Big Game Project #3 – Game feature challenge focus

When creating features for a game, one should always consider the aesthetic goal of the game. However sometimes a features need to be deliberately designed so that they do not pose a challenge to the player. Some features just need to be easy to use.

Me and a group of six other people presented a game at the Gotland Game Conference 2015, Tamarrion, a hardcore action role playing game. During development of this game we designed features such as our player skill/spell system. This feature was more focused on giving the player full control of the player avatar than supporting the hardcore challenges of the game.

The challenge of the game was supposed to revolve around avoiding to take health damage from enemy attacks and to use player skills/spells in a certain order and by doing so gain specific special bonus abilities. Almost all other features were designed to help the player, like giving the player a freedom of movement and control.

One could argue that the player movement, player skill and enemy attack features need to be balanced together and the dynamic of these features create the challenge of the game. It is just a matter of perspective. What ever perspective one has when designing challenges, I think that it’s a good thing to keep in mind that some features should not challenge the player at all.