XII - Chance Verse Skill

Chance in a game

Most games contain some factors that are random or not repeatable, that is because they are an important aspect to most games. Games with a focus on luck, are easier to approach for casual gamers as they do not have to put as much effort into finding the patterns of skill to the game, in short, it allows a game to be learned a lot faster. 

Even though the game is harder if at all possible to be mastered, so long as the gameplay does not become to overly repetitive or boring to the player, they will continue to play on and try to do as well as possible with their limited control over the game. This is due to the chance to luckily score high even though there is the possibility of playing for an extended period of time and get nothing, there is also the chance to play for a short period of time and get everything all along with minimal effort.

Delay or Prevent solvability 

A game is solvable if the possibility space is known ahead of time and can be exploited. Of course it can built into a game for the illusion of control, you can think that if you do X and then Y you will come the end of the game, but with chance there is the option that you will not get X when you aim for it and thus you must try again. Once a player solves a game, the game loses its uncertain outcome, its struggle. Chance eliminates some of this loss by making each game a different kind of struggle, whether it gets easier or harder the next play through, it is still different to the previous game.

Making game-play competitive for all players

Introducing these random elements into a competitive game, for example Mario Kart and the semi random items you receive, gives every player a chance to win, while also allowing the other players to blame bad luck for losing. Luck in a competitive game adds variety and prevents absolute mastery of the game, you can be perfect at the game, but if luck is you against you then no matter how could you are, you still have that chance of losing. The level of excitement or tension created by chance increases in direct proportion to how much you have riding on the results, since there are unknown elements the decisions become more complicated and compelling to make.

Mechanics of chance

·         Dice

o   Always random, each roll could be anything

o   Probability to a X, not a certainty

·         Cards

o   Set amount of cards in a game

o   Revealing a card effects probability of other cards in the game

o   Probability resets on collection

·         Pseudo-RNG

o   Not true random – factored in by a code, close enough 

·         Hidden info

o   Easy for a player to get confused and frustrated

o   Understand the games mechanics allows a player to attempt to track what is going on – i.e. fog of war, league of legends – not knowing what type of enemy your going up against when choosing your fighter

·         Chance and Skill

o   Measured randomness, nature of random elements are unknown and can be planned by the player. 

Elements of Strategic skill

‘We play games and enjoy the process because we are seeking to master the pattern in the game’ Ralph Koster – A Theory of Fun for Games Design

A good game is a series of interesting decisions, whether you plan on your next or not, you always decide on what to do now, chance decides a lot of your moves but there are always decisions to be made by the player. 

Types of decisions

·         Obvious Decisions

o   Clear choice to make for your benefit

o   Automating obvious decisions give room for the player to make the exciting ones

o   Add tension 2 obvious decisions makes them more interesting

·         Meaningless decisions

o   Usually better to eliminate entirely

o   Narrative with no game change, just story / aesthetic

·         Blind decisions

o   No information to base the choice on

·         Trade-off

o   Choose one or the other, cannot have both

·         Dilemma

o   Always at a loss

o   Only chose which loss is better for you

o   Effect how much of a loss it is 

·         Risk versus reward trade-offs

o   Make small safe moves

§  Low rewards

o   Make risky moves

§  Big rewards

Skill in a game enhances choice by giving the player control over what is happening. It allows the player to gather the information available and then make decisions based on the options available. Random chance can make a game feel unfair and frustrating, or boring as the player has no control over what happens. This is because pure chance doesn't have any interesting decision-making without some form of skill behind the decision.

Mechanics of skill

·         Trade-offs

o   Spend resources wisely

·         Purchase

o   Same as a trade-off

·         Limited abilities

o   One time use only

·         Dynamic abilities

o   Recharge over time

·         Explicit choice

o   Choose one or the other

·         Negotiation

o   Includes meta-game

o   Interaction skills

Overall, I think it is clear that a little bit of both is required for a successful game. An entirely tactical game can be extremely over bearing on a player, limiting its target audience to a select few hard-core gamers, while on the other hand a game based entirely on luck would be unfair to a player and eventually the player would find themselves getting bored and giving up. A good mix of the two makes things a lot more exciting and sustains gameplay over a longer period of time.

';..;'
SM – iHK