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A game balanced for multiplayer can never allow for epic decisions that wipe out possible players instantly and shatter the gamescape and even the player that made them. I am simply "Not allowed" to make that kind of epic decision.Īnd therein lies the problem. Even if it would make your country explode from rebellion afterward. One cannot simply wipe an entire country out because it is not "fair". This was the first change of a long line of changes that was made, because it was not "balanced". It was my game to do as I wished and that power to make those kind of decisions made me very happy indeed. It was a mistake I was allowed to make because there wasn't someone else playing Scotland. The rebellions after were a pain the in arse, but I learned quickly not to take more than I can chew. In single player games, the most fun I had early on was crushing the entire of Scotland as England in the first month. Making sure that the excitement for those watching is maintained and that a game is not a done deal in the first few moves. However, if you look at the design of top e-sports, you will see that balance changes are always made to make games closer and more drawn out. We often must protect losers so they don't get crushed early on and conversely, we must erect walls so that the winning side does so with some chance for the losing side to fight back. This also often means that the game must start hard, must be understood before being played and be hard. To keep the losing side from throwing their game out the window, the game must be balanced. The joke is that losing is not fun, but multiplayer games must have losers. They might not even be allowed to be entertained. Not every player, in a multiplayer game, can be the winner. But in the game of balance, there must be winners and losers. We can always add difficulty levels, mods, or other madness to single player and it doesn't matter. It does not matter if something is "gamey" or "stupid", as long as the player(s) enjoy it. They are the center of our game world and everything about our game should cater to their fun and amusement. We want our solo player to be special and to feel special. Balance is the reason why Unreal Tournament was an amazing Multiplayer game.īut why would this be so? The reason is because we don't actually want single player to be balanced. Balance is the reason why Diablo 3 was an absolutely shitty single player game and failed so hard, though there were other issues, of course. That there are no overpowered strategies, that all choices can be reasonable, etc, etc.īalance makes for terrible single player and amazing multiplayer. It means that, within reason, everyone states in a similar position and can be equally successful. I am here because, I just get the feeling that through good intent the single player is being killed and prehaps there isn't an understanding of why this is.īalance is the idea that any side or faction can win. I have come to really love EUIV, but my love for it is dying because I mostly enjoy it as a single player game. I don't waste my time trying to improve bad games. I certainly wouldn't be here writing this if I didn't like the game. I understand that players do not know what they want, do not understand balance typically and are generally completely negative at all times. Now I know that, this will scream "arguement from authority" to those who understand that line of reasoning, but I am simply stating this because I want to show I am not just random person who thinks they know what good design is. I got my Honours Degree in Video Games Technologies and am pretty much obessed with game design. So firstly, who am I and why should you listen to me? Well, I am a Game Designer and I've spent most of my life studing and playing video games.
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This is expected, but it isn't necessary. The multiplayer continues to get more challenging and more balanced, which is great, but at the cost of single player. In the hope that, prehaps, Paradox will come to revert some of the many changes that continue to damage the single player to the point that is becoming increasingly unexciting to play. Over the next page or so, I want to convince you and, prehaps paradox of this fundimental truth. I know for certain that Paradox does not agree. Multi-Player and Single Player cannot co-exist.