Variety Pack

I am, however, a Dungeon Master.

There was a time I wished I could be a game designer. Several unfinished projects later, and I am reasonably confident that I lack the patience and dedication for the job, but I still like to learn about game design and study the mechanics that make my favourite games so fun. If I am not cut out for actually building a game, though, what motivates me to absorb this kind of info? Well, apart from the whole inherent-curious-nature thing, I feel that being informed about why I am having fun with a given game makes me better able to predict whether a new game will also be fun, in turn informing my choices at the game shop.

I love first-person shooters: they are straightforward, intuitive, and yet never seem to get old or lack for gameplay potential in the form of different weapons, enemies, and tactical demands. The "first-person" part, however, I could take or leave. Pulling the game out to a third person perspective, even if it is as tight a view as directly over the character model's shoulder, does wonders for the player's peripheral vision and spatial awareness, and in no way inhibits the basic mechanics of aiming and shooting. It also opens up possibilities for gameplay types that normally demand the third person perspective, and gives the player a chance to enjoy the appearance of their character, all at little or no cost.

A transparent mechanic is one that allows the player to effectively reduce their actions to simple math or logic, being able to calculate either the optimal move, or at least the odds of achieving a desired outcome for any given action. Opaque mechanics raise the demands of computation beyond the reasonable ability of a player, forcing them to play based on the 'feel' of their actions. Neither type is always better than the other, but frustration can arise from translucent mechanics: when odds or optimal moves can be computed, but the calculations are disproportionately slow and annoying relative to the benefit they provide. Players are left frustrated, either because of the delay or having to guess in order to keep up the flow.

As a child, I thought that games were all meant to be simulations of one entertaining experience or another, so I was of a mind that the more accurate the simulation, the better the game. A realistic experience, I thought, was therefore better than a well-crafted though more blatantly fake one. And why not? Being in a believable situation facilitates immersion, and can be a big part of the fun – but reality is also unfair, harsh, cumbersome and even boring. Realism is even more problematic in tabletop games, where it is often achieved by burdening the player with complex rules and/or extensive math. Unless you happen to be a simulationist gamer, it pays to be wary of games that sacrifice your fun in favour of authenticity.