lia :user_online: on Nostr: i shall share one #GameDesign secret everyone thinks good and balanced design is ...

i shall share one #GameDesign secret

everyone thinks good and balanced design is about balancing advantages with disadvantages. you know, a sniper rifle deals a ton of damage to a single target, but it's bad in close quarters and for groups. A shotgun is good for groups in close quarters, but terrible at a distance. That kinda stuff.

shh.
i'm here to tell you:
avoid designing disadvantages.
you want a lack of advantages to be the downside of something.

and if you check good and popular games, you'll notice that 99% of the time that's how they do it too. and if you check frustrating and janky games, you'll notice they'll have designed distinct disadvantages to things.

i'll reply to this with a bunch of examples.

#gamedev