Level Up.pdf

338 LEVEL 12 The Nuts and Bolts of Mechanics
NO DROPPING ROCKS ON THE
PLAYER ’ S HEAD 3
Instant death hazards just suck. They are
cheap and mean - spirited. If the player is going
to die because of a hazard, let them die
because they didn ’ t pay attention or get the
timing right. Make them realize it was their fault
they died, not because the designer decided
they needed to die. Death is never a good way
to educate the player. It just makes the player
frustrated and sad.
The secret to balancing great video game
design is knowing this:
Diffi culty = promotes pain and loss.
Challenge = promotes skill and improvement.
A difficult game does whatever it can to punish the player. A challenging
game confronts the player with obstacles that can be overcome with skill
and knowledge. I believe a challenging game is much more rewarding than
a difficult one.
Some gamers absolutely love difficult games. The list of ridiculously difficult
games could fill this entire chapter: Demon ’ s Souls, the Ninja Gaiden
series, Contra, Ikaruga, Shinobi, Devil May Cry 3, the Ghosts ‘ n Goblins
series, Defender, Battletoads. I admit, it is quite an accomplishment to
finish a difficult game, but those that do are in the minority. If you want
players to play your game to completion, then your game needs to be
challenging, not difficult.
When I first started designing video games, I would refer to the balance
between challenge and difficulty as the “fun curve. ” There is a point in the
game where things have ceased to be challenging and drop straight into
difficult and frustrating. The goal was to never “ go over the fun curve. ” Years
later, I learned there was an actual psychological theory about the fun curve
called “fl ow. ” We’ ll get to flow in a moment.
My key to keep players from “ going over the fun curve ” is to create
ramping gameplay. A designer must build one gameplay system upon the
last, teaching the player a new move and how to master it against
mechanics and enemies. These gameplay elements are combined and
gently intensify as the game progresses. But I ’ m getting ahead of myself. If
3 I mean that figuratively as well as literally.