Since:
'(...) we play games and enjoy the process because we are seeking to master the patter in the game. While mastering a pattern, players are having fun.' (Challenges for Game Designers page 83)
we can understand that games that are hard to master put players in the state called the flow which pushes them to carry on playing, and playing, and playing until they feel satisfied enough with their skill level. This is why it is so crucial for my prototypes to not only be easy to learn, but to also challenge the player encouraging them to work their way towards mastering the dynamics of the game.
What does it mean to master a game?
Being a master at a game means making the right decision every single time throughout gameplay. In tic tac toe, which is easily solvable, and so easy to master, the player, providing they've mastered the game, can at worst draw, but never lose. Having pointed that out, being a master at a game, doesn't mean having 100% certainty of winning the game, but having the certainty that at no point, will that player make the wrong decision.
Before I go into the main topic, let's first look at the type of game in which mastering isn't easy, nor is it medium or difficult - it is simply impossible.
Luck based games
Games which are purely based on luck are the ones that ignore player's decision making whatsoever, instead using random outside influences (dice, cards, number generators) as a form of progression. Games like this are self driven and players are only there to reveal the outcome hence it is impossible to master.
Let's leave those, and jump into the type of games in which players can control the outcome, and get good at it. There are two skills that players can learn, develop and master. These are:
Strategy based games
Strategy based games are ones which require thoughtful decision making. One great example of a game which purely uses the element of strategic skill are chess - players have full control over the outcome of their turn, and from start to finish no outside elements, like luck are involved.
Examples of decision making in strategy based games:
The decisions a player makes in a twitch environment are of a different nature than those in a strategic game. Players still make decisions, but they are being made on more rapid basis that require fast thinking, dexterity and reaction speed. In an FPS for example, the decisions a player makes involve turning and firing.
The mechanics used for twitch type of games are:
With twitch skill based games, the 'hard to master' element is more straightforward:
'Human reaction time can continue improving over time forever' (Challenges for Game Designers, page 88)
Since I'm planning on having one mechanic in my prototypes, there's a high chance that with a twitch mechanic the game will either quickly become boring, or it'll be so difficult to master, that players will be left frustrated. This is when I should use tuning as a way of keeping a healthy balance within the gameplay.
Considering target audience
Although purely luck based games seem like nonsense, they actually do have a target audience - children, since their level of strategic skill is not developed due to lack of interest (kids don't like games where they need to think), they will however enjoy playing something that requires very little input from them (throwing a dice) which provides an output which gives an equal chance of winning to all the people who participate A 4 year old girl from Newcastle can win against Stephen Hawking in a game of Snakes and Ladders.
Luck finds its target audience in the adult territory as well - gambling is one example. However given the fact that players don't make any impact on the game state, adults won't feel rewarded if they happen to win a luck based game, so games of this sort won't appeal to them.
Strategy based games as mentioned already, are not good for children, because kids brains aren't developed enough to analyse game play like adults do. Since I'm aiming at the mass market, and kids are the majority of mobile gamers, I'd be inconsiderate if I went to make a strategy based game.
Twitch based games appear to everybody. Kids like to play twitch games, because they enjoy looking at animations and interacting with them. Adults also like twitch games - otherwise there would be no sports.
Conclusion
I have found out the types of skill players can learn, and I know how to make those difficult to master. I have also considered the target audience, and what sort of games appeal to what people. Thanks to the undertaken research I know for sure that all my prototypes will be based on a twitch mechanic.
Bibliography:
Ernst, A., Dormans, J. (2012), Game mechanics : Advanced Game Design, Berkeley: New Riders
M. Tim Jones (2010), Game Design - Theory & Practice, Second Edition, Jones & Bartlett Learning
Brenda Brathwaite and Ian Shreiber (2008), Challenges For Game Designers, Delmar Publishing
Francois Dominic Laramee (2002), Game Design Perspectives, Charles River Media
Strategy based games
Strategy based games are ones which require thoughtful decision making. One great example of a game which purely uses the element of strategic skill are chess - players have full control over the outcome of their turn, and from start to finish no outside elements, like luck are involved.
Examples of decision making in strategy based games:
- Trade-offs - choosing one item, while sacrificing another. There is no right or wrong decision, but each has it's own advantages and disadvantages.
- Dilemmas - all choices will harm the player but the decision has to be made in order to progress.
- Risk versus reward trade-offs - the question that the player asks here isn't 'Which one of these right things do I want?' but rather: 'Will I risk it all for potentially huge payoff or losing the game?'. Players who are in the lead go for the safe options, while players who are behind are more courageous in their decisions, because they want to catch up.
What makes chess so difficult to master?
Emergence
As opposed to progressive games which 'offer many pre-designed challenges that the designer has ordered sequentially, usually through sophisticated level design' (Advanced Game Design, page 24), games of emergence are difficult to predict, because challenges and flow of events are not planned in advance but emerge during play. This increases space of possibility, and the chances of choosing the wrong decision. In chess players get to choose very few decisions at the beginning, but as the game progresses, the amount of decisions vastly increase each move starts to make a significant impact on the final result.
The table above shows that a game that's using emergence could be perfect for my prototypes, since they require small number of rules making them easy to learn, and their space of possibility is large, giving players so many choices to make, that mastering is very difficult to achieve.
Adding a luck mechanic
Another way of making strategy based games more difficult to solve is by adding a luck mechanic to the game.
When random elements exist in a strategic game, there is no longer a strategy that is always right. Some moves have a high chance of failure, but also a potential pay off making them a risky choice, while others are safe, but with a small gain. Since there is uncertainty about the outcome, the decisions become more complicated and thus more compelling. The mix of both, makes the game dramatic, because the player carefully crafts a strategy, but then has to depend on luck to see if the plan succeeds. Having said that, adding luck carefully, can make decision making less predictable and therefore the game will be hard to master.
Twitch based gamesEmergence
As opposed to progressive games which 'offer many pre-designed challenges that the designer has ordered sequentially, usually through sophisticated level design' (Advanced Game Design, page 24), games of emergence are difficult to predict, because challenges and flow of events are not planned in advance but emerge during play. This increases space of possibility, and the chances of choosing the wrong decision. In chess players get to choose very few decisions at the beginning, but as the game progresses, the amount of decisions vastly increase each move starts to make a significant impact on the final result.
The table above shows that a game that's using emergence could be perfect for my prototypes, since they require small number of rules making them easy to learn, and their space of possibility is large, giving players so many choices to make, that mastering is very difficult to achieve.
Adding a luck mechanic
Another way of making strategy based games more difficult to solve is by adding a luck mechanic to the game.
When random elements exist in a strategic game, there is no longer a strategy that is always right. Some moves have a high chance of failure, but also a potential pay off making them a risky choice, while others are safe, but with a small gain. Since there is uncertainty about the outcome, the decisions become more complicated and thus more compelling. The mix of both, makes the game dramatic, because the player carefully crafts a strategy, but then has to depend on luck to see if the plan succeeds. Having said that, adding luck carefully, can make decision making less predictable and therefore the game will be hard to master.
The decisions a player makes in a twitch environment are of a different nature than those in a strategic game. Players still make decisions, but they are being made on more rapid basis that require fast thinking, dexterity and reaction speed. In an FPS for example, the decisions a player makes involve turning and firing.
The mechanics used for twitch type of games are:
- Pure speed - the point is to complete a task as quickly as possible. For example in the Olympics it would be 100 metres sprint.
- Timing - tapping the screen at the right time
- Precision - in Angry Birds, depending on the angle and power of the shot, different outcomes take place, so precision matters
- Avoidance - making sure the character does not touch incoming obstacles such as enemy bullets
- Time pressure - as opposed to pure speed, time pressure doesn't necessarily force the player to complete the task as quickly as possible (although it might), but instead do it within a time limit.
With twitch skill based games, the 'hard to master' element is more straightforward:
'Human reaction time can continue improving over time forever' (Challenges for Game Designers, page 88)
Since I'm planning on having one mechanic in my prototypes, there's a high chance that with a twitch mechanic the game will either quickly become boring, or it'll be so difficult to master, that players will be left frustrated. This is when I should use tuning as a way of keeping a healthy balance within the gameplay.
The flow diagram above shows that if you make the game too difficult too quickly, it'll frustrate the player. On the other hand if you take too much time with increasing game's difficulty, players become bored. Keeping balance between both is what's putting them in the - what every designer wants - flow state.
Some tuning are:
- Difficulty levels - having an easy, medium, and hard difficulty options, allows players of different skill to play the game
- Dynamic difficulty adjustment - the difficulty changes during gameplay depending on how skilled the player is
- Difficulty curves - games which get progressively harder as they carry on
Considering target audience
Although purely luck based games seem like nonsense, they actually do have a target audience - children, since their level of strategic skill is not developed due to lack of interest (kids don't like games where they need to think), they will however enjoy playing something that requires very little input from them (throwing a dice) which provides an output which gives an equal chance of winning to all the people who participate A 4 year old girl from Newcastle can win against Stephen Hawking in a game of Snakes and Ladders.
Luck finds its target audience in the adult territory as well - gambling is one example. However given the fact that players don't make any impact on the game state, adults won't feel rewarded if they happen to win a luck based game, so games of this sort won't appeal to them.
Strategy based games as mentioned already, are not good for children, because kids brains aren't developed enough to analyse game play like adults do. Since I'm aiming at the mass market, and kids are the majority of mobile gamers, I'd be inconsiderate if I went to make a strategy based game.
Twitch based games appear to everybody. Kids like to play twitch games, because they enjoy looking at animations and interacting with them. Adults also like twitch games - otherwise there would be no sports.
Conclusion
I have found out the types of skill players can learn, and I know how to make those difficult to master. I have also considered the target audience, and what sort of games appeal to what people. Thanks to the undertaken research I know for sure that all my prototypes will be based on a twitch mechanic.
Bibliography:
Ernst, A., Dormans, J. (2012), Game mechanics : Advanced Game Design, Berkeley: New Riders
M. Tim Jones (2010), Game Design - Theory & Practice, Second Edition, Jones & Bartlett Learning
Brenda Brathwaite and Ian Shreiber (2008), Challenges For Game Designers, Delmar Publishing
Francois Dominic Laramee (2002), Game Design Perspectives, Charles River Media
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