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MICRO VS. MACRO CUSTOMIZATION
Posts
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
LockeZ
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CloseOkay, sorry, that's not what I meant. Obviously there's a big difference between "there should be a solid number of viable possibilities" and "every possibility should be viable". The latter means that there's literally no way to lose the game, no wrong choice. I did not mean to imply it was a good method of design. Hmm. Let me try again.
If the player is given a choice of whether to include a rogue or a hunter on the team, then rogues should not be flat-out better than hunters, nor vice-versa. If rogues have three possible specializations, one of them shouldn't be categorically better than the other two. They should be better or worse in different situations. Or else they should be equal, but require different play styles. (Typically it's okay if some options are worse than everything else, but extremely game-destroying if a couple options are better than everything else.)
However, when you go from macro customization to micro customization, this falls apart. Should the rogue be equally powerful no matter what individual talents he picks? Should raising his intellect be as effective as raising his agility? Should teaching him Fire2 instead of Stealth always be a fair trade, regardless of how much intellect he has? I don't think I've ever played a game where this was the case. If you include micro customization, then it becomes basically impossible (not to mention ridiculous) to make every option useful in different situations or in different ways, because there are too many options, and because some options are just outright stupid. This is a pretty big factor in the micro vs. macro consideration. Do you want to let the player shoot himself in the foot, or do you want to give him a stationary mounted gun that can only point in directions that you've decided on?
If the player is given a choice of whether to include a rogue or a hunter on the team, then rogues should not be flat-out better than hunters, nor vice-versa. If rogues have three possible specializations, one of them shouldn't be categorically better than the other two. They should be better or worse in different situations. Or else they should be equal, but require different play styles. (Typically it's okay if some options are worse than everything else, but extremely game-destroying if a couple options are better than everything else.)
However, when you go from macro customization to micro customization, this falls apart. Should the rogue be equally powerful no matter what individual talents he picks? Should raising his intellect be as effective as raising his agility? Should teaching him Fire2 instead of Stealth always be a fair trade, regardless of how much intellect he has? I don't think I've ever played a game where this was the case. If you include micro customization, then it becomes basically impossible (not to mention ridiculous) to make every option useful in different situations or in different ways, because there are too many options, and because some options are just outright stupid. This is a pretty big factor in the micro vs. macro consideration. Do you want to let the player shoot himself in the foot, or do you want to give him a stationary mounted gun that can only point in directions that you've decided on?
Pokemaniac
3559
Well, I agree to some extent, but I don't think balance is ever that cut and dry. I think it's good for games to reward players who go that extra mile, or know what they're doing. Teaching a character all their main skills and giving them bonuses in their best stats might net you a good character, but using your skill at the game to take the character out of their normal role and make them something different might get you a stronger character. I think there's a lot more to balance then which option is the best, except in multiplayer games(but then, look at Pokemon, which even out of its deliberately overpowered characters doesn't have an optimum set).
But, I suppose, I'm getting away from the point of micro and macro customization. Reading your example about equipment with multiple abilities, I couldn't help but think of FF-X. While if you played enough, and did all the optional quests, spent hours stealing from monsters, etc, you could get an optimal weapon, in normal play there was an interesting balance between self-made and won/store-bought equipment. On one hand, the self-made equipment could have whatever you wanted, however most of the abilities you could give the equipment without grinding for several hours was pretty bad compared to the buyable gear, or took rare objects that made your characters more powerful anyway. However, the buyable gear was often comprimised to begin with, as they generally had all of their slots filled up, and often mixed good abilities with rubbish. It was an interesting mix of micro and macro customization, in my opinion. And now I'm not sure what my point is oh dear
But, I suppose, I'm getting away from the point of micro and macro customization. Reading your example about equipment with multiple abilities, I couldn't help but think of FF-X. While if you played enough, and did all the optional quests, spent hours stealing from monsters, etc, you could get an optimal weapon, in normal play there was an interesting balance between self-made and won/store-bought equipment. On one hand, the self-made equipment could have whatever you wanted, however most of the abilities you could give the equipment without grinding for several hours was pretty bad compared to the buyable gear, or took rare objects that made your characters more powerful anyway. However, the buyable gear was often comprimised to begin with, as they generally had all of their slots filled up, and often mixed good abilities with rubbish. It was an interesting mix of micro and macro customization, in my opinion. And now I'm not sure what my point is oh dear
