Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
others will prefer to save it for challenging jumping puzzles. In this way, the sand is
a versatile resource: Players are able to use it to boost their performance where they
need it most.
Use an Internal economy to Create large Probability Spaces
As internal economies grow more complex, the probability space of your game
expands quickly. Games with a large probability space tend to offer more replay
value, because players will have more options to explore than is generally achiev-
able with a single play-through. Another benefit is that these games can also create
a more personal experience, because the performance of players and their choices
directly affect what parts of the probability space open up for exploration.
Games that use an internal economy to govern character development, technology,
growth, or vehicle upgrades often use an internal currency to provide options to
the player. This is a typical gameplay feature found in role-playing games, in which
players spend in-game money to outfit their characters and spend experience points
to develop skills and abilities. It is also found in certain racing games that allow
players to tune or upgrade their vehicles between (or sometimes even during) races.
As long as there are enough options and the options present really different solutions
to problems encountered in the game, or are otherwise important to the player, this
is a good strategy.
When using an internal economy to customize the gameplay, there are three things
you need to watch out for. First, in an online role-playing game, if a particular
combination of items and skills is more efficient than others, players will quickly
identify and share this information, and the economy will be thrown off-balance.
Either players will choose only that option, effectively reducing the probability
space and creating a monotonous experience, or they will complain that they can-
not keep up with players who did. In games like this, it is important to understand
that customization features are best balanced by some sort of negative feedback.
Role-playing games usually implement many negative feedback mechanisms for
this reason: Every time characters gain a level and improved skills, they need more
experience points to get to the next level. This effectively works to reduce the dif-
ferences in levels and abilities and requires more investment from a player for each
level earned.
Second, you have to be sure that the probability space is large enough that players do
not end up exploring it entirely in one play session. For example, if in a role-playing
game players have a rating between 1 and 5 for the attributes of strength, dexterity,
and wisdom, and the player can choose which one to increase from time to time, it
is generally a poor design decision to require them to upgrade all these attributes to
the maximum in order to finish the game. Similarly, if the player has only limited
choice over what order to upgrade her attributes, the consequences of those choices
are reduced. A good way to include choices that have real consequences is to create
choices that exclude each other. For example, players can generally choose only one
