tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24434266.post114773043907058412..comments2024-02-26T21:38:35.761+11:00Comments on The Dust Forms Words: The Pigeon and The SeedGreg Tannahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00823898295759037081noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24434266.post-83136533257939070102007-07-29T23:49:00.000+10:002007-07-29T23:49:00.000+10:00So in terms of world of warcraft, could the schedu...So in terms of world of warcraft, could the schedules work like this?<BR/><BR/>continuous reinforcement - see a barrel, break it, get the 5 gold pieces, repeat<BR/><BR/>fixed ratio - levelling up your character<BR/><BR/>variable ratio - the gold pieces that's spilled out after killing an enemy<BR/><BR/>I'm trying to work out where fixed interval and variable interval would be used. Are there special quests which can only be entered at special times in the game?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24434266.post-1147830110394012652006-05-17T11:41:00.000+10:002006-05-17T11:41:00.000+10:00No, by goals I mean (to take an example), the way ...No, by goals I mean (to take an example), the way that every Grand Theft Auto game since three has worked. You have an overarching goal (finish the story). You have incremental subgoal steps along the way (finish the missions). Fine, Bard's Tale has that.<BR/><BR/>But you also have an alternate overarching goal (100% completion). You have alternate explicit goals such as finishing the taxi/ambulance/delivery etc missions, finding all the secret packages. You have hidden goals, such as finding the secret rooms and bulletproof vehicles. You have room for the player to develop their own goals, such as car collecting or pulling off amusing stunts. The tools are present in the game for the player to create their own play; they can, to varying extents, make the game into the sort of game they like playing.<BR/><BR/>Bard's Tale - it's an action RPG. If you don't like levelling up and killing monsters, well, you bought the wrong game, cos that's all you'll be doing. You can try and do other things, but the game will either plain not support it, prevent you from it, or discourage you from it. And it'll be dull.<BR/><BR/>What you're talking about aren't really goals, they're just mechanics for delivering rewards. The rewards are predictable, they don't change the game experience, they're largely the same reward every time, and there's not a lot of incentive to see the next reward (because it'll be pretty much the same as the last one). It's not multiplayer, so there's no one to boast to; and every player playing the game will find all the same rewards, more or less, so you can't even talk about the "cool thing" you found that someone else might not have.Greg Tannahillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00823898295759037081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24434266.post-1147829735790331882006-05-17T11:35:00.000+10:002006-05-17T11:35:00.000+10:00If by goals you mean quests, there seemed to be pl...If by goals you mean quests, there seemed to be plenty. There were mini-goals such as barrel bashing and generic talk to this person, defeat this monster, talk to this person again for reward. <BR/><BR/>It was just generally annoying.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16398394255011968938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24434266.post-1147827861764764062006-05-17T11:04:00.000+10:002006-05-17T11:04:00.000+10:00Bard's Tale had plenty of goals? Were you playing...Bard's Tale had plenty of goals? Were you playing the same one I was? The irony of Bard's Tale was that by doing away with the inventory system, removing the whole "shop for new equipment" mechanic, instituting linear story progression (alternate endings notwithstanding), it basically created a game based around grind, without actually leaving in any of the mini-goals and reward schemes that make the grind bearable. It had fixed ratio levelling, it didn't stagger reward schemes (so that when you achieve one reward you're already halfway to another, differen reward), and it offered no meaningful character customisation, alternative incentives, or incentive for exploration. It's a near perfect example of how NOT to do goal and reward schemes.Greg Tannahillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00823898295759037081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24434266.post-1147826811632843712006-05-17T10:46:00.000+10:002006-05-17T10:46:00.000+10:00Weirdly, I am one of those pigeons that can sit fo...Weirdly, I am one of those pigeons that can sit for hours as long as you give me enough seed to stay alive. Hence my adoration of pokies. <BR/><BR/>However, there has to be something more than a goal to reach. Look at Bards Tale for the PS2. Plenty of goals, but who cared?<BR/><BR/>Fun is an elusive element, but surely the best games are the ones that simply make the grind interesting, either with cool music (ie. Final Fantasy fight music, or even the dreaded pokies) or seeing your progression on a leader board (Perplex City).Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16398394255011968938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24434266.post-1147812101967075182006-05-17T06:41:00.000+10:002006-05-17T06:41:00.000+10:00At the moment I'm playing Perplexcity (an alternat...At the moment I'm playing Perplexcity (an alternate reality game - see my post of that name) and I've been reacquainted with exactly how much unique ongoing content can be provided on a modest budget (and with a developing narrative, no less) when you don't have quite so much need for coding and debugging. I think there's a whole bunch of lessons in this for the industry generally.Greg Tannahillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00823898295759037081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24434266.post-1147806867732593412006-05-17T05:14:00.000+10:002006-05-17T05:14:00.000+10:00Of course this is why I quit playing MMO's. It was...Of course this is why I quit playing MMO's. It wasn't fun and only rewarded the obsessive-compulsive players.<BR/><BR/>It was just one step on my journey to playing only single-player games.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com