Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
On the timeline, we can see the strategy decision is large in scope by
its area. But it is stretched over a long time, so the decision pace is slow.
He had a lot of time, but the decision was so large in scope that it filled the
space, and there was no flow gap.
The next round begins. Bob appears with his team on the eastern side
of the map. He can only afford a cheap, short-ranged MP5 submachine
gun, so he knows he is at a disadvantage in open areas. As he already
decided to do, he takes the northern route across the bridge, because he
wants to avoid Alice, who he is guessing will attack the Main Courtyard.
Bob wants to flank her and use his close-quarters fighting skills to take her
down.
If I can just get across the bridge alive
, he thinks,
I can hit Alice at close
range. I'm good at close-quarters combat, and her sniper rifle will be useless if
I'm right in her face.
Consider the information available to Bob at this point. He doesn't
know how the other team is moving yet since they're at the other end of
the level, behind walls.
I'm going to assume they've split up and are taking
all their paths
, he thinks.
It's unusual for a team to all use the same route
.
He also isn't sure of the intentions of his teammates. He prefers playing
with buddies since they can work out plans and respond to one another's
intentions. But today he is playing on a public server known for its expert
players. All he knows about his teammates is that they are skilled. This
metagame information allows him to assume they'll take optimal paths
and make their shots
—
but not much else. Finally, Bob sees a few team-
mates with long-range rifles, which indicates to him that they'll attempt to
aggressively engage over the bridge or the Main Courtyard instead of, say,
hanging back and trying to ambush the enemy.