Designing Encounters, Take 2: Players are not your enemy, Overview

One of the easiest things to be confused about when designing enemy encounters in any game is the notion that somehow, the players are your enemy. This is most common in Dungeons and Dragons but any beginning game designer should be aware of this confusion.

It's all too easy to think that the player is on one side and you're on the other. It's you or him. If he wins, you lose. Thus it's easy to design encounters that are borderline impossible. Be aware that the purpose of your game is not to beat the player senseless until he gives up. There is an insignificant amount of players willing to put up with the masochism of being beat up continually while playing your game.

That's not to say that game should not be hard. Difficulty is what keeps the game fun in the first place and not a mindless grind to the next area. Game design is about delivering a fun experience and difficulty is a key part of that.

There is, however, quite a significant difference between an "interesting" hard and "frustrating" hard.


"Frustrating" Hard Signs

In this category are all the things that could be deemed unfairly difficult. There is a certain level of challenge to them but none of them are particularly the type of difficulty that makes a game fun.

1. Unavoidibility - "I just can't dodge that one attack."
   
2. Round-aboutness - "So first, make your way uphill in the snow 6 miles. And then uphill back"
   
3. Arbitrary methods - "You have to wait for the gold button to be depressed, then you shoot somewhere else."
   
4. Lack of signals/instruction/hints and/or Lack of time to gather information - "The bosses weak point is not glowing, marked or even hinted at anywhere. And then he kills you if you shoot the wrong part."
   
5. Artificial difficulty - "Oh, that gun we just gave you? Doesn't work. Oh, by the way, if you don't have *this* level of gear, you're dead no matter what you do."
6. Low interactivity - "The boss kills me because he ensnares me 99% of the time."
   

"Interesting" Hard Signs

 It's hard to come up with a difficulty that is "interestingly" hard but the key here would be, if the player is losing, would he still be having fun? If the player is having a difficult time in the game, is it a fun time in the game?

1. Exciting / Ambiance / Tone - "A DRAGON ate me... Aliens came up out of the vents and melted my face."
   
2. Eventual player success - "You know, I think I've almost got it... I just need one more try."
   
3. High degree of control over the situation - "The player can do whatever and they all contribute to success."
   
4. Clear signals and a clear path for the player to take - "Obviously, I'm supposed to aim for those glowing spots on his chest that the boss is trying to shield with his arms."
   
5. "Natural" difficulty - "Oooh, this guy is tough to hit because he's fast. I'm going to have to aim a little better." 
   

"Frustrating"to "Interesting"
 
There are common methods to making a frustrating fight more interesting. The key in many of these is interaction. Even if a battle is particularly hard, you want the players to feel like they have control of the environment and their character.

1. Clear cause and effect - "Oh, the dragon roars before he does his flame breath. 
2. Directness - "The dragon isn't just a walking sack of hit points."
   
3. High Player Interaction - "If I block, the flame breath does much less, and if I hit his leg he limps a little!"
4. Guidance IF the player needs it - "That flame blast looked like it hurt. Pay attention to his roar and prepare to defend yourself!"
5. Options - "Man. I just can't defeat this dragon. Maybe I should look for some gear that increases my fire resistance?"