Sid Meier's Interesting Decisions
Description
In this 2012 GDC session, Firaxis Games' Sid Meier examines what types and categories of decisions are inherently interesting in the process of game design.
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My Notes
- 00:46: "A game is a series of interesting decisions." - Sid Meier, GDC 1989
- 01:33: a series of: this speaks to the pacing of the game (fast/slow)
- 02:01: interesting decisions:
- It's probably easier to find what is not and interesting decision.
- Example: If player always chooses A, then that's not very interesting. Either you should give the player a reason to not choose A, or you should just automatically choose A for the player and move on.
- It's probably easier to find what is not and interesting decision.
- âť“: 03:06: Really? Are all games a series of interesting decisions?
- This isn't necessarily a philosophy that applies to every game, but it is certainly useful for most games.
- 03:46: How do we use this idea of interesting decisions?
- this is one way to find the fun.
Characteristics of Interesting Decisions
- Tradeoffs
- Situational: The decision is highly dependent upon your current situation.
- Might be a good decision in one situation, but a bad decision in another situation
- Personal: tied to the player's gaming style
- cautious vs. aggressive vs. stealthy
- Persistence: How long the decision affects the game play
- long-term vs. short term
- long-term decisions should inform the player of the ramifications beforehand.
- long-term vs. short term
Types of decisions
- Risk vs. reward
- short term vs. long term
- 15:06: One of the strengths of Civ is that you always want just one more turn. This happens because there are short/medium/long-term goals. At any given moment there are unresolved goals that make you want to continue.
- play style, personality
- e.g. turtle/cozy vs. rush
- 17:49: Customization, Self-Expression, Aesthetics
- e.g. In Civ you can name your cities. This doesn't affect gameplay other than aesthetics.
- But it's still valuable to the gaming experience because it allows the player to feel emotionally invested in the game play.
- e.g. In Civ you can name your cities. This doesn't affect gameplay other than aesthetics.
Information
- 18:37: Setting the scene: Think about what info does the player have before making the decision?
- it's dangerous to assume the player knows the same things as the designer.
- 21:03: There is a learning curve to your game.
- As the player gains more skill/experience, there is a difference to the amount and kind of info that they need
- 21:45: Use genre conventions to your advantage.
- Players know some of how your game works already because they have experience with other games in the same genre.
- So by following the genre conventions, there is less that the player needs to learn because they already learned it.
- But then add more. Don't just follow the conventions or that will feel boring.
- Reinforce the genre conventions. Let your mechanics follow the player's expectations.
- You can break some of these conventions, but make sure your player knows that this part is different.
- Players know some of how your game works already because they have experience with other games in the same genre.
Giving Feedback to the Player
- 25:06: What information/feedback results from the player making that decision?
Getting Feedback From the Players
- 28:38 You should be getting a feedback loop
- constant iteration of your design, playtesting, etc.
- Listening to the different kinds of players:
- 30:14: Mr. Kick-Butt:
- likes a challenge
- If they won the game, they like it. If they lost, then they hate it.
- 31:34: Ms. Genre:
- Loves a specific genre. Dislikes any deviations from that genre.
- 32:32: Mr. MinMax:
- Is looking for the optimal game strategy.
- 33:27: Ms. Paranoid:
- Is convinced that the computer is always cheating against them.
- 30:14: Mr. Kick-Butt:
Transcript
Sid Meier's Interesting Decisions
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On this page
Description
My Notes
Characteristics of Interesting Decisions
Types of decisions
Information
Giving Feedback to the Player
Getting Feedback From the Players
Transcript