design_blog
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design_blog [2019/02/06 17:28] conan Added Conan's Design Blog on Balance |
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| The way we designed the game, we wanted to grant advantages to characters that align strongly with our briefs for how the game world works, as an encouragement to “play to type”. We also wanted to give advantages to players who go the extra mile to create something cool and interesting - by working with them to add it to the system or giving them some rule advantages for creating something so impressive. Balancing these advantages out conventionally would override this philosophy, so we just…...didn’t. | The way we designed the game, we wanted to grant advantages to characters that align strongly with our briefs for how the game world works, as an encouragement to “play to type”. We also wanted to give advantages to players who go the extra mile to create something cool and interesting - by working with them to add it to the system or giving them some rule advantages for creating something so impressive. Balancing these advantages out conventionally would override this philosophy, so we just…...didn’t. | ||
| - | == A Balance By Any Other Name == | + | === A Balance By Any Other Name === |
| When designing OSLRP, we expanded the definitions of what balance meant beyond pure game mechanics. We included two other balancing methods - Balancing by Culture, and Balancing by Physrep. When we consider any new game element it is in the context of these elements as well as by the raw mechanics. | When designing OSLRP, we expanded the definitions of what balance meant beyond pure game mechanics. We included two other balancing methods - Balancing by Culture, and Balancing by Physrep. When we consider any new game element it is in the context of these elements as well as by the raw mechanics. | ||
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| Each Faction has a culture distinct from the others - this creates differing views, conflict and to a certain extent creates “separations” between Factions. The intention is to make each Faction feel “alien” in outlook to all the others - they are all working on a different set of cultural assumptions, place value on different things and seek different outcomes from each other, which hopefully makes the game more interesting. | Each Faction has a culture distinct from the others - this creates differing views, conflict and to a certain extent creates “separations” between Factions. The intention is to make each Faction feel “alien” in outlook to all the others - they are all working on a different set of cultural assumptions, place value on different things and seek different outcomes from each other, which hopefully makes the game more interesting. | ||
| - | == Creative Outlets == | + | === Creative Outlets === |
| Sci-fi settings are often populated by a diverse array of alien species, which is something we wanted to include in OSLRP. If we can eventually get to a scene reminiscent of the Cantina in Star Wars Episode IV then one of our major goals will have been ticked off. To help accomplish this, but not dilute the Faction identities, we introduced the concept of Vassal Species - aliens who were under the authority of one of the 4 Factions - and we allow players to submit their own Vassal Species to potentially add to the game. | Sci-fi settings are often populated by a diverse array of alien species, which is something we wanted to include in OSLRP. If we can eventually get to a scene reminiscent of the Cantina in Star Wars Episode IV then one of our major goals will have been ticked off. To help accomplish this, but not dilute the Faction identities, we introduced the concept of Vassal Species - aliens who were under the authority of one of the 4 Factions - and we allow players to submit their own Vassal Species to potentially add to the game. | ||
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| The overall “rule” (it's not a rule) is that if you want to make the system look great and go to a load of effort to do so, then we want to reward you for it. | The overall “rule” (it's not a rule) is that if you want to make the system look great and go to a load of effort to do so, then we want to reward you for it. | ||
| - | == Everything Under The Stars == | + | === Everything Under The Stars === |
| Some other large LRP systems try to strive for balance the more creative aspects of their games by imposing a fairly rigid equitable system, with strong oversight and severe (sometimes hidden) restrictions on what is or isn’t possible. Depending on how they are implemented, these creative aspects can create a sense of arbitrary success or failure (if the criteria are hidden and subject to chance as they are rebalanced behind the scenes) or of overloading the game organisers as they try to balance the infinite imagination of player submissions with the structure of the game and the rules. | Some other large LRP systems try to strive for balance the more creative aspects of their games by imposing a fairly rigid equitable system, with strong oversight and severe (sometimes hidden) restrictions on what is or isn’t possible. Depending on how they are implemented, these creative aspects can create a sense of arbitrary success or failure (if the criteria are hidden and subject to chance as they are rebalanced behind the scenes) or of overloading the game organisers as they try to balance the infinite imagination of player submissions with the structure of the game and the rules. | ||
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| The main drawback of the creative system is that we don’t know how a given Invention is going to affect the game balance once it hits the field. We can make an invention challenging to develop and expensive to build based on how powerful we predict it might be, or how much we want to see it added to the setting, but once it exists it is impossible to know exactly how much it will affect the game. Now, there may be ways to claw back an unbalanced device (vastly upping its maintenance cost or re-jigging it when it comes back in for maintenance), but for at least a time it will be out “in the wild” with little oversight of how it is used, by whom, and for what purpose. For the moment, we’ve gone with a “wait and see” policy on this. How things yet to be invented will affect the game, we cannot yet know or predict - we want to leave this system theoretically as open as possible. | The main drawback of the creative system is that we don’t know how a given Invention is going to affect the game balance once it hits the field. We can make an invention challenging to develop and expensive to build based on how powerful we predict it might be, or how much we want to see it added to the setting, but once it exists it is impossible to know exactly how much it will affect the game. Now, there may be ways to claw back an unbalanced device (vastly upping its maintenance cost or re-jigging it when it comes back in for maintenance), but for at least a time it will be out “in the wild” with little oversight of how it is used, by whom, and for what purpose. For the moment, we’ve gone with a “wait and see” policy on this. How things yet to be invented will affect the game, we cannot yet know or predict - we want to leave this system theoretically as open as possible. | ||
| - | == Find the Third Path == | + | === Find the Third Path === |
| This point relates somewhat to the “we don’t plan Sundays” design blog from a few weeks ago. At event 1, some players came up with a plan that we had not thought of as a conclusion to the game. They had put in the roleplay, were willing to commit IC favours and resources towards their goal, and were willing to take risks to implement it. The solution fit within the world, leveraged existing game elements, and would still take hard work, skill and good timing to implement, so we made sure that the opportunity to follow through was made part of the final encounters for the weekend. | This point relates somewhat to the “we don’t plan Sundays” design blog from a few weeks ago. At event 1, some players came up with a plan that we had not thought of as a conclusion to the game. They had put in the roleplay, were willing to commit IC favours and resources towards their goal, and were willing to take risks to implement it. The solution fit within the world, leveraged existing game elements, and would still take hard work, skill and good timing to implement, so we made sure that the opportunity to follow through was made part of the final encounters for the weekend. | ||
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| Alternative solutions and workarounds to problems are a core part of the sci-fi media that inspires OSLRP. While making adjustments to “the deflector dish” or similar can be a tired trope in media for observers, for the in-universe characters who are Doing The Thing they are “Eureka!” moments. Since our players are playing those characters, coming up with a workable idea and successfully implementing it feels amazing. Players are infinitely more imaginative and resourceful than we can be, and if they are willing to put in the work to make their plans a reality, then we aim to allow for the opportunity to succeed. We’re not going to make it easy, and it won’t always work, but there will always be room to try. If you have the tools, and are use them in ways that are consistent, then we’ll give you a chance, and if it fails then there will be a reason - it will never be “because Magic says it doesn’t work”. | Alternative solutions and workarounds to problems are a core part of the sci-fi media that inspires OSLRP. While making adjustments to “the deflector dish” or similar can be a tired trope in media for observers, for the in-universe characters who are Doing The Thing they are “Eureka!” moments. Since our players are playing those characters, coming up with a workable idea and successfully implementing it feels amazing. Players are infinitely more imaginative and resourceful than we can be, and if they are willing to put in the work to make their plans a reality, then we aim to allow for the opportunity to succeed. We’re not going to make it easy, and it won’t always work, but there will always be room to try. If you have the tools, and are use them in ways that are consistent, then we’ll give you a chance, and if it fails then there will be a reason - it will never be “because Magic says it doesn’t work”. | ||
| - | == Interventions == | + | === Interventions === |
| Although Orion Sphere is a competitive PvP game, we don’t want to enforce arbitrary balance between the Factions. There is no “status quo” to which the game state reverts after each large-scale plot arc - everything that happens will affect the balance of power between the Factions, and while they are so massive that inertia is strong, the idea is that the actions and decisions of the player characters should have long-term impacts on the setting. There are a few “game resources” of which a proportion are split evenly between the Factions, but by and large most assets are ready to be seized by groups that have the initiative and wherewithal to do so. Assigning a set number of powerful items, off-camera armies or designated ritual slots to all Factions equally makes characters take those things for granted, and the rich story that they are supposed to add to the setting becomes meaningless, and the mechanisms that enforce the equality seem arbitrary and capricious. We want to avoid that. | Although Orion Sphere is a competitive PvP game, we don’t want to enforce arbitrary balance between the Factions. There is no “status quo” to which the game state reverts after each large-scale plot arc - everything that happens will affect the balance of power between the Factions, and while they are so massive that inertia is strong, the idea is that the actions and decisions of the player characters should have long-term impacts on the setting. There are a few “game resources” of which a proportion are split evenly between the Factions, but by and large most assets are ready to be seized by groups that have the initiative and wherewithal to do so. Assigning a set number of powerful items, off-camera armies or designated ritual slots to all Factions equally makes characters take those things for granted, and the rich story that they are supposed to add to the setting becomes meaningless, and the mechanisms that enforce the equality seem arbitrary and capricious. We want to avoid that. | ||
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| If we do intervene to rebalance the game state, it will not be by assigning additional resources to the weaker Factions. Instead, we will create opportunities via plot for that Faction’s groups and players to claim or capture a resource - this should encourage players to value what they have fought for, and be invested in the story behind it. | If we do intervene to rebalance the game state, it will not be by assigning additional resources to the weaker Factions. Instead, we will create opportunities via plot for that Faction’s groups and players to claim or capture a resource - this should encourage players to value what they have fought for, and be invested in the story behind it. | ||
| - | == The Lure of Distant Worlds == | + | === The Lure of Distant Worlds === |
| We built OSLRP to let people explore and create an interesting universe. We left a huge amount of room to expand and add more things to the game, both IC and OOC. We want your weird and wonderful ideas to become part of the game, but sometimes the rules might end up a bit warped or even broken by them …… and that’s ok. | We built OSLRP to let people explore and create an interesting universe. We left a huge amount of room to expand and add more things to the game, both IC and OOC. We want your weird and wonderful ideas to become part of the game, but sometimes the rules might end up a bit warped or even broken by them …… and that’s ok. | ||
design_blog.txt · Last modified: 2019/08/13 16:55 (external edit)
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