I almost always prefer the sense of adventure and story telling offered by opaque systems. Even with combat I tend to just want to have fun. In BOTW for example I don't care what item stats actually mean, I just equip weapons and armor with bigger numbers.
Sometimes it's done so poorly though. I hate almost all level scaling because it's just so obvious that improving yourself doesn't actually improve things.
Got examples of games with strict rules vs opaque systems?
I've got some thoughts, but I just want to make sure I understand what you're going for.
Got examples of games with strict rules vs opaque systems?
I've got some thoughts, but I just want to make sure I understand what you're going for.
Call of Duty has strict rules. You know exactly how your actions impact the state of the game and what the consequences are. The game mechanics are transparent.
Five Nights at Freddie's has opaque systems. AI rules are left vague so you have to rely more on intuition. The game mechanics may lie/mislead.
either extrema is fine but i kind of hate the middle.
i loved going though the numbers in detail as i tried to min/max my build in world of warcraft or any of the fromSoftware games.
i can entirely enjoy a game like ratchet that gives you absolutely no numbers at all.
But like (and maybe it's not the best example but its the first one i thought of) god of war is a lot of information but also like,.. i have no clue what to make of it.
(https://oyster.ignimgs.com/mediawiki/apis.ign.com/god-of-war-ragnarok/2/27/Ares_Set_-_Cuirass_of_Ares_V2.png?width=1280)
Like,.. i generally get the idea that more runic is better but there is nothing the really quantifies how much better. with a system this complicated and detailed i need to know EXACTLY how much better it is so I can know if it is worth the trade off of how much vitality (or whatever) i'd need to give up to have more runic.
i pretty much ignored armor sets in GoW because of this. i just found one that i liked the secondary abilities for and upgraded it to max level.
I think I tend to prefer strict rules.
Sometimes it's done so poorly though. I hate almost all level scaling because it's just so obvious that improving yourself doesn't actually improve things.
I feel like strict level scaling is a terrible system. It undermines the whole leveling system. Some kind of hybrid system would make a lot more sense.
I think I tend to prefer strict rules.
I feel like strict level scaling is a terrible system. It undermines the whole leveling system. Some kind of hybrid system would make a lot more sense.
The whole concept of strict level scaling is just stupid in my opinion. I assume it only exists because devs put rpg mechanics into games that aren't supposed to be rpgs.
MGSV is like its antithesis. Enemies get stronger as you play, but they specifically react to how you play. For example if you do a lot of headshots then they'll make sure to wear helmets. Instead of level scaling canceling out player progress, it forces the player to switch up their tactics.
Also strict level scaling gets rid of the power fantasy. You can be a fully upgraded god by the end of the game yet you still have to watch out for starter enemies.