![]() The chase sequence through the crazy tornado storm.The two most clever rests I can think of in that movie are: ![]() Commonly described by reviewers as “a two hour long chase scene” – the movie nonetheless does a masterful job of balancing rest time for the viewers without destroying the forward momentum that makes that movie so great to watch. Pacing is the ratio of Intensity to Rest over the course of a segment of your game.Ī great example of good pacing can be seen in the recent film Mad Max: Fury Road. Note that Intensity does not compare multiple players or various games to each other – it only takes into account one specific game and one specific player, namely: The player who is currently playing your game. Intensity measures the difference between Level 1 and Level 2 in terms of how hard it was for a given player. “Subjective difference” is used to mean “the view from inside the player.” For example, let’s say I created two levels (1 and 2), where the second level was supposed to be more Difficult than the first.Ī pro gamer, a novice, or my dad would each have different subjective experiences of how hard those levels were, but if I’ve done my job right they would all agree that Level 2 is more Difficult than Level 1. Intensity – The subjective difference in complexity or required skill between different parts of the same game. ![]() IntensityĮarly in the design process, I care most about how hard my content will be compared to the content that surrounds it. In this early-on phase of design, though, I don’t find it particularly useful to think about how objectively hard my content will be. “Objective difference” is used to mean “the view from outside the player.” It is externally comparative.ĭifficulty is a very important aspect of game design, and I don’t want you to think I’m ignoring it. Further, you’d be able to rank the players’ comparative skill in those areas, like with a leaderboard.ĭifficulty: The objective difference in complexity or required skill between multiple games or player s. For example, if you measure, say, how long it takes different players to complete various levels and record how many times they died, you can know whether Level 1 in your game can be said to be objectively harder or easier than Level 1 in another game (at least in terms of those two things you’re measuring). It measures the difference between players. “Difficulty”, as I use it, doesn’t really measure how hard content is for any given player. It’s just necessary that you understand how I’m using it here to avoid potential confusion. As with everything else in this series, I’m not doing this to imply that my way is somehow better or more correct. Difficultyįirst off, I’m going to be using the term “Difficulty” a little differently than most people do – and I want to be clear up front that it’s not what I’m talking about when I talk about Intensity. I’ll be developing these concepts further next week when I talk about how knowing about these helps you decide what Archetypes go in a Setup (see the previous article for more about Archetypes and Setups).īefore diving into the guts of this piece, I need to define a couple of terms. This week I’m going to introduce the subjects of “Intensity” and “Ramps,” which I’ll define later on. Setups: Variously-sized groups of Archetypes, all combined together to ask the player a unique Question. The players’ job is to answer those questions using the Tools you give them.Īrchetypes: Very typical examples of one of the extreme boundaries of your game’s design. Principle #1: As a game designer, your job is to ask your players Questions. ![]() The Big Principle: A game is fundamentally a conversation between the designer and the player. (Previous article) | (Next Article) Important Points from Previous Articles Once I finish this series, I’ll focus on some more practical applications of this stuff. The purpose of these articles is not as much to provide a hands-on practical approach – just to explain how I do stuff. This is one part in a series of articles that will attempt to explain how I think when I design.
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