Reward issues

[Jesse Aldridge]

I've been thinking about how to add a system of rewards into my current project. One of the most commonly used rewards is to make the player stronger - leveling up, getting a bigger gun, etc. This is possibly my favorite sort of reward, however I see a big problem with it: it makes the game easier for people who are good and harder for people who suck. Kinda seems like it should be the other way around.

For example, in a Space Shooting game, say you get powerups that make your gun bigger. Whenever you take a hit you lose one level of powerup. Crappy players lose their powerups more quickly and the game becomes much harder and more frusterating. Good players get lots of powerups and the game becomes much easier to the point of becoming nearly mindless.

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how to deal with this issue?

One thing I was thinking of was having different difficulty tiers. Each tier could be exponentially more difficult than the one before, so it would be pretty much impossible to compete without having aquired a certain amount of strength rewards. If a player didn't collect as many powerups, they would keep playing the game, but at a lower difficulty teir. The player would be accomplishing more "grand" goals in the harder tiers (i.e. tier one = defending against the onslaught, tier two = pushing the enemy back, tier three = attacking the enemy's homeland). A problem with this, however, is that the amount of content needed increases exponentially.

Maybe I should abandon strength based rewards and focus on other sorts. I could have a trophy system or something. Somehow, though, it doesn't seem as satisfying when the reward doesn't affect the actual gameplay.

Just some quick rambling thoughts I had on this issue. Anyone have any others?

[Jesse Aldridge]

Found this old thread which is relevant:
http://forums.indiegamer.com/showthread.php?t=2119

[Ronkes]

The problem you describe is basically one of positive feedback: the good get better and the bad are left behind. My favourite way of dealing with this is making every reward have a downside: you can pick up the Big Gun, but since it's so heavy, you'll be a bit slower. I describe some other ways to deal with the problem in my article on positive feedback (http://www.casualgamedesign.com/?p=11).

I also wrote an article on rewards (http://www.casualgamedesign.com/?p=42), which might give you an idea of what other rewards you can introduce in your game.

(I'm sorry if it seems like I'm just plugging my own website here, but I do think these articles are relevant to the discussion.)

[spellcaster]

Well, actually most rewards are not really making the player more powerful. I'll give you an example:
Shooter game. At the end of level 3 your normal enemies take 2 shots the harder enemies 5 shots. In level 4 there are lots of the "harder type". Now you give the player the new weapon upgrade. Suddenly, he needs only 2 shots for the harder type. The next waves of enemies are a blast for the player. But then a new type of enemy shows up, and he needs to hit them 4 times with the new weapon to destroy them.

If you grant these upgrades not via collection items, but either as "quest rewards" ("Our technicians have been able to construct a new weapon using the date an material you collected") or if he simply collects money and can buy upgrades in a shop, you can control when these upgrades happen. Still give him something to collect, because collection stuff is always a good thing. Give him lots of "one time use" items (Smart Bombs, energy refills, etc). Let him collect code parts to unlock a secret level, or whatever.

Anoher plus is, that if the player can choose, the game feels more personal. If he can decide whetehr he wants to upgrade his thrusters or his lasers, it feels more like "his ship". This is ewasy to do if the player collects credits during game play to be spent in a shop later on.
But also if you choose the quest reward way, you can provide options ("We have created a new engine, a new laser and a new shield generator. But right now they use so much energy that we can connect only one of them to your system").

[Nexic]

If you're worried about balance issues then I would consider some other things:

- A cooler looking or just more fun weapon. Not really anymore powerful but worth having just for style.

- A nicer looking avatar. Great for RPGs, spent a lot of time in Diablo trying to get armour that looked cool. Works for space ships, cars, you name it.

- Unlock more levels with an even harder challenge.

Above things work better in online games but can also be a big factor in single player.

[Jesse Aldridge]

Thanks for the replies all.

@Ronkes
I liked your articles.
Ever thought of adding an about page to your blog? I generally like to know a bit about the author when I'm reading this sort of thing.

[Ronkes]

Maybe I don't want you to know about me. :)

I'll put it on my todo list, although I have to say that it is not a high priority for me right now. I'd rather spend my time writing articles. ;)