Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
some solved endgames. Some versions of computer chess even take ad-
vantage of some of these endgame solutions if they come up. Go is much
further from being solved, but even it has joseki (optimal safe starting
moves).
The variable nature of the solved quality of tic-tac-toe speaks to
a fascinating element about games: they depend on our mental limi-
tations. It's entirely possible that some advanced alien species could
come to Earth and find Go as simple to solve as tic-tac-toe. However,
a game that would interest them would probably seem like sheer noise
to us (in the same way that Go is not really playable for the child who
can't solve tic-tac-toe). It's a balancing act for the adult person: the
game designer has to work to create a system that is just out of reach
of human mastery.
Symmetry
The idea of asymmetrical forces is very common in digital games, but
interestingly, much less so in board games. The idea of an asymmetrical
game is that you can start out the game with different forces (different
available powers) than your opponents. Some examples of this are the
different racers in Super Mario Kart , the fighters in Street Fighter , and
the races in StarCraft . Before the match even begins, you're choosing
your weapon.
Asymmetrical games are interesting in that they actually become
many different variants of a given game system. Each matchup is really
its own unique game, or variant. Those of us in video games tend to
have very affectionate feelings for games with asymmetrical forces (I in-
clude myself, decidedly—in fact my first published game, 100 Rogues ,
has asymmetrical forces). David Sirlin, an ex-pro Street Fighter player
and board game designer, is a strong proponent of asymmetrical games
and regularly talks about issues of balance and flavor (feel of use) with
respect to asymmetrical games like StarCraft , Street Fighter , and his
own Yomi: Fighting Card Game . Like me, he comes from a digital-game
background, and so it's possible that he may be allowing his feelings for
asymmetry to stop him from appreciating the inherent difficulties sur-
rounding the concept.
Complexity
Physicist Albert Bartlett is quoted as having said, “The greatest short-
coming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential
function.� And indeed, I feel that most asymmetrical game designers are
failing to understand the exponential function with regard to their game
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