Well, thanks to my friend Patrick, I've found myself digging deeper into the gaming world. I have bit the bullet and began playing League of Legends. With it, I have begun to recognize some important components of game design. Comparing it against some other games that I have played, I have noticed something interesting.
A lot can happen in one second.
League of Legends is packed with spells and actions that last only one second. Some of the unique spells can last as long as 3.5 seconds. Now this doesn't seem like a long time to those outside the game, but in League, 3.5 seconds can be an eternity. What we see in this game is how much can be packed into a few seconds.
One of my first, and still favorite champions, is a girl named Annie. She builds a stun that lasts 1.75 seconds. In that time, games can be won or lost. Her spells allow for plenty of damage in a short time, and in a team fight, if you catch a few champions with it, an entire team can be wiped out. But look again, that's not even two seconds. What this illustrates is how important managing the flow of a fight can be. Riot, the company that develops League, makes its players capitalize on the short bit of time that is given to them.
In gaming, the flow of the game is crucial. The players need to feel in control at all times. In Annie's case, her stun takes away that control and can change up how the game plays. Many other champions have similar abilities. Another champion of mine, Morgana, has a spell that holds opponents in place, though they can still attack. The two are used in different ways to change the game. To players, time is essential.
As a facet of game design, understanding how players use the time and the breaks you give them is necessary to getting to the heart of how your game is played. If there is wasted time, or time that is used unfairly, the player feels cheated. Look at Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Nintendo Wii and 3DS. This game shows how time can be used incorrectly. In some levels, platforms fall from the sky. When I was playing, I noticed that there were times I had to wait for the platform to fall because I had made it to the section faster than the developers had anticipated. Because of this, I had to wait for one or two seconds for the next to fall. For me, this broke my flow in those levels and sometimes ended up causing me to fail. Instead of rewarding the player for reaching an area faster, he or she is punished with either wasted time, or if they tried to continue early, failure. The developers did not understand how time influenced their players.
While there is a major difference between MOBAs like League and Platformers like Donkey Kong, the same principle holds to each. Time is a resource for the player and when they can't use it like they want, there is an issue. This isn't to say that the player should always be allowed to do as they please when they please, it is important to note that they should never feel like their investment is being ignored. In League, when a stun or other spell influences their play, they know that the developers knew how long it would take and thus they can relax a little. It wasn't the game just wasting time, there was a reason. Donkey Kong could take some notes.
I'm sure that I could spin this idea into some life lessons, but we'll leave that for another day.
Just something to chew on.
PS. I've started another blog called Pipes and Poetry as a place to just throw around some new writing. It is mostly just emotion and whatever I happen to be feeling, so don't give it too much credence as I write. It's more for me than anything else.
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