Balancing for Skill - The Link from Optimal Power to Strategy - Extra Credits
Why Game Development Stack Exchange recommends it
Game Development Stack Exchange users link it when discussing how to balance items, weapons and mechanics for players of all skill levels, not just expert ones.
Recommended by 0 people across 0 different months, 2014 to 2015.
What it is
An Extra Credits episode on designing games for players of different skill levels, using Call of Duty and its "noobtube" as an example of how a game can level the field between beginners and veterans. It is a short animated explainer that links balance decisions to optimal power and player strategy.
What people said
Cites Kaslai · 2014-07 · Game Development Stack Exchange · on “How do Action RPGs make different weapon types feel unique?”
A problem that all game designers face Games need to engage their players. In general, a game can be broken down into two dimensions. Depth, and required knowledge. There is generally a positive relationship between depth and engagement with the players, however depth is usually accompanied by additional required knowledge. There is a mostly negative relationship between burden of knowledge and player engagement and retention. Requiring that the player learn some things in order to play your game is fine, however things can get out of hand quite fast. Just look at the genre of fighting games. One must learn a large number of button combos just to be considered competent at the game. It can g
Cites K.L. · 2014-12 · Game Development Stack Exchange · on “Balancing a game about gladiatorial robot combat”
in a "stand in front of eachother and beat over the robot head" scenario, the +500% dmg item wins, but then again in a real match a clever speed/range player could probably kite the enemy and get a flawless victory. Also, the items should be balanced not only for perfect players, but for players of all skill levels. Please refer to the exctra creditz cast: [this video]
Cites Theraot · 2015-12 · Game Development Stack Exchange · on “How do I make educational games engaging not boring?”
Consider: "How do I make educational games engaging (and) not boring?" Everything that can be used to make a game engaging in general - and there is a lot to do - should apply to educational games too. The matter is that if you set to create an educational games you are placing upon you an extra set of constraints that may make it hard to desing engaging game mechanics. Yet, not knowing the gnre, I gotta cover from cooperative to competitive, from single player to massive multiplyer... so, gotta go the abstracts and the generalizations. To see how to make games engaging, go back and look at how individuals play. Not just video games (and not just humans). A common theme of all play time is m