GDEV20-05-PlayerSkill.pdf

Player Skill "In virtute sunt multi ascensus." - Cicero Lecture Time! Skill: Mechanic Skill VS Chance: Back and forth Head VS Hands: When is button-mashing “brainless”? Competition VS Cooperation: Survival Skill as Mechanic Most video games focus on skill Unlike most board/card ga...

Player Skill "In virtute sunt multi ascensus." - Cicero Lecture Time! Skill: Mechanic Skill VS Chance: Back and forth Head VS Hands: When is button-mashing “brainless”? Competition VS Cooperation: Survival Skill as Mechanic Most video games focus on skill Unlike most board/card games, which focus on chance This shifts the focus away from the game and onto the player Skill as Mechanic Some rules require a certain type/level of player skill Can’t progress until you “git gud” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CDII3FCUkAAmqLM.jpg Skill Categories Physical Mental Social Physical Skill Involves strength, dexterity, coordination, physical endurance, etc. Especially important in sports (or video games where your movement is tracked) Isekai Quartet, episode 9 Mental Skill Involves memory, observation, puzzle solving, etc. Almost all games require mental skill in the form of decision-making We Never Learn, episode 4 Social Skill Involves reading an opponent, fooling an opponent, coordination with allies, etc. Communication, concealing your thoughts, and guessing others’ thoughts Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, episode 9 Real VS Virtual Skill as game mechanic refers to real skill, which the player must have Not to be confused with virtual skill, which the player character has or the player pretends to have Virtual skill can be improved even if player’s real skill does not Real VS Virtual A fun game has the right mix of real and virtual skills Too much emphasis on real skill can limit a game’s accessibility Virtual skill can give a feeling of power, but can feel hollow Isekai Quartet, episode 11 Skill Requirements? Some skills may be used to compensate for others As a result, the intended experience might not match the actual experience “Quick thinking” = memorization of spawn locations? “One-man army” = stealthily taking down one enemy at a time? Skill VS Chance Skill and chance are opposing forces in any game design Too much of one will negate the other Designing for one or the other will depend on preference of target audience Learning with Manga! FGO Skill VS Chance Games of skill are systems of judgment Competitive multiplayer = “Who is the best among us?” Generally = “git gud or get rekt” A Certain Magical Index III, episode 1 Skill VS Chance Games of chance tend to be of a more relaxed and casual nature Rolling dice is (arguably) less stressful than timing a jump Increased likelihood of “you just got lucky, let’s have another go” Balancing Skill and Chance To determine player preference, you need to understand target audience Age, gender, culture, etc. Or you could resort to the common method of alternating the use of chance and skill in your game Balancing Skill and Chance Cards drawn (chance) and how to play those cards (skill) Roll dice for number of moves (chance) and deciding where to move (skill) Character/item gacha (chance?) and optimizing equipment assignment (skill) Chance to crit/hit/dodge (chance) repositioning to maximize chances (skill?) Balancing Skill and Chance Key to addictive game design is designing your game such that players are doing these three things at all times: Exercising a real skill Facing off against chance or uncertainty in some way (even if RNG isn't involved) Working a strategy Head VS Hands How much of the game should involve challenging physical activity? Steering, throwing items, pushing buttons, etc. How much of the game should involve thinking? Solving puzzles, finding patterns, etc. Head VS Hands Not as separate as many (non-gamers) believe Many games involve constant strategizing and puzzle solving while simultaneously pulling off feats of speed and dexterity Head VS Hands Platformer with puzzles Figuring out a boss' weakness but only having a short time to capitalize on it Rhythm roguelikes ARPGs Balancing Head and Hands Again, look at target audience Or you can “mix it up” a little: Would adding situations requiring puzzle solving make the game more interesting? Would adding parts where game can be played without thinking be appreciated? Can the player be given a choice? Competition VS Cooperation Survival of the fittest, social edition Competition = social status, hone skills Cooperation = diversity, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, episode 8 Competition VS Cooperation Both were and still are important to our survival in real life as individuals and communities We compete to get better at it and to learn about others in the community...... so that we learn who is good at what and how we can work together when we need to cooperate Competition VS Cooperation Games provide a socially safe way to compete and/or cooperate We play games together to explore how others behave in “stressful” situations Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, episode 3 Competition VS Cooperation If player skill is not fairly measured by the game, then winning might not be something to be proud of Can novices compete with experts? Can experts guarantee their victory? Competition VS Cooperation Can players communicate, especially if they're strangers? Are there situations where cooperation is required, where it is impossible for an individual to do a task alone? Would the game benefit from a task that forces communication and therefore encourages cooperation? Competition VS Cooperation Is there synergy, or is there antergy? Synergy provides incentive to work as a team, but could force players into specific roles Antergy results in players doing their own thing, but could make players consider changing their roles Balancing Competition and Cooperation Target audience, blahblahblah Team competition provides opportunities for both But does team competition make sense? Is solo competition more fun? Can the player be given a choice? Do We Have a Choice? Given a target audience (or a certain sponsor), design trade-offs and skill requirements might already be a foregone conclusion Even if a game provides a wide variety of activities, game balance might force players to improve certain skills in order to progress Reminder Up next: Making decisions interesting