Gameplay Help

One of the downsides of designing so many original games is that the players don't know how to play them. Most games are variations on previous designs, so the players have a pretty good idea of how to play before they even fire up the game. Not so with my unconventional designs; players are often at a loss to figure out what's going on and what they should be doing. Therefore, since Patton Versus Rommel, all of my games have sported some sort of intelligent help facility. In most cases, I simply supplied some of the AI routines to the player. For example, the geometric AI for Patton Versus Rommel traced and measured the robustness of the front line; this measurement could be fed back to the player as a warning that the front line was growing ragged. In Siboot, I built special routines that measured the effectiveness of conversation in altering NPC's attitudes toward the player. If the player was making little progress, I presented a warning that the conversation was dull and needed some livening up.

For the second edition of Balance of Power, I extended the concept. Four advisors presented opinions to the player on crucial issues, and each advisor had a known bias. The player had to assess all the opinions of all the advisors to make a considered judgment.

Lastly, with Patton Strikes Back, I took the system even further. I built extensive analysis routines that examined a wide variety of issues: supply lines, robustness of the player's front lines, proper use of terrain, and so forth. These routines were not part of the AI system. I built them solely to provide the player with hints on how to play. If the player asked for advice, the help system invariably offered pertinent and intelligent advice.



Chris Crawford on Game Design
Chris Crawford on Game Design
ISBN: 0131460994
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 248

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