Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
boredom, rather than challenges to overcome frustration. Some players enjoy this
kind of resistance, but many games use it simply to increase the amount of time the
player must invest to reach a goal. Many players resent this kind of tactic to keep them
playing.
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Score is not inherently a reward or a punishment; it's an evaluation where the player
can reflect on what she's done. In creating a score system for a game, you're telling the
player what kinds of actions are desirable or undesirable in the conversation. A player
can compare a score to her own previous scores or to other players' scores to under-
stand how she's doing. Scores can be open to player interpretation as well. Especially
in single-player games, players can choose to disregard the evaluation of score. It's
possible to create scoring systems that don't value one type of action
or decision more
highly than another but simply let the player reflect.
Think about experiences you've had playing games that were very challenging,
frustrating, or difficult. Now think about some experiences that were very easy—even
to the point of boredom. Compare your experiences with others. Are there particular
kinds of gameplay that you find challenging or easy? Why?
.
Imagine that you've been asked to make a game based on something that happened
to you, or some aspect of your life. What would you draw from your own experiences to
make a game about? How could you express something about your life using systems
as well as contextual elements like words and images?
.
.
Using the scenario you designed in Discussion Activity 5 of Chapter
, discuss how you
could change the rules of the scenario to increase the resistance and difficulty. Also
discuss how you might raise and lower resistance to create different kinds of pacing
from this list:
3
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Pacing based on the classic idea of flow, where a game starts off easy, introduces
the player to new verbs and objects, and builds in challenge to avoid boredom.
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Pacing that starts off difficult, demanding a lot of the player, and only becomes less
frustrating through practice
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Pacing without any flow at all. Think about other ways that a game's shape might
change over time that aren't about building skill and rising challenge.
With that same scenario, are there additional rules you could add that let players have
a hand in whether the game is harder or easier? How would you open the conversation
of your game to include player choices about their own goals in the game?
.
