recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Interface: NOT designing for the Platform

## Inteface: Not Designing for the Platform

Have you ever played a PC port of game on a console and realized how frustrating it is to play the same game with a controller? How about vice versa? A game whose controls and interface were meant for a large screen on thumbsticks but is extremely cumbersome with a full keyboard and mouse? These are examples of instances when you design an interface **NOT** meant for the platform. Moments when the input method fights the player and what may seem seamless for your xbox controller, is entirely clunky on a mouse.

## Examples

### No Man's Sky on PC

   No Man's Sky has a "floating" UX design with panels and windows moving around the player's view as if they are floating on the screen. This is done through some slight parallax shifting as the user's reticle moves throughout the scene. Selection on the console version is done through a press and hold sequence, with a circle filling around the reticle as the player confirms their selection. This makes sense for controller input where mis alignment and accuracy is lesser than that of their mouse counterparts.

On a PC however, where pointer accuracy is miles above joystick input, this "Hold to Confirm" mechanic becomes tiresome and fights the player's efficiency in inventory management. There are mods that specifically remove this mechanic it has become such a nuisance in the game's community.
Excluding Dialogue: Can encourage player to focus on other communication queues within the game world.

Excluding character dialogue can provide a unique gameplay experience for the player and force them to pay attention to other communication tactics such as nonverbal communication. When a player does not read or hear conversation within gameplay, the player can be receptive to other forms of communication such as character body language, facial expressions, and actions. Another important communication medium could be music to set the mood for a scene, allowing the player to enjoy other senses. This game design decision can teach the designer the importance of other forms of communication that can be utilized to grab the player's attention. The player in return can focus on a uniquely designed game and appreciate other communicative tactics, such as audio feedback, art, and animation style.

## Examples

### **Virginia**

In the indie game *Virginia,* the use of dialogue and character pop-up text boxes does not exist to give the player a unique gameplay experience. The player must observe other forms of communication from characters such as facial expressions, reactions, and music. The designers do an excellent job portraying the emotions for characters without the use of words or text. The use of an original soundtrack performed by the Prague Philharmonic does a superb job in setting the mood and filling the player with emotions throughout the game flow.
Thea Elandon

```

 ### Class

 Cleric

 ### Level

 5

 ### Background

 Hermit

 ### Alignment

 Chaotic Good

## Physical description

 ### Race

 Moon Elf

 ### Gender

 Female

 ### Height

 5'1

 ### Weight

 100 lbs

 ### Hair color

 White

 ### Eye color

 Pale

```

Thea Elandon is a moon elf cleric of the goddess Selûne. She is accompanied in her travels by the half-orc Gell.

## Background

Thea spent much of her youth in training as a cleric of Selûne, assisting her cousin Bethrynna. Her family spent time providing healing for the Harpers, and maintains their ties to several members and former members. While helping her cousin as she assisted Locke Farguard in clearing out orc raiding parties, Thea found an abandoned half-orc child, Gell. Once finished with her assignment, Thea took leave to raise Gell. For the last ten years the two have lived in seclusion, providing occasional healing services to travelers along the road. Now, with Gell having reached adulthood and Thea approaching her 100th birthday, it's time for her to rejoin the world.

## Personality

Thea is practical and serious. She is still quite young by elf standards and works hard to be taken seriously, which may account for her lack of humor. Her life has been entirely devoted to protecting others, and she can occasionally be so focused on this goal that she disregards her own safety.

Thea is very protective of Gell, who she thinks of as family. Though she originally intended to part ways with the half-orc once he achieved maturity, she continues to travel with him and is secretly relieved that he has chosen to travel by her side as well.

## Disappearance

Following an unpleasant encounter with residue from a Chaos Stone, Thea found herself psychically linked in some way to a malevolent otherworldly power. Shaken and looking for answers, she went with Gell to the local temple of Selûne. There, the two of them were ambushed by the Best Friends Gang, who managed to escape with Thea and deliver her to cultists of the demon Zixael. Zixael entranced Thea and installed her as its mouthpiece, hoping to more firmly entrench itself on the material plane. Thea's fellow adventurers fought to free her, but she disappeared along with Zixael when the demon's summoning orb was destroyed. It was later revealed to the heroes that the goddess Selûne intervened in Thea's fate, welcoming her to the celestial plane where she now rests at her patron's side.
Timed "Season" events create goals for players

Season's in a game, are much like season's for a TV series. They run for a set amount of time, and when they end. You then have to wait for the next season, which provides a fresh start for the player. Each season can provide rules and restrictions to the player, which only apply while that season is running. If a player participates in this event, there are often many rewards for the player. These events often challenge the games current player to do something new and challenging, with the promised rewards as an incentive. Not only that, but a seasonal ranking system can help to motivate the player to push there character each season to be the best, or to beat there last seasons ranking. Each season give players a set of restrictions and rewards, the players then set their own goals for the season. They drive themselves each season, setting goals to achieve more this season then the last.

### **Example: Diablo 3**

Blizzard uses seasons for all of there games, but Diablo 3 has more of a unique feel then the others. Each season, players have to create new players that have no access to other tools and weapons from there account. This allows each player to start on a even playing field. Each season, they introduce more and more to the game. Pushing players to test themselves and keeping players coming back for more!

### Animal Crossing

The Animal Crossing games use a clock that follows real life, encouraging players to play a little bit at a time each day. Some items can only be collected during morning or night, while some villagers and events can only be engaged with at certain points each day. Animal Crossing also keeps track of seasons, which have unique events and items to be collected. Some events only happen once a year, so if players want unique items from those events, they'll have to make sure to play on those special days. While most activities can be done during any season, some seasons allow new activities like creating a snowman in winter. There is no seasonal ranking system, but Animal Crossing is very much a game where the player creates their own goals, and what they want to accomplish each day and season falls under that.
Insulting Your Players Will Frustrate and Alienate Them

Sometimes, witty banter by the game's narrator can poke fun at the player's performance or choices in a humorous and light-hearted way. It can even be a defining characteristic of the game's sense of humor. However, sometimes it can come off as offensive or unwarranted. When the banter feels insulting or direct to the player (for instance, if maybe it is true, or something the player has experienced), it is instead off-putting, to say the least.

## Examples

Dirt: Showdown

One of Dirt: Showdown's many game modes is "Smash Hunter," a mode in which the player must smash foam blocks of various colors and sequences by driving through them. As a sub-mode, it is a fantastic diversion from the typical demolition derby and racing modes the game features, as it requires not only speed but precision in driving and drifting to destroy only the currently marked color blocks. However, for players with protanopia (red-green colorblindness), the yellow and green blocks are almost indistinguishable in color (one is slightly darker than the other). The narrator makes comments on the player's performance as they play, with one particular comment being played when the player hits a block of the wrong color ("Man! Are they color-blind?"). Case in point.
Slow Game Development

In order to constantly gain player is to be alive and update often. Many of the game has a dead community due to slow/none game development after a game release. I have found a pattern on steam; Every time a game died for a few months and suddenly rolls out new content, the sale of the game goes up so fast in a period of time. So, it is not good to have slow game development for a game.

•    DayZ

This is a post-apocalypse type survival MMO game, where players need to face players, zombies, and body needs to survive as long as possible. It is a fun concept, but the development is extremely slow. The community starts to die in a rapid speed since release in 2013. It has been almost 4 years now, and the game is still in early access, alpha stage.
Bad side quest design...Compromises the player experience

Side quest has become an integral part of all kinds of RPG games, whether it is a Sandbox game or not. However in some even popular games there are some sidequests that to some extent compromise the immersive play experiences. Sometimes these quests are bad designed in the plot or content, sometimes they appear in inappropiate time period. Their poor design and bad time to appear cause the players to lose the priority of the gameplay, feel less immersive and sometimes exhausted to see so many to-do stuff in their quest list.

## Examples

   Skyrim, without questioning, is a successful Sandbox RPG game. Yet because of its open world and flexible game play routine, sometimes its side quest design becomes bad. For example, when you are on a very low level, you might be regarded as someone powerful to do a challenging mission; when you are already dragonborn and saved the world, you might be asked to deliver a letter as a mailman; when you have the main mission that requires you to go somewhere as soon as possible, you can still take other easy jobs and do them first; sometimes there are so many quests on your list and you do not know where to begin.
Progressive and Creative Loot Systems

Loot systems, they can make or break a game. All games that implement a loot system are saying that there will be progression in the game! As you play the game, you will have access to more and more things. These things will create options in game play, and these items can range in strength and utility. These things make up the base of any loot system, but progression is the key. Games like dungeon crawlers, rely on a player having a feeling of progression. The constant grinding of minions and quests have to have a purpose, the player needs to feel a sense of gain from it. Loot is a great way to do that, if the player is constantly replacing gear and weapons with newer, stronger and more creative alternatives, it creates a sense of control and empowerment for the player. Creative combinations of powers and abilities to loot keeps the game fun and exciting for players as they explore their options. It also adds depth and longevity to a game.

### **Borderlands Series**

   The Borderlands series is a great example of a creative and progressive loot system. As you play the game, you are constantly replacing and swapping out your gear for something new and even crazier then the one before. Whether its a gun that explodes when you throw it, or a pistol that shoots 20 rockets at a time. There are so many roads to explore that the player is constantly looking for something new to play with.

### **Diablo 3**

The quintessential dungeon crawler, Blizzard's Diablo series is centered around loot progression. Between loot sets, special abilities, and secondary stats, the game gives ample reason to keep playing just for the loot fest alone. This is also reflected graphically. Stronger pieces of gear tend to generally look cooler than the lower pieces.

### **Risk of Rain**

In Risk of Rain, you grind in a cooperative rogue-like to survive as long as you can. As you kill progressively stronger enemies, they drop more coinage, and they also drop 'artifacts.' These artifacts bestow on you novel power-ups, like faster movement, health regeneration, coin-production, and many more. This clip shows players in a late stage of the game raking in mad monies and sick-nasty artifacts. The novelty of these loot drops and their combinations keep the player interested in each play-through to persist in the grinding.
Player engagement is created through game flow

Player engagement is a good thing because it keeps the
player involved in the experience of playing the game. This in turn creates a
state of flow for the player and gives them a feeling of enjoyment. When the
player enjoys the game they will want to keep playing. Flow can only happen when
the player is so engaged in the act of playing the game that they don’t have to
critically evaluate what they are doing.

*Tetris* is a perfect example of flow. The mechanics are
simple: move and rotate. The goal is simple: create a line using the shapes
you’re given. The level transition is seamless without pop ups or cut scenes. There
is however, a small visual to the side telling the player that they’ve increased
in levels which is mirrored in gameplay by the increased speed of the falling
pieces. All of these pieces working together help the player feel like they are
being challenged but because the game flows so easily, playing the game feels
effortless to them. The only stop in player immersion is when the game ends.

***DOOM (2016)***

Players get locked into arena-style rooms while they eliminate waves of enemies by moving quickly and using enemy vulnerabilities. Gameplay is faced-paced and based on momentum.
Simple gameplay mechanics can lead to hours of enjoyment

Complexity is not always the answer to problems with gameplay. Sometimes a simple single button mechanic with iteration can make for endless hours of enjoyment for the player.

## Example

### Cookie Clicker

Cookie clicker is a game with a single mechanic click
the cookie, the more times you click the cookie the more you can upgrade your click mechanic, this leads people to click for hours on end, having mindless fun with a simple mechanic.

### Just One More Line (Android)

Just One More Line is an android game. The only action the player can take is pressing on the screen. This action causes a ball to go into orbit around a point on the screen. The goal of the game is to get as high as possible without crashing into any of the points or going too far to either side. It takes just seconds to pick up, and months later its still my go to game on my phone.

### Subway Surfers

Subway surfers is a mobile game which has only four controls.Swipe left to go left, right to go right, up to jump and down to slide. It uses different power ups to enhance these controls.
Music/Sound Matches Gameplay - Players Become Immersed in the Game World

Sound design plays a huge role in the success or failure of
a game.  It is something that can often
be overlooked.  When a game has music and
sound effects that match its gameplay, the player is immersed in the game
universe and feels a stronger connection the characters and environment of the game.

## Examples

### **Overwatch**

The new first person shooter by Blizzard (Overwatch),
has done a magnificent job with their sound design.  All of the music, sound effects and audio
contribute to the game and ands character to all aspects of the game.  Not only do the sounds and music seem to fit
each character and map perfectly, the game also has characters say things to

one another during gameplay which helps build backstories and reinforces the characters relationships with one another.

### **Limbo**

Limbo has music and sound effects that match exactly to the tune of the game, like the blurry sound when player dive into water or the music when player enter the town. Together they echoed with graphic and gameplay, create a extremely uncanny feeling for players.

### **Ape Escape**

In Ape Escape, the player can crawl to become stealthier and avoid detection from enemies. When the player does this, several sound channels in the music stop playing, usually including the main melody channel. This helps the player feel stealthy by tuning the music to be more low-key as they crawl along the ground. Muting sound channels (or adding extra channels) is a good way of making music feel dynamic to the player's actions.

### **Halo**

Halo is an excellent example of sound design being essential to gameplay. The driving beat of the background music gives the feeling of urgency. The music in this game is just incredible! Outside of that is the sound effects which are equally amazing. These sounds together give the game the player a feeling of realism.

### **Donkey Kong Country: Ambiance (Underwater Level)**

In Donkey Kong Country, the ambiance level that takes place underwater exemplifies high quality music and sfx for player immersion. The sound effects place players into the scene seemlessly, using subtle bubble noises whenever Donkey Kong swims forward and emits bubbles from his mouth. Even the sound effects of Diddy Kong pounding on the barrel are muted and filtered to provide the sense of an underwater environment. The background music uses heavy reverb toward the same effect and helps create a sense of large spacial volume, even isolation.

The song is so popular, it has become the object of acapella for famous YouTuber SmoothMcGroove
The choices made in the game have no indication of how much impact it might have on the game

Some games have choices to be made by the player where the choices made give rise to different consequences. While making these choices the player will have a vague idea of how his/her choices impact the game. Based on these choices the player might make a decision with careful consideration.

But this is not the case in some games, the player is given choices which feels to be not important for the story but it infact has a huge impact on the game.

## **Examples**

### **Witcher 3**

In Witcher 3, some of the choices made by the player in dialogue options changed the climax of the game in a drastic way. Initially I was not aware of this when i made the choice but the choices I made changed the trajectory of the story so much that I regretted making that particular decision. In Witcher 3 when the character's daughter is sad, the game expects me to cheer her up by taking her out and playing snow fight with her but I thought it wasnt important and made the player's daughter to go to bed. This had a huge impact in the end because the relationship between the father and daughter is skewed because of this and hence it lead to a bad climax in the end.

### **Life is Strange**

Many of the choices the player is faced with in Life is Strange can be quite vague in regards to the desired outcome. This may be intentional by the game designers, but it also creates a sense of negative stress on the player when they do not realize the impact some choices will have. Small dialogue options sometimes held strong consequences in which the player experienced much later in the game narrative. This becomes an issue at times because the player is pulled out of the immersive world and regrets the decisions they made, especially if the decision created an outcome they did not see the character actually making. The player may give personality traits to the in-game character they play, and if the choices reflect dialogue the player did not intend, then it may stray from the player's desired character development.
Counterintuitive Movement Path Hinders Player Progress

Players often need a hint of where to go next to progress in a game. For example, a mission map or arrows that appear when you hover the mouse over a certain spot would signal the correct direction. If the game does not give any hint for the next steps and the order is crucial in making through the next step, then players would get stuck. Sometimes finding the right path might be part of the puzzle, but it should also be clear to the player that she needs to find one.

Example:

**Samorost 3**

Samorost 3 is a point-and-click exploration and puzzle game. Since it's an exploration game, I would say path finding is part of the puzzle. However, sometimes the direction is so counterintuitive that the player probably has to click around the entire screen to find the right spot. The screenshot below happens at the beginning of level 1. Right after the start screen, the most intuitive next step is to go left or right. However, you will find yourself completely stuck if you directly go to the right. Instead, you need to go inside the tower to your left to get the tools before you can go across the bridge later. This is confusing especially since the character actually just came out of the tower when the game starts.

Someone else getting stuck:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/421120/discussions/0/392184522710518525/
Good Word of Mouth Brings More Players

Good word of mouth is really a helpful thing for a game to gain more potential players. For one thing, it kinda based on the reputation of a game company/developer. A good reputation gives players chances to spread a good word of mouth for any kinds of game. For instance, if a game developer has a very good reputation, people would unconsciously assume a new released is good even though they haven't even started playing it. The reason is that the developer's previous game has received a good word of mouth from the players to the extend that more and more people more or less hear something good about the company. For another, a good word of mouth builds a good reputation. How does a new video games studio or company compete with other popular company if no one has heard about it? The answer is a good word of mouth builds a good reputation for new developers due to a good review from a game they make. Overall, making a perfect game has always become our game developers' ultimate goal!

## Examples

### **Blizzard**

Blizzard Entertainment has been gaining a good reputation since they made the Warcraft, Diablo serious. Pretty much every game they made could be considered as a good game, especially the recently new released game Overwatch got the game of the year award. Games made by Blizzard are good this theory has already rooted in people's heart.

### **The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild**

While publicity of the *Legend of Zelda* can largely be attributed to its iconic status in the gaming industry, word of mouth is definitely playing a huge part in its upcoming installment, *Breath of the Wild*. The game has been pushed back time and again due to development concerns which needed to be addressed. Every time this happens, the word spreads through social media, online articles, and word of mouth among interested gamers. While we are all frustrated having to wait, the game will undoubtably be a huge hit when it finally does release, regardless of whether or not it is an actual good game. It will be a hit because the word-of-mouth leading up to it made it that way, and a huge amount of people will buy it when it is released.
No clear indication of the next objective confuses the player

An objective must always be present/ indicated on the screen so that the player is aware of his next course of action. Some games provide this indication at the top/bottom corners of the screen and some games provide it on the maps. If the objective is not indicated anywhere on the screen, it'll confuse the player and he might end up wandering the game world without being aware of his next objective.

## Examples

### **Bioshock Infinite**

In Bioshock Infinite, the player has no indication about his next objective, there is no map in the game. The only way the player can get to know his objective is by pressing a button which gets a directional arrow towards his next objective. The player needs to press this key everytime whenever he needs to go to a particular objective. This might frustrate a player as there is no clear indication of the objective on screen. This arrow is indicated in the above image

### **Dead Space Series**

In the dead space series, Isaac Clarke (the main character) can put down a beam onto the ground to let him know where he is going on the often labyrinthine levels. It is very similar to the Bioshock Infinite example in that sometimes the developers could not find a clever way to get the player to know where to go, so a simple arrow does the trick.

### **Skyrim**

Skyrim being such a huge open world it can be a lot to handle especially since after the intro the game just throws you out there to do what ever you want. Having so my side mission i find my self often lost in the game with no clear goal insight.

### **Doom (2016)**

While the 2016 Doom release impresses graphically, the design poorly communicates level objectives. The level design often contains small loops, and players not keen with the minimap can find themselves lost in circles. This problem compounds when these looping areas have little/no interaction or demons, and this happens often after passing through an area for the first time.

   The HUD even includes a compass with a marker to display the next objective point, but the winding nature of some areas of the game make this marker less useful than it could be. This issue could be solved with clearer level design shape, distinct checkpoint-like visual cues, or even more frequent objective markers.
Poor turn management causes balance problems

When players with different experience levels play in a group, chances are that **less experienced** players will be able to perform an action less effectively than the **more experienced** ones. If the game is not balanced in terms of the turns that players take, then the former will continue to **lag behind** the latter and the **play experience will be affected**. Turn orders inversely related to player scores, for example, can help solve this balancing issue.

**Egizia**

This is a worker placement game set in Egypt, where players
have to move boats down the river Nile to pick up needed supplies to help build
an obelisk, sphinx and the pyramids. Since, players can block each other the
scoring system is set up so that a part of winner's score is added to lower
ranked players and vice versa.

**Trivia Crack**

In the mobile game Trivia Crack, players are matched to their opponents randomly, instead of taking into account any previous performance. The turn system in this game is also set up so that a player’s turn ends only when they answer a question incorrectly. This can create imbalance between players if one person’s knowledge vastly outstrips another’s, or if one player gets an easier streak of questions than the other. This ultimately takes the poorly performing player out of the experience, as they get the impression that they are not likely to catch up.
Premature releases without proper optimization can lead to awful consequences

For cross platform games, it might be a terrible idea to release the game without proper and enough tests and optimization. Especially when it comes to consoles, generation transitions are complicated. If the publishers want to split title development between all kinds of platforms, it is almost guaranteed for problems. Each platform have vastly different hardware and software architectures. Ignoring those factors can sometimes lead to serious issues.

## Examples

### **Battlefield 4**

Battlefield 4 is now a great game. However, it was a mess at launch. All kinds of problems broke lose like wild animals. Disconnections, game crashes, system failures were all problems due to the fact that they weren't clear on how much potential trouble there could be.

Example: Battlefield 3

When Battlefield 3 was released, a friend and I stayed up until midnight preloading and playing it. We immediately encountered a bug where two players where were in the same party, playing in the same physical location (my house) could not join the same match. This of course completely invalidated our release day celebrations and left us feeling pretty ripped off.
All Player Interactions with the game are rewarded.

A good feature of many games is the reward system. The player likes to be rewarded for playing the game even if they aren't doing well. The reward system can help the player progress in the game or maybe just be an achievement. Often games will use small incentives to keep players coming back. Beating the enemy may be the most valuable thing to do, but sometimes just killing so many of his minions is worth a reward. Just playing the game will allow the player to feel successful regardless of their skill level.

Examples:

Games like Clash Royal reward you for playing the game well and winning. They encourage the player to strive for little goals even if it isn't winning out right. There are multiple tiers of quests going on for the player to complete. If he takes out so many turrets or castles in a day he gets a treasure chest. He gets that regardless if he wins any games at all. He could take one chest off of each player he faces and they could take two off of him and the player would still get the daily chest. However there are other chests that require winning. Those chests take time to open and if the player is good he will run out of slots to put more. If those spots are full the player can still play and earn the daily chest and feel like they are progressing. The different reward systems keeps the player motivated when they are losing and when they are winning.
Limited Party Size Affects Game Experience

Playing as a group is popular nowadays, especially in MOBA games. Player are allowed to create their own team and play matching game online. Team size my vary. However, limited team size when players want to playing together may affects in-game experience and results in players lose interest. The players who did not join the team, will feel uncomfortable and disappointed.

## Example

**League of Legends**

When players playing ranked games, they are only allowed to play the game alone, a group of two or a group of five. That means it is impossible if three players want to play together at same time. One player has to play alone. The feature might make the game harder and more attractive, but the person who cannot play the game will feel uncomfortable.

**Mass Effect**

Mass effect much like other Role playing games allows players to create parties with the companions they find throughout the game. The party size is almost always limited to four or five. Because of this you end up not grouping with all of your companions and there fore missing out of story and experience.
No Iteration between Squeals - Repetitive Franchise

A squeal should be a game designer’s chance to iterate on gameplay and make the gameplay more engaging. Many designers seem to think if it isn’t broke that it shouldn’t be improved. The game designer will be put the same type of mission into the next game and choose not to build off the verbs. The player often ends up feeling as if they played the same game twice or maybe just a reskinned version. If a designer gets a chance to make a squeal they should always try to iterate and improve the factor that gave the game, it’s appeal. This happens in original games too. The designer will choose the verbs early in the game player and never build off them. For example, if the designer chooses jump but jump only is for climbing edges. Performing that action repeatedly with no variation will feel repetitive after a while.

## Examples

Call of Duty Series

The call of duty series has been floating along for years
just reskinning the same story idea with very minute changes. After playing Modern
Warfare 1 and Modern Warfare 2 the stories didn’t matter. The designers seemed
to only focus on the online portion of the gameplay and left what made the
first games so appealing in the dust. You could see the cookie cutter levels
being scattered through the game ie “big shoot’em up level” “sniper stealth
level” “good guy turned traitor” “good guy thought to be dead saves day”
Too complex at the beginning of game

At the beginning of game, it should be easy to understand and operate. And then with the players' skills developing more proficient, the difficulty of the game can increase gradually. But if a game is too complex at the beginning, players may be confused or crazy and lose their confidence to move on. Then perhaps players will give up and find another games. And no matter how good the game is, some players cannot experience it at all.

**Example:**

For example, Dragon Age III. Players will select a vocation at first and in the beginning of the tutorial level, you will feel like it's an action game because you control a character to fight against monsters. But at the middle of the tutorial, you will be suddenly given a four-member team and learn how to pause the game and select the abilities to release for each member of the team. You will feel it's more like a strategy game then and it's hard to control 4 characters at the same time if you have not played the former Dragon Age before. I think a better way is that the player starts with one character and then builds up the team on his own during his adventure gradually.
Less Instructions and Hints illustrated than required to clear the Level

When Player couldn’t clear the level because there are very few steps and information given to him. This leads player relationship badly severed with the game. It will create disconnects between the player and game. To avoid this designer can slowly develop the relationship between puzzle and its solution or can give hint to the player. Designers need to figure out the ways so that the player can anticipate things.

For Example: In *Tomb Raider Chronicles*, in one level where Lara Croft has to defeat the chronicles' octopus monster, but there is no single hint to do it. After constant efforts, I found that I have to find glass and make scope out of it. Moreover, attach it to my handgun then shoot the eyes of the monster to get out of that room without getting detected. This level made me so tired that on the next difficulty which is not that confusing I stopped playing the Tomb Raider for months.
Overloading players with too many mechanics from the start is discouraging

Many games like to have several layers of complexity in order to create depth to their game. While this definitely can make for an engaging game with lots of replay value, some developers make the mistake of presenting all the mechanics of their game from the start which can create confusion for the player. With a new pop up window opening every time they open a new menu or just a lengthy tutorial, players can become lost in the overflow of information. This can lead to frustration and ultimately the player becoming disinterested in the game. Developers should seek to slowly introduce elements/mechanics to the player after they have a fair understanding of the previous ones.

Example 1: Final Fantasy 14 -

After some brief backstory when you start the game you find yourself very quickly being exposed to copious amounts of information. The game quickly layers several tutorials on top of the fact there are already a number of elements to their UI a player won't understand when they first start playing the game. This made the game feel more like a chore or at best, just another MMO.
Mesh Narrative with Gameplay

Most games these days include narrative of some shape or form.  But simply attaching narrative to a game is the least efficient way to leverage the power of storytelling!  A good game meshes narrative with the gameplay features and mechanics themselves.  The narrative is no longer something players simple expereince between sessions of gameplay; rather, the narrative is utilized to inform the player of the mechanics themselves, deepen the purpose of the actions the player is performing, or enahnce any other aspect of the game itself.  Ultimately, narrative is not something you just add to a game; it is a tool used to expand upon and deepen the other aspects of the product itself.

## **Examples**

### **Portal**

In Portal, the player is simply dropped in a world with no clear reason as to what is going on or why. GLaDOS, the only narrator the player encounters in the game, spurs the player on through her testing facility.  Why does this facility exist?  What exactly is going on in this world?  Why are you being forced to "think with portals"?

The narrative of the game doesn't outright answer these questions, but it DOES provide suggestions.  Without spoiling any particular aspect of the game, as the player progresses through the trials afforded to her by GLaDOS in the name of "science" the player begins to learn that something is extremely wrong.  There seem to be no other humans... and the player wasn't the only subject to enter the Aperture Science testing facility.

In the end, the narrative in Portal does more than tack a story on to an almost gimicky mechanic.  It expands on that mechanic, explains the player's (and the avatar's) objectives and goals, and deepens the environment the player must traverse.  Narrative is not simply attached to the game; it inundates the game and enhances the experience of its players.

**Life is Strange**

*Life is Strange* focuses primarily on it's main mechanic of controlling time. However, there wasn't a random story that was simply slapped over this but, rather, a unique, coming of age tale that suits the control. The narrative enhances the mechanic and vice versa, creating an interesting play experience as well as a new way for players to make choices and have a different kind of sense of agency..
Switching Characters in Gameplay!

In some games, mostly in recent ones, there is this introduction of switching in between characters while playing the game. It requires more than one characters in game so that the player get a chance to play each charcter in game. It becomes so much fun to actually step into some other character and play the moves we want to which otherwise doesn't happen in older versions of game. There was a time when actually we use to scream at the character that he/she is not performing the moves which that chacrater was suppose to do. So, this new integration of idea gives the player more opprotunity to interact with each charcater in game. Lets see one example:

## Examples :

***Until Dawn*** is an interactive drama survival horror adventure video game developed by Supermassive Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. This game is first-person, but what makes it different is the gameplay in whcih you get a chance to switch between charcters as the game demands. Also, each charcater has its won skill-sets and behavior traits making all charcteres unique. So the player has to make choices keeping in mind the charcter role he is playing (credits: Wikipedia)
Optional story through logs or texts - Adds to the game universe and immersion

Players have many different things they like about a game. Some people care more about the game mechanics while others like to explore the game universe and the graphics. One of the things people can enjoy in a game is the story, but getting the main story through the characters, dialogues and actions might not always be enough. Maybe you are curious about the backstory of the place, or want to get a better feeling about how this universe works.

Using optional story logs or texts that the player can read is a way to satisfy that curiosity. Having it so that reading the logs is optional, makes sure that not everyone, that goes through the game, learns everything about the game, but just the things they are curious about.

**Examples**

Camera Obscura

In Camera Obscura you can pick up small logs on the way that gives a bit of mood and story behind the game universe. The placement of the texts is often a bit out of the way, so that not everyone has to go through reading it. Since the game does not explain anything about its universe or the character, it is a nice addition that makes sure the story-curious people get pleased.

   **Mass Effect Series**

The Mass Effect series often uses emails and logs to provide extra backstory on characters and situations. Some are available in Shepard’s personal computer, and others are scattered through individual levels. Extra pieces of story like this help to add depth to the game universe and aid the player in their suspension of disbelief. They also allow the developers to neatly tie up plot lines in side quests in an efficient manner that doesn’t require more animation or voice recordings, helping to maintain production costs.

**Amnesia : The Dark Descent**

While it is possible for a player to make their way through Amnesia without interacting with the many notes sprinkled around the map, it would only make the game that much more interesting if they did. The story crafted through the pages of text add to both the eeriness of the environment and the character of the player, while also building onto the narrative, itself. These extra pieces of story work to create a sense of satisfaction between the scares.
Support Community Creativity in A Positive Way - motivates players stay in the game

## Overall Description

For some games, especially online multiplayer games, players would willingly gather up and form different communities. These communities contain extremely considerable potentials that can help flourish those games. Some developers and publishers, fortunately, would like to hear from those communities and absorb their creativity and merge them into their games, thus their games were designed to actively accept such actions. With such system built into the game, players are more willingly to go further in this direction and spend more time on this game, and this will also give players a sense of belonging into the game.

## Examples for Demonstration

First example I would like to talk about is Counter Strike: Global Offensive.

The developer and publisher of this game, Valve, really saw the potential that players can bring them, so they decided to open market and workshop for players. In market, players will be able to purchase and sell in game items that they do not want to keep. In workshop, valve encourages players to create all possible assets of the game, including weapon skins, maps, and game modes. Players will also be able to vote for assets that they would like to see in game. Valve will regularly pick certain items from workshop and add them into game, and players who created those assets would get a profit share.

 Second example I want to mention is Insurgency.

Although the developer and publisher of this game, New World Interactive, is not well-known and Insurgency as a FPS game that was released on Jan 2014 and only charged 10 dollars, this game is still actively being updated quite frequently by New World Interactive and all update contents are free of charge. Moreover, they also make full use of Steam market to let players create new weapon camos, new weapon models, new maps, new game modes, new sounds and even new UI. All contents in steam workshop are free of charge and players will be able to use all of them.
Optional Reset System Gives Players Freedom on Re-experiencing The Leveling System

## **Overall Description**

Level cap is not uncommon in games with leveling system. Such leveling system will drive players to play more in some degree. But such attraction will fade away when players hit level cap for those games. By introducing reset system, players could choose whether they want to keep their level or reset their level and start over to experience the leveling system again. Such system can benefit both players that focus on pure content and don't care too much about leveling system as well as players that are attracted and diven by leveling systems.

## **Example Demonstration**

#### ***Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare* and *Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered***

In Call of Duty series such reset system is called "Prestige Mode" in Multiplayer. Once players hit the level cap, they can choose whether they want to enter prestige mode or not. If they choose to enter, all unlocked items will be re-locked, player level will be reset to 1. In addition, players will be rewarded with 1 extra Create-a-Class slot, a new prestige emblem/calling card and 1 permanent unlock token that can unlock one item each. (With the introduction of classic weapon in Infinite Warfare, players can get 1 classic weapon unlock token per 2 prestiges.) Items unlocked by permanent unlock token will stay unlocked permanently, even after entering prestige mode. Therefore, this system can satisfy both players who are dedicated to multiplayer gameplay as well as players who are fond of fancy prestige emblems.

For more information, please watch this video.
Sneak Peek strategy to avoid direct interaction with enemies

Many games provide the sneak peek strategy so that player can get a chance to sense the enemies and calculate the next strategy instead of moving directly into the enemy area. This can help a lot to the player to step back and think if attacking the enemy is actually required or they can just bypass that area without making enemies notice. Hence, there are some situations where player can just avoid shooting and attacking while moving forward in the gameplay. It also helps in horror games, in which player cannot attack the enemy and only possible action available is sneak through while waiting for the enemy to leave the area.

## Example:

**Outlast -**

In the outlast game, this strategy is used most often since there are no weapons available to combat with the enemies. So the player has to hide behind the walls, under the bed or in dark areas since these enemies cannot see in the dark. The only way the player can see in the dark is through camera having night vision to a limited extent. The player can stay and wait for the enemy to pass through the area and move out once it is safe.
Take Advantage of Digital Space to Create Unique Puzzles

An unsung strength of digital space is that it can accommodate geometry not normally possible in the real world. This means more than impressive architecture - in digital space multiple objects and areas can overlap, paths can loop in on themselves indefinitely, and geometry can shift and change while the player isn't looking. By taking advantage of these unique capabilities of digital space instead of holding fast to simply copying how the natural world works, a game designer can challenge their player with strange and interesting puzzles.

## **Examples**

**ANTICHAMBER:**

Antichamber contains a multitude of puzzles that explore 'impossible' spaces. Notable moments include a hallway that spirals into itself and back out again, a gallery of cubes that contain self-intersecting spaces, and a pair of staircases that lead only back to themselves. That final example is a puzzle that can only be solved when the player turns around and returns down the hall they entered by - finding after a turn that it now leads into a new space.

These spaces challenge a player's sense of space and logic. A pleasurable confusion sets in as the player grapples with the strange phenomena, and learning how the game works brings a unique sense of mastery.

### The Witness

The Witness has a number of secret environmental puzzles that require the player to see special designs in the environment, usually at certain angles. They can be present in the clouds, along the water line, or in special spots in buildings and shrubbery.