This is a topic that I think is important to all mod authors, even though you may not realize it. Every single mod that adds or modifies content plays a role in increasing player satisfaction with the core experience.
When it comes to game satisfaction, here is the personal rule I follow:
"A game is satisfying when the player is willing to take ownership of all rewards granted by, and all failures that occur within, the game system as a whole."
What I mean by "take ownership" of successes and failures is that the player should willingly accept that they were the primary reason that the response the game gave them was a direct result of their action, and was proportunate to that action.
Example: I come across an enemy (doesn't matter if it's a huge dragon or a small goblin), and he single-handedly dispatches me, and I feel as if I had no opportunity to react. I blame the system, not myself. I don't take ownership of that failure. The game is not satisfying. This could be a result of bad game balance, or other issues.
Another example: At starting level in a game, I slay a dragon in one hit, and it dies in anticlimactic fashion. While I might feel rather powerful, that wouldn't be as satisfying as having a pitched battle with a dragon that pushes you to your limit before you ultimately overcome it. Here, the shoe is on the other foot; imbalance weighted in the direction of the player has now made the game unsatisfying. You could also commit this by handing the player the most powerful armor at the beginning of the game, or a huge castle for 10 gold. The reward does not equal the challenge, and thus, the player does not feel ownership of their success; they feel like the system is responsible for handing it to them.
I'm trying my best to avoid a direct discussion of "balance", "fairness", and "difficulty", as those are all really separate ideas which ultimately play a role in player satisfaction.
As authors, a common practice is to give players "more, more, more". More carry weight, do more damage, cast more powerful spells, have bigger houses. There's a few reasons for this:
- Mods that make the game "easier" or make you "more powerful" are popular.
- If acquiring your new equipment or house or what-have-you requires the player meet a lengthy set of prerequisites, such as a long quest, a minimum level, or a high gold fee, the player doesn't get instant gratification from downloading your mod, and is less likely to endorse it, comment on it, or otherwise support it.
- Not considering the overall balance of the game or player satisfaction is simply easier than going through the trouble of considering and analyzing the outcome of introducing your content into the existing system.
- These kinds of "god mode" mods make the player feel good... for awhile. Players come back to play games that challenge them in satisfying ways, and if your mod makes the player overwhelmingly powerful for little to no cost to them, they'll have fun for a few hours, and then put it away because the challenge has been removed. They'll seldomly complain about this, mind you, but in my view it's just as bad as making your items too weak, or the monsters in your dungeons completely destroy the player.
I maintain that when it comes to mods, less is most often more. Making the player extremely powerful, or otherwise unbalancing the game system may lead to short-term gratification, but does not lead to continued, long-term enjoyment.
What considerations, then, should mod authors consider when introducing content that might affect the game?
House Mods
Compare how difficult, relatively, your house is to obtain compared to other houses in the game. Is it priced appropriately? If it doesn't have a monetary cost, is there some other cost, such as minimum level, or an interesting quest? Note that this relates only to the house itself and the services that are usually intrensic to a house, such as mannequins and chests. If you throw a Sword of Kill Everything inside your house, that's a separate discussion.
Armor / Weapon Mods
Is the armor proportunately difficult to obtain compared to similar armor? If crafted, is it crafted of materials equally difficult to get based on armors in the same class? Is the resale value appropriate? Is the armor rating appropriate for the lowest level that a player might encounter it? Or did you just lazily toss it in a chest and put the chest in the Solitude marketplace?
Magic Mods
Do the spells give the player abilities that circumvent existing game mechanics? (spells of invulnerability, spells that allow you to teleport to unreachable locations, spells that give you an overwhelming advantage) Is the spell acquired at an appropriate level given its power relative to other spells? Does it play well with the existing perk system? Other perk systems?
Monster Mods
Do the monsters appear in appropriate areas? Do they appear at the right time for the player according to their level? (Level 30 grizzly bears outside Riverwood might not be the best idea!) Do they have a unique strategy to defeat them that would be satisfying to discover? Is their loot appropriate given their difficulty and level encountered?
These are just 4 examples, but this line of critical thinking applies to almost any mod that affects gameplay. I think it's important to remember that a decade from now, plenty of people will still be playing Skyrim, just like there are plenty playing Morrowind now, a game that turned 10 just recently. The mods that stand the test of time are the ones that enhance the core experience in amazing ways. I think that it's important that authors consider balance, challenge, and player satisfaction so that in 10 years, we don't have a cobbled-together mess of a game. I'd like for us to have a finely-tuned, well-balanced, satisfying experience that never gets old, and all mod authors have a role to play toward this goal.
9 comments
Endorsed : D
This is one of the important topics I like to bring up regarding game balancing; if the game is making the player bored because its too easy or shallow, or if the game is frustrating the player because it is too difficult too quickly or filled with 'guide dang-it!' moments (ie, obtuse puzzles or tactics), then you've got yourself a problematic design. Games were meant to be fun; boredom and frustration are not fun.
One of the reason why I have several complete, but unreleased mods lying around is that I want the way of acquiring items to be special. It is rather boring to simply add a cool set of armor in a chest in Whiterun or only to crafting (Bandoliers are a different thing though).
Balancing is a very hard thing as well.