Stop Using Score – Rethinking Traditional Game Design
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Alex Rose, Lead Developer, Alex Rose Games Casting a critical eye on classic game design features like Score, Health, Ammo, Lives, and Crafting.We’ll analyze when these features actually create fun gameplay and, more importantly, determine when to avoid them.
![Stop Using Score [exclamation mark]
AKA: No one wants to play your
space tower defence game
@AlexRoseGames](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/stopusingscoreexclamationmark-180228121356/85/Stop-Using-Score-Rethinking-Traditional-Game-Design-1-320.jpg)
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Stop Using Score – Rethinking Traditional Game Design
- 1. Stop Using Score [exclamation mark] AKA: No one wants to play your space tower defence game @AlexRoseGames
- 2. About me • I’m a serial game jammer • Been making games for 2 decades • Obsessive about player feedback • I apparently know what I’m talking about • But don’t take my word for it
- 4. Most games aren’t fun • They follow rigid formulae. • This isn’t necessary a problem. • You’re just following the wrong formulae.
- 5. Score suuuucks • Score is a relic of arcade game design • Arcade games were designed to take money from people. • Scoreboards kept people playing. • People playing = $$$$$
- 6. Score encourages mundane behaviour • Encourages you to stand around repeating the same task to make a number go up. • Doesn’t affect game progress. • Generally measures time sacrificed, rather than skill.
- 7. Alternatives • Time • Rank
- 8. Perfects
- 10. You know what else sucks?
- 11. Fixed Health • Don’t put an economy on health. • Punishes players for mistakes they made ages ago. • Ultimate aim is to kill the player.
- 12. Alternatives • One hit deaths: • If you’re gonna kill them, just kill them. • Balance your game around that.
- 13. Recharging health! • This is why Halo changed everything.
- 14. Just don’t use health? • Use your imagination! • Stun them. • Put them back to the previous checkpoint.
- 15. EXCEPTIONS • Round based games
- 16. MORE EXCEPTIONS • Games with healers
- 17. You know what else sucks?
- 18. Depletion of ammo/mana/items • Encourages players to run around smashing pots. • Best case scenario, there’s so much ammo available there was no point in limiting it.
- 19. Worst case scenario, they have to LEAVE A DUNGEON TO GO SHOPPING. • WHAT EVEN WAS THIS DUNGEON
- 20. Alternatives: Just.. don’t • Hookshot is the same as arrows.. but with infinite ammo. So why does Zelda need ammo? • Balance your DPS. • Make the player slow and visible with OP weaponry.
- 21. Notable Exceptions • Team games where limiting ammo slows RELATIVE progress
- 22. • Most FPS only let you have two weapons. • Halo could have limited ammo and fix balance with recoil, lowered shields, slow movement. • In fact, this is the worst part of Halo, when you only have a pistol left.
- 23. You know what else sucks?
- 24. Lives • LIVES ARE TO MAKE YOU PAY MORE MONEY. • CONTINUES DON’T BELONG ON A HOME CONSOLE
- 25. Virtual Console • Removes • Perma • Gameovers • From • Badly • Designed • NES • Games • And • Lets • You • Keep • Playing So does this
- 26. Alternatives: • Make more fucking content so you don’t have to threaten the player. • Make your game more fun so they will replay of their own volition.
- 28. Don’t steal my ideas
- 29. Exceptions • Roguelikes EMBRACE perma death. • Games with random content
- 30. You know what else sucks?
- 31. Crafting • YOU DON’T NEED A CRAFTING SYSTEM. • STOP IT.
- 32. No one is going to work this shit out
- 33. They do this • Do you want your players to spend the first hour of your game looking at a wiki?
- 34. Alternatives • Shopping. • SOUL BLADES.
- 35. More alternatives! • UPGRADE AT NPCS • UPGRADE THROUGH PROGRESSION
- 36. Exceptions • M(M)ORPGs with ingame economies
- 37. Other exception • You aren’t going to make the next minecraft, stop it.
- 38. You know what else sucks?
- 39. SKILL TREES • They close off end game content if you make the wrong decisions early. • So you either get punished.. or spend your first half an hour reading wikis and skill descriptions.
- 40. Why? • You are limiting your player. You are forcing them to replay to enjoy the game. • Let them grind one character.
- 41. Auto-tree them • Take the decision out of their hands. • Give them skills based on what they prioritise ingame.
- 42. Exceptions • MMOs (for balance) • Roguelites
- 43. Conclusion! • Don’t add features that aren’t fun. • THINK ABOUT YOUR SYSTEMS. DESIGN YOUR GAME AROUND YOUR SYSTEMS. • IF YOU DON’T NEED IT, DON’T ADD IT. • THESE SYSTEMS RESTRICT THE PLAYER, THEY DON’T PROVIDE CONTENT. • MAKE BETTER GAMES • GO IN PEACE TO LOVE AND SERVE
- 44. Rose out • @Alexrosegames on Twitter • Go play Super Rude Bear Resurrection lol