Input randomness vs output randomness. What is it? Why is it important? Which one do you pick? This blog post will answer these three questions as briefly as possible using my game development knowledge. What is it? Input randomness and output randomness both describe the flow of randomness with a particular mechanic.
Why is it important?
Your choice of randomness in your games drastically affects the mechanics' engagement with your target audience. For example, if we use the 4 Keys 2 Fun matrix, and we say our target audience is Hard Fun players, which describes the audience as competitive players that love overcoming challenges and feel like it was their skill that got them there, you wouldn't want to have a lot of output randomness. Suppose we flip it and say that the entire game was predictable and balanced. In that case, you could plan out every single turn right from the beginning, and nothing would change throughout the game, then you probably wouldn't appeal to social fun players if that was your target audience. Which one do you pick? Well, that does come down to your target audience, as I stated above; however, there are a couple of reasons to pick one over the other. Pros for Input Randomness
Here's a video! If you want to see how altering your game from more output randomness to input randomness can positively change the engagement in your game from a practical perspective, check out this video here! https://youtu.be/XYS1rYc36OA |
AuthorHello, my name is Niall Crabtree, and this is my comprehensive blog showcasing all of my game development Archives
June 2022
Mailing ListReceive an email every two weeks with all the articles I produce so you never miss one!
|