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CRAZE'S DIRTY LITTLE SECRET
Posts
Craze
View playlists
CloseI have a confession.
When I make games, I cheat. I cheat as a developer, as a player, and as a tester. I cheat to make the game better. Before I tell you exactly how I cheat, you need to know a few things about my design theory:
1) I'm bonus-oriented at heart, even if I make a setback/tradeoff-oriented game.
2) I want the player to win, even if it's at a cost to them.
3) I love the feeling of "oh god we just barely did that holy shit!!!!"
4) I love scripting.
So, what do I do? I cheat.
I say that an instant death spell the player gets has a 50% infliction rate - I make it 60%. I throw a melee-heavy boss at the party - I make it weak to Bind Attacks. The player thinks this is his last turn - but I coded evasion to stealthily rise as HP dwindles.
None of this is enough to save a stupid player, but it all helps a daring and experimental player. Maybe it's just because I'm "bad" at RPGs (I'm daring). Maybe I just really, really like the "ZOMG YESSSS!!!!" feeling I get when I get rewarded for smart thinking.
Maybe I just want to make a fun game.
Discuss.
When I make games, I cheat. I cheat as a developer, as a player, and as a tester. I cheat to make the game better. Before I tell you exactly how I cheat, you need to know a few things about my design theory:
1) I'm bonus-oriented at heart, even if I make a setback/tradeoff-oriented game.
2) I want the player to win, even if it's at a cost to them.
3) I love the feeling of "oh god we just barely did that holy shit!!!!"
4) I love scripting.
So, what do I do? I cheat.
I say that an instant death spell the player gets has a 50% infliction rate - I make it 60%. I throw a melee-heavy boss at the party - I make it weak to Bind Attacks. The player thinks this is his last turn - but I coded evasion to stealthily rise as HP dwindles.
None of this is enough to save a stupid player, but it all helps a daring and experimental player. Maybe it's just because I'm "bad" at RPGs (I'm daring). Maybe I just really, really like the "ZOMG YESSSS!!!!" feeling I get when I get rewarded for smart thinking.
Maybe I just want to make a fun game.
Discuss.
The player thinks this is his last turn - but I coded evasion to stealthily rise as HP dwindle
I LOVE shit like this, dawg
post=141569The player thinks this is his last turn - but I coded evasion to stealthily rise as HP dwindleI LOVE shit like this, dawg
Obviously, so do I. I have so many Dragon Age screenshot sequences that are just *Everybody but Alistair or Morrigan is mowed down *Living member somehow obliterates twenty Darkspawn through EXTREME TACTICS
It's just the whole "d - did that really just happen" aspect of it. I like to be there for my players in a pinch. I've always thought that games cheated, and while I don't really know if they do or not, I know that mine do.
I guess this is why I made Diablocide - it's "OH SHIT DID I DO THAT" in a can.
Tonfa
150
I cannot tell whether you're serious or not.
In case you are, I am seriously put off by it. Game straight up lying to me is Not Cool.
In case you are, I am seriously put off by it. Game straight up lying to me is Not Cool.
I am completely serious.
EDIT: Code taken out since only like three people would understand it, anyway!
EDIT: Code taken out since only like three people would understand it, anyway!
Drakonais
2787
The player thinks this is his last turn - but I coded evasion to stealthily rise as HP dwindle
There should be a GUTS stat that makes effects like these even more pronounced. That said, this is sweet.
Tonfa
150
I prefer having the mechanics knowledge but it wounds me so. See also the likes of FF9 and FFTA2 mechanics, which made me actively like the games less.
E: this post makes less sense after craze edited out the code
E2: A suggestion would be to have a "Screw you I'm playing on Hard" mode which removes the hidden training wheels
post=141577You mean a stat that the player has no idea about?The player thinks this is his last turn - but I coded evasion to stealthily rise as HP dwindleThere should be a GUTS stat that makes effects like these even more pronounced. That said, this is sweet.
I hate Luck stats.
post=141578
E2: A suggestion would be to have a "Screw you I'm playing on Hard" mode which removes the hidden training wheels
Annnnnnnd Insane mode now negates any and all training wheels!
Drakonais
2787
You mean a stat that the player has no idea about?
Except that he just explained a concrete example of what such a stat would do. I would go for it, but maybe it's just me.
The problem with this NOT being hidden is that... it spoils the fun of it. I don't know if Game X actually saved my posterior, or if I was just lucky.
However, Ronins in Etrian Odyssey 2 (and maybe 1...? I don't remember) can invest in a passive that raises evasion as HP goes down.
However, Ronins in Etrian Odyssey 2 (and maybe 1...? I don't remember) can invest in a passive that raises evasion as HP goes down.
I think what you do is cool, but if I found out that a heavily numeric game like Final Fantasy Tactics did this, I would be pissed.
____edit____
Thinking about it now...
You shouldn't have said that.
____edit____
Thinking about it now...
You shouldn't have said that.
I'd like to remind everyone here that almost every RPG we've ever played as a shitload of hidden mechanics and 'stats'.
Hiding mechanisms is one thing.
One thing is having a sword that says "increases crictical hit chance". Another thing is having a sword that says "increases critical hit rate by 20%", when it's actually 30%. That's not hiding, that's lying (or cheating, like Craze called it).
One thing is having a sword that says "increases crictical hit chance". Another thing is having a sword that says "increases critical hit rate by 20%", when it's actually 30%. That's not hiding, that's lying (or cheating, like Craze called it).
I would not do that extremely specific example (150% of a boost to crit rate compared to what's stated). I would do - and have done - everything in the OP, however.
Another thing I do is that if a 4 MP skill and a 25 MP skill both do "normal damage," I'll usually make the more expensive skill do 120% of normal damage... because, well, you are paying (relatively) a ton more MP for more effects. Might as well fudge the damage a little, too.
<tonfa> I AM ROLLING AROUND IN MY LIVING GRAVE
EDIT: I will agree that very number-heavy games, like FFT, should try to steer away from this sort of thing. But if you think about what most RPGs stem from directly - D&D - well... am I not simply playing the role of a Dungeon Master who wishes to see his players succeed? Soulless and battered, perhaps, but successful nonetheless.
Another thing I do is that if a 4 MP skill and a 25 MP skill both do "normal damage," I'll usually make the more expensive skill do 120% of normal damage... because, well, you are paying (relatively) a ton more MP for more effects. Might as well fudge the damage a little, too.
<tonfa> I AM ROLLING AROUND IN MY LIVING GRAVE
EDIT: I will agree that very number-heavy games, like FFT, should try to steer away from this sort of thing. But if you think about what most RPGs stem from directly - D&D - well... am I not simply playing the role of a Dungeon Master who wishes to see his players succeed? Soulless and battered, perhaps, but successful nonetheless.
Tonfa
150
post=141598
<tonfa> I AM ROLLING AROUND IN MY LIVING GRAVE
Okay, might as well expand a little. An objective downside to lying in skill descriptions is obfuscating the player's ability to make an intelligent decision. By the information given by the game, the 4MP and 25MP skill do the same damage...except they don't, actually. And if the player doesn't know the 25MP skill does more damage, they just might dismiss it as a viable tool. Similar principle applies for status rates that the game tells the player to be lower than they actually are - the player will not use the seemingly unreliable status move when it is in fact more reliable than the game lets on and could potentially make the player's experience a lot easier.
sunshinesan
534
A magician should never reveal his secrets.
I really like your idea in "throwing the player bones"
though knowing it kinda kills it though.
I really like your idea in "throwing the player bones"
though knowing it kinda kills it though.
Craze - I agree with your standpoint in this. The kinds of examples you posit can only make battles more... cinematic?
If it's one thing I remember about my childhood, it's the ZOMG EPIC battles me and my brother would experience playing games like FFII and FFIII (we wren't too good, hence the hard battles).
To this day, I seem to unconciously favour tactically visceral battles by underlevelling in my games.
There's just something about getting your ass handed to you by a challenging enemy, and clawing your way to victory. I wish I could work this better, but basically I think that saving the player in a way that makes it seem like dumb luck is a good way to keep the player interested in both the story and the battles.
I know that if I'm cruising along in a rpg, only to be given a wake-up-call boss and die... I tend to just put the game down for a while.
And if the battles are getting too unfair or long, I look for a way to bend the battle system in my favour so I can cruise through the now-boring battles and see the rest of the game. I go for fun and challenging, or quick and easy. Long, hard, and punishing just aren't in my gaming vocabulary.
If it's one thing I remember about my childhood, it's the ZOMG EPIC battles me and my brother would experience playing games like FFII and FFIII (we wren't too good, hence the hard battles).
To this day, I seem to unconciously favour tactically visceral battles by underlevelling in my games.
There's just something about getting your ass handed to you by a challenging enemy, and clawing your way to victory. I wish I could work this better, but basically I think that saving the player in a way that makes it seem like dumb luck is a good way to keep the player interested in both the story and the battles.
I know that if I'm cruising along in a rpg, only to be given a wake-up-call boss and die... I tend to just put the game down for a while.
And if the battles are getting too unfair or long, I look for a way to bend the battle system in my favour so I can cruise through the now-boring battles and see the rest of the game. I go for fun and challenging, or quick and easy. Long, hard, and punishing just aren't in my gaming vocabulary.
