Lecture 11

Complexity
More or Less, That is the Question
Lecture Time!
• Complexity: Scapegoat of the Accessibility Argument
• Flat Values or Complex Ratings: How Simplicity Can
Affect Your Players
• Information Overload: Tracking Data Can Be Important
• Variety and Homogenization: Optimization Nightmare
Features
• A good TL;DR summary of this slide set (and one of its
references) can be found here:
– http://gamasutra.com/blogs/JohnathonSwift/
20140110/208440/quotDumbing_downquot.php
• Review: MDA Framework
– Complexity can be found where?
– Assuming the game is already playable, what is
responsible for the answer of the first/above question?
– What is the relationship between a game’s features and
the answer of the second/above question?
Features
• In an ideal world, all games match the design document
version, and patches add more content without fixing or
bugs, exploits, and other undesirables.
• In reality, not all features planned for a game make it to
the final stages of development. Reasons include:
– No more resources (time, money, manpower, etc.) to
implement or maintain the feature
– The feature is not part of the game and/or it is not fun
– The feature is complicated enough to require a relatively
steeper learning curve
Features
• In an ideal world, all games match the design document
version, and patches add more content without fixing or
bugs, exploits, and other undesirables.
• In reality, not all features planned for a game make it to
the final stages of development. Reasons include:
– No more resources (time, money, manpower, etc.) to
implement or maintain the feature
– The feature is not part of the game and/or it is not fun
– The feature is complicated enough to require a relatively
steeper learning curve
Then Why’s It In The GDD?
• Discuss: The games of today are different from the
games of yesterday.
– 2010 vs 1990 (hint: stop Facebooking, please)
– Bravely Default vs Final Fantasy 5
– Final Fantasy 4 (DS) vs Final Fantasy 4 (SNES, was
initially named Final Fantasy 2 outside of Japan)
– WildStar vs World of Warcraft
– Diablo 3 vs Diablo 2
– Call of Duty vs Unreal Tournament ’99
Fear of Sequels
• Sequels (and patches/expansions for persistent games)
can be viewed as attempts to refine the core/original
game.
– Undesirable features are removed or modified (ex. bugs,
auction house)
– New features added (ex. idle/off-line crafting, auction
house)
– More content added to core features (ex. new abilities,
raised level cap)
• However, is a sequel always “better” than the original?
Fear of Sequels
• Sequels (and patches/expansions for persistent games)
can be viewed as attempts to refine the core/original
game.
– Undesirable features are removed or modified (ex. bugs,
auction house)
– New features added (ex. idle/off-line crafting, auction
house)
– More content added to core features (ex. new abilities,
raised level cap)
• However, is a sequel always “better” than the original?
Fear of Sequels
• Sequels (and patches/expansions for persistent games)
can be viewed as attempts to refine the core/original
game.
– Undesirable features are removed or modified (ex. bugs,
auction house)
– New features added (ex. idle/off-line crafting, auction
house)
– More content added to core features (ex. new abilities,
raised level cap)
• However, is a sequel always “better” than the original?
Players Are Not That Stupid
• There are complex games that enjoy/ed a large player
audience (large as in “I’m trying to simplify my game to
get an audience that large”).
– Sims
– Skyrim
– World of Warcraft
– Final Fantasy 7
• Complexity is NOT the sole factor to blame for a
game’s lack of accessibility.
• Discuss: Sometimes, adding complexity is necessary.
Adding Complexity
• Consider: Chance to critically hit
• To be more specific: In-game equipment and skills that
increase user’s chance to critically hit
• Single-player games always list this as “+X% chance to
critically hit”, and sometimes you can reach a state
where your attacks will always critically hit.
• World of Warcraft used to do it this way as well, but
everything changed when they released the patch for
the Burning Crusade, their first expansion.
Adding Complexity
• Before: +2% chance to crit (at level 60)
• After: +28 critical strike rating
• Read: 14 critical strike rating = +1% chance to crit
(at level 60)
• What if I wanted +15% chance to crit (at level 60)? How
much crit rating will I need?
• Why make this needlessly complicated conversion?
Adding Complexity
• Before: +2% chance to crit (at level 60)
• After: +28 critical strike rating
• Read: 14 critical strike rating = +1% chance to crit
(at level 60)
• What if I wanted +15% chance to crit (at level 60)? How
much crit rating will I need?
• Why make this needlessly complicated conversion?
Power to the Players
• Players expect to grow stronger and stronger as they
progress in a game.
• Is there a problem with growing stronger using flat
“+X% chance to critically hit” gear?
– Note: Burning Crusade raised the level cap to 70.
Current leveling cap with all expansions enabled is 90,
and it will be increased to 100 when Warlords of Draenor
launches.
• What does the combat rating system (changed all these
percentages to ratings) have to do with any of this?
Adding (More) Complexity
• Before: +2% chance to crit (at level 60)
• After: +28 critical strike rating
• Later: +1.27% chance to crit (at level 70)
• Read: 22.08 (roughly) critical strike rating = +1%
chance to crit (at level 70)
• “I leveled up! Wait, did I just get weaker?”
Adding (More) Complexity
• Critical strike rating required for +1% chance to crit:
– Level 60: 14
– Level 70: 22.08
– Level 80: 45.91
– Level 85: 179.28 (!)
– Level 90: 600 (!!!)
Rage Quit?
• Similar ratings were implemented for haste (attack/cast
speed), chance to hit, and other percentages.
• Yes, a level 80 character will deal higher average
damage than a level 81 character with the same gear.
– A level 80 paladin once soloed a raid boss meant for a
level 90 group. See link:
http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/09/level-80-paladinsolos-some-mogushan-vaults-bosses-gets-vengea/
• Isn’t this counter-intuitive? Leveling up should mean
growing in power, correct?
Tunnel Vision
• Forgot to mention:
– Other stats go up (but not enough to counter the decline
caused by the combat rating system)
– Equipment has level requirements
– Equipment with higher level requirements is usually
much better, especially equipment obtained in raids.
(Remember number porn?)
– Some abilities’ base effects are dependent on level;
higher level means, for example, higher base damage
– Abilities have level requirements
Tunnel Vision
• Forgot to mention:
– Other stats go up (but not enough to counter the decline
caused by the combat rating system)
– Equipment has level requirements
– Equipment with higher level requirements is usually
much better, especially equipment obtained in raids.
(Remember number porn?)
– Some abilities’ base effects are dependent on level;
higher level means, for example, higher base damage
– Abilities have level requirements
Expected Player Behavior?
• Players will want to level up to expand their options, if
not get the opportunity to see new content.
• Players that level up without updating their equipment
will feel the effects of the combat rating system.
• Players that do try to level up without updating their
equipment are going to have a bad time.
• Players will more than likely find item upgrades from
questing, crafting, dungeon running, etc. as they level.
• Players need to reach a minimum average gear quality
to have a fighting chance of defeating raid bosses
(the level 80 paladin solo-er isn’t an exception).
Frustrating/Boring = GTFO?
• Good thing we don’t treat teachers like game featu
• Ever play a game (especially an MMO) where you
didn’t use all the available features?
– Remember gameplay/gameplay balance?
– Discuss: Player housing (lack of it in WoW, presence in
Rift, actual benefits in Final Fantasy 11)
– Discuss: Why is Blizzard taking down the Diablo 3
auction house, but not the WoW auction house?
Something for Everybody
• Consider: Exploration
• To be more specific: Rewards for “going off the beaten
path” (or at least having a keen eye)
• Single-player games that allow players to roam almost
always hide items, special enemies, unique challenges,
etc. in remote areas.
• Rift has achievements and puzzles for the particularly
adventurous players, but it also has artifacts scattered
throughout the world, some of them cleverly hidden.
But…
Glitters + Only One Route
Different POV
Let’s Move On…
(Yeah, Different Character)
Using Teleport Orb When…
WHA DAT
Note: This is a Solo Instance
Not as Fast as Other Players?
Is It Worth It? Any Issues?
Why’s It in the Game, Then?
• Artifact-hunting provides rewards like tokens that allow
you to buy non-combat pets and one of the fastest
mounts in the game (which you can also buy for
credits/$$$).
• Completing a set yields a cache that, in addition to
containing the aforementioned tokens, may also
contain vials, potions, lore items (for those who like to
read backstories), etc.
• However, in my opinion, there are more fun and
efficient ways to get gear, money, etc.
If It Ain’t Broke…
• Trion Worlds (the developers of Rift) posted this about
how they gather data, and it also includes a tidbit about
artifacts:
– http://community.riftgame.com/en/2013/11/19/
using-data-to-help-make-better-games/
• Apparently, a lot of people either disagree with me or
feel that they might as well pick up artifacts whenever
they can.
… Well, Maybe Fix It a Little
• Trion said they’ll make artifacts more useful:
– http://community.riftgame.com/en/2014/01/23/
meet-the-dream-weaver/
• Discuss: Could this be a result of their data gathering?
If people already engage in artifact-hunting as much as
the data claims, is there a need to add more incentive
on top of simply creating more artifacts?
Time Is Money
• How much time do you want players to invest in a
game?
– A lot = nice for subscription models (greedy, aren’t we?)
or games that require a large pool of players to prosper
– A little = for more casual players; less likely for players to
give up and try something with more immediate rewards
• Another factor to look at when considering
player/gameplay balance!
Homogenization
• In multiplayer games requiring (some) coordination,
team composition becomes an important prerequisite.
– Equally important is the overall strength of the individual,
but minimum player level and/or equipment quality
requirements prevent that from becoming an issue.
– Let’s file player skill under good coordination.
• Blizzard’s battle cry: “Bring the player, not the class.”
– Several abilities, such as buffs and interrupts, were
consolidated in the current expansion and are available
to almost all classes.
– Extremely unlikely that your team will lack something.
Reduced Complexity
• The new design philosophy resulted in a welcome
change from “what class are we missing” to “what
ability are we missing” (still an issue with smaller
groups but not as bad as before).
• Arguably fixed the class stacking problem (ex. guilds
used to require a minimum number of shaman players
before raiding).
Reduced Complexity
• Blizzard and went further and decided to simplify the
process of gearing up for a raid. Planned changes in
the next expansion below:
– They will remove reforging, which they introduced fairly
recently. It allowed you to take an item’s stat and convert
half of it into something more useful. Was more annoying
than helpful since juggling stats meant you had to
reforge all your gear, typically 15 or 16 items per set.
– They will reduce the number of item slots eligible for
enchanting and gemming (in exchange for higher
number of enchants to choose from and more powerful
gems).
Reduced Complexity
• More planned changes (continued from last slide):
– Primary stats of equipped gear (armor only, not weapons
or accessories) will change depending on your
class/spec. Arguably no need to keep a bag or two filled
with different armor sets anymore.
– Several secondary stats (like dodge and hit rating) will
be removed, because they are not that “interesting”.
– Every piece of equipment has a chance at having one or
more of the following: 1) increased stat values, 2) a gem
socket, and 3) a tertiary stat (like increased movement
speed and cleave).
“They Ruined the Game”
• You still have to admit that this will make gearing up
much easier for most people.
• This also represents a quality-of-life improvement that
removes many tedious processes. (Who wants to sit at
a reforger for hours just trying to get that exact hit rating
for 100% chance to hit?)
• I don’t, because I did that, in addition to leveling
another character for enchanting and another character
for jewelcrafting, only to discover that some enchants
and gem cuts were obtainable only through raiding, and
my poor little enchanter and jeweler were not raidworthy. They did wonders for my death knight, though.
Price of Homogenization
• More planned changes (continued from last slide):
– Primary stats of equipped gear (armor only, not weapons
or accessories) will change depending on your
class/spec. Arguably no need to keep a bag or two filled
with different armor sets anymore.
– Several secondary stats (like dodge and hit rating) will
be removed, because they are not that “interesting”.
– Every piece of equipment has a chance at having one or
more of the following: 1) increased stat values, 2) a gem
socket, and 3) a tertiary stat (like increased movement
speed and cleave).
Price of Homogenization
• The highlighted change was to address the issue that
certain items (like plate armor with +Intellect) were only
usable by one or two class/specs only (only a Holyspecced paladin would want +int plate).
• But now, your Holy-specced paladin would quarrel with
your friend’s Protection-specced warrior, because they
both want plate, and the primary stat would change
depending on who got it anyway.
– Tank and healer of your dungeon group hate each other
now? What could possibly go wrong?
But That’s Not All
• More planned changes (continued from last slide):
– Primary stats of equipped gear (armor only, not weapons
or accessories) will change depending on your
class/spec. Arguably no need to keep a bag or two filled
with different armor sets anymore.
– Several secondary stats (like dodge and hit rating) will
be removed, because they are not that “interesting”.
– Every piece of equipment has a chance at having one or
more of the following: 1) increased stat values, 2) a gem
socket, and 3) a tertiary stat (like increased movement
speed and cleave).
Can You Say Diablo?
• While it is now easier to get sufficiently geared for more
difficult challenges, getting the best-in-slot item will now
become more difficult.
• Assume: Item drops. 10% chance to get +stat values,
10% chance to get a gem socket, and 10% chance to
get a tertiary stat.
• Assume: You want all 3, and you want the tertiary stat
to be Life Steal (which we will assume is one of five
possible tertiary stats).
• What is the chance that you will get what you want?
Homogenization + RNG
• Homogenization helps developers by letting them
design encounters without having to worry about “what
if the group doesn’t have X or Y?” since it almost
guarantees that any given group has both X and Y.
• Homogenization can wreak havoc on the dreams of
players who love to min-max, especially if a random
element is present.
• That random element can still make “farming” more
fruitful, even if there are several numbers already set in
stone. (“Sure, I’ll go. I already have the item that boss
drops, but it might drop a slightly better version.”)
• Optimization nightmare? Not for the designer!
Sources
• http://gamasutra.com/blogs/JohnathonSwift/20140110/
208440/quotDumbing_downquot.php
• http://community.riftgame.com/en/2013/11/19/
using-data-to-help-make-better-games/
• http://community.riftgame.com/en/2014/01/23/
meet-the-dream-weaver/
• http://us.battle.net/wow/en/game/patch-notes/2-0-1
• http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/4574894
• http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/10703970357
Sources
• http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/11/15/will-fewer-gems-andenchants-in-warlords-of-draenor-affect-profe/
• http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/12/11/potentials-andpitfalls-of-warlords-of-draenors-proposed-gearin/
• http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/12/13/
world-of-warcraft-complexity-and-design-vs-sprawl/