no ranking order): 1) They have online multiplayer. 2) Allow people to do things that are impossible, unrealistic, illegal and/or taboo IRL societies. 3) Accessible, based on available platform(s), barrier of entry, demographics, etc. 4) Marketing backed by already popular content creators and well-known living individuals. 5) Memes that create strong emotional reactions, often laughter. 6) Solid game design overall. ...
I know this game exists, I'm aware that it's gotten a spike in popularity, and I've seen some good fanart of it. That's... about as far as this game has gone with me.
Definitely a factor, and it was also free on PlayStation Plus when it came out. The developers also interacted with streamers and fans on Twitter and embraced/encouraged memes made about their game. Fall Guys characters look a bit like Among Us characters. I think SodaPoppin and his friends got bored of Fall Guys and found Among Us somewhere, thought "hey, that looks easy for my viewers to get into", and started playing with other streamers. It's also free on mobile and incredibly cheap on PC, and that always leads to success. Plus it allows people to socialise and make jokes, create funny situations together, during a time when we can't do that in real life.
This was a very fascinating post. I've also spent some time analyzing the popularity of certain games/trends as they come, and so I thought I'd reply with some of the factors I've noticed. 1. Availability (aka free) When I mention availability for these games, it's worth noting that almost every game that has become a major trend has had a free option to welcome new consumers in (often limited access though). As this forum is for a Minecraft server, it's worth starting by mentioning Minecraft. In the early 2010s, not sure if it's still around today, there was a lite version of Minecraft Pocket Edition. It had limited mobs and you couldn't harvest ores, but it was free. As Minecraft was growing in popularity thanks to the increasing popularity of YouTube, this free alternative to the full game was bringing in new players. It was actually where I first played Minecraft, and also some of my friends in school. By now Minecraft's popularity has grown so tremendously from various other sources that it often overshadows this free access, but it is worth keeping in mind. Even going back further to the sensation of Doom in 1993 (which I was not alive for), its popularity was largely due to the revolutionary aspects of the game, but it is worth keeping in mind that the free Shareware version of the first level would've helped bring in new consumers. Now we can look to the more modern game trends. Fortnite: Battle Royale released during the height of PUBG's popularity (which was largely the cause for the battle royale genre going mainstream). Many players, including myself, saw Fortnite as the free & inferior alternative to PUBG. However, thanks to Fortnite's free availability, family-friendly nature (as ForeverMaster noted), and new player friendly mechanics (which made it easy for anyone to pick up), it was the game that grew into a powerhouse (we'll come back to this later). Now we're seeing another major trend with Among Us, which can once again be credited to the free availability on mobile devices, amongst other aspects. 2. Media Popularity Media in this sense can mean many things. For instance, the news. Another contributor to Doom (1993)'s growth in popularity was its controversial media coverage. At the time, it was the central exhibit in the "video games cause violence" argument, even being tied to the Columbine massacre (which I will not go into further detail about for various reasons). Media can also be attributed to creator-based platforms, such as YouTube, which was a major contributor to Minecraft's current status in the video game industry. I think it's needless to say that Minecraft has cemented itself in YouTube's history and upbringing, and it still shows today with the popularity of Minecraft content from PewDiePie (in 2019) and Dream (in 2020). While Minecraft and YouTube helped each other's growth, it also was the dawn of YouTube stars. People like CaptainSparklez, AntVenom, and others that made big names for themselves due to the popularity, but also due to the personality they put into their videos (some of which are still around today, and some of which are not). Nonetheless, these personalities inspired viewers to pick up and try these games (which, as mentioned before, mostly had free options available). Carry this over into the late 2010s with the growth of Fortnite: Battle Royale, at a time when streaming had become a very popular form of media (not that it wasn't before, only now it was much more established). Where Minecraft lent itself to videos due to its lengthy and somewhat grindy processes, Fortnite (and other BR games) helmed quick and simplistic matches that really benefitted the streaming world (something which we also see in Among Us). Fortnite and other BR games brought up new major personalities in the gaming world, such as Ninja (like him or not, that's beside the point). Among Us brings an interesting perspective to these trends shared between popular games and the media. Unlike Minecraft and Fortnite: Battle Royale, it's a very limited game. While you are still consuming the media for the game itself, from what I found, the content becomes much more about the personalities. The game gives scenarios and lets the personalities clash. So, clearly, the media that comes from these games plays a major part in it. While it could be thought that it only gains such a presence in media because of popularity grown from external forces, I would say that either way the presence in media contributes to further growth it may not have had otherwise. 3. Enjoyable Repetitiveness I know, I've written a lot. This will be my final point. To put it simply, Minecraft, Fortnite, and Among Us all share one thing in common: they are repetitive in a way that is enjoyable and unique. In every Minecraft world, I will have to punch a tree, harvest coal, make a shelter, get food, etc. In every Fortnite match, I will have to open a check, choose a loadout, harvest materials, fight opponents. In every Among Us match I will have to do/fake tasks, fix/cause sabotages, participate in meetings, etc. However, how this goes about is never the same. The world generation in Minecraft is always different, and the encounters I have will never be the same. The way a match flows in Fortnite, whether it be by loadout or battles, is often unique. Most limited, but still never the same, is Among Us. How the players react in certain situations depends on where they were, what they were doing, and what their goal was, which from my experiences, have never been identical to a prior match. Comparatively, let's look at Skyrim. I've had a ton of fun playing Skyrim, and it remains one of my favourite games. However, as popular as it was, Skyrim never reached the same levels as any of these three games I'm analyzing right now. It's important to note that, as replayable as Skyrim is, its possibilities are much more finite than even Among Us (which is insane considering the size of Skyrim). Even with different approaches or character types, quest lines aren't going to change. If you need me to elaborate more, just quote this section in reply and I'll give more detail on what I mean. Now, keep in mind that these repetitive actions have an expiration. While the repetitiveness can be enjoyable, it often is the downfall of these games. Minecraft is fun, but the repetitiveness can be tiresome for players, causing them to leave. Fortnite's downfall is largely contributed to the repetitiveness of it. At least, it was one of the major reasons I stopped playing the game. I would say Among Us has already started to see a decline in popularity, and if the developers don't push out new content soon, they might have missed their chance to capitalize on the popularity of the game. Another major cause for declination of popularity is the reception of the community. It is unfortunate to say, but often times communities can have a negative reception to something simply because if its popularity. Minecraft faced this backlash back in the early-mid 2010s. Fortnite also received/is receiving this backlash, which was one of the major reasons why Minecraft was revived into popularity (the nostalgic love for the game). I would have to assume that at some point if it continues to reign in popularity, Among Us will feel the same backlash. Although, I would have to doubt it will ever reach the level of popularity as Minecraft or Fortnite. -=-=-=-=-=-=- Please note, I left Fall Guys out of the discussion because I don't feel it fits this trend of popularity. It reigned for a couple of weeks before being triumphed over by Among Us. If this wasn't an Among Us thread, I may not have even included Among Us in the discussion due to my doubts about its longevity. Other games that could fit this popularity trend include GTA V and Overwatch. However, I think GTA V's popularity is due to other factors (like existing in a popular franchise), and I don't have enough experience with Overwatch to develop a proper analysis. Hopefully my long rambling of text didn't scare anyone off... I write a lot Also, I'm curious to hear more thoughts on what causes the popularity of games!
I am brutally addicted to this game and was streaming my play on discord earlier. I would definitely be down for an EMC Among Us event
I'd be interested! It needn't be official, you can plan one. Although come to think of it, I won't be able to make it, I bet, as you'll probably want to do it in the American evening. Speaking of fan art, here's some friends of mine have done. I will read Daybreaker's post later... hopefully. It looks great, but it also looks like quite some effort to read, and after a long day of studying I don't really feel like going for it.
