fairness
Players expect their games to behave according to certain conventions - fairly. Unfair games are games which impose contraints upon players who have not accepted them. Unfairness is the main cause of frustration in a game - an unfair and easy game will be much more frustrating than a difficult but fair game.
Associated articles:
Articles
About Grand Theft Auto -
11 April 2006.
From its humble beginnings to the most awaited game in 2004, the GTA series is probably one of the most influential - and controversial - licenses in videogaming. Let’s discuss why.
An analysis of Pandemic’s Mercenaries -
8 June 2006.
Fair games -
13 December 2005.
New Super Mario Bros. -
6 September 2006.
In this analysis of this Nintendo instant-classic, we’ll focus on:
how the game addresses casual and expert players,
game design choices that ensure that the game is always fair,
and finally, can there be a newer Super Mario Bros?
how the game addresses casual and expert players,
game design choices that ensure that the game is always fair,
and finally, can there be a newer Super Mario Bros?
Random and trial-and-error gameplay -
23 June 2006.
The use of random and trial-and-error gameplay are among the design choices that can make games unfair. It is still ok to use them, but only in specific situations and in any case, the player must be aware of that and not be taken by surprise.
Some thoughts on Resident Evil 4 - Revolution or Evolution? -
26 April 2006.
Capcom’s presented the latest instalment of the Resident Evil series as a revolution, as something completely new. In fact, it is rather an evolution: an intelligent answer to a well-defined problem.
Tension -
3 January 2006.
- Just providing game content is not enough to keep players interested, especially as games become shorter and easier.
- Tension is an attempt to make each game moment a fine experience and to keep players into the game.
- There are several ways to incite players to keep playing, such as skill, story, diversity and rewards.
What’s a good game, anyway? -
14 November 2005.
This article describes a quality framework to evaluate a game as early as possible in its lifecycle.