Ancestors

Written by Fred :godot: on 2024-12-27 at 00:18

🧵 GRAVEYARD OF MECHANICS ⚰️

Mostly 4 fun, I though in doing a thread of mechanics with a history of being implemented and causing problems. I'm not saying they are unredeemable, keep reading, but they tend to be appealing but tricky to deal with. Sorta my opinion mix with facts, at least be aware:

[#]gamedesign

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Written by Fred :godot: on 2024-12-27 at 00:35

MECHANIC: Naturally improving stats

HOW IT WORKS: Player stats improve with use, not with level ups. Taking damage makes the character more resilient, attacking, stronger, and so on.

INTENTION: The idea is to character grow to happen intuitively, the more you do one thing, the better the character will become at it.

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Written by Fred :godot: on 2024-12-27 at 00:39

PROBLEM: Stats grow tends to not catch up with the gameplay, by the time they becomes necessary it's already too late, so the player faces a wall that requires grinding. For example, the current area has only low hp enemies, so the player units never grow up defense, since they can defeat them before they can react. However, next area has units that can survive a hit, so they give a hard time, because the player never got the chance to train HP.

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Toot

Written by Fred :godot: on 2024-12-27 at 00:44

Worse, training might be difficult, and very tedious. The player needs to know how to improve each stat and find the means to do it. Otherwise, they'll be just stuck, having to brute-force it somehow.

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Descendants

Written by Fred :godot: on 2024-12-27 at 00:47

EXCEPTIONS:

Xcom2 has a mod that it's in essence this idea, but because it doesn't rely on it, the units have regular level up for stat increases. In this way, stat increases feel like just a nice bonus. I believe it can still be exploited, but a bit better.

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