distributedlife

The way gamers purchase and play games has and is changing. The concepts of open source software and free social resources like wikipedia have crept into the gaming industry. There are games that are free to play but if you want additional benefits like cool mounts, nice gear or the ability to pwn other player you need to fork over some buckazoids.

As a game designer I am reviled by the concept. How can one let external circumstances influence the internals of the game. This is like playing chess where you’re opponent is wealthy in real life so all his pawns are queens. It’s basically creating an in-game caste system. Oh you’re from a poor family, sorry, you are not allowed to win.

Game designers spend a lot of time trying to balance their games. What does this mean? When you have a game there is often more than one way to achieve a goal. Take for instance a boxing game where there are two boxers. A red robot and a blue robot. Lets say that the red robot has the ability to punch harder than the blue robot. The blue robot has the advantage that it can punch more quickly. Both robots can block.

The game designer will spend countless hours working with testers and play testers to ensure that both robots can win from a level start point. It’s up to the players to employ tactics within the rules to influence the outcome.

Many games are susceptible to external influences, some more subtly than others. Online multiplayer deathmatch has always been difficult for the player with the largest lag. There are many gamers that will not play PvP games because they are not located near a server geographically. This influences their ability to play and therefore the outcome.

Many games have problems where unscrupulous players will employ automated player agents (bots) to enhance their performance. Steroids for gamers essentially. These enhancement break the rules of the game causing an unfair imbalance.

Why is all this a problem?

Firstly it promotes the concept that you can win if you have enough external influences (money). This is bad. Sure this is how it works in real life but games are not about real life. Games have the ability to create a universe where the rules are fixed and fair, the starting point is the same for all involved and the player that wins is the person who plays the game the best.

More importantly though, games are about fun and entertainment. When you take the fun out and remove the player’s ability to enjoy the experience there is no point to the game. When games resemble real life they are called simulations.

Designing games that are balanced, with rules that are fair is hard enough without exacerbating the problem by allowing external influences. It undoes all your hard work and negatively impacts all those players that are playing within the spirit of the game.