In chapter 1 or in the MOBA scenario, a player’s success or failure is measured by how quickly the player progresses relative to the other players.
In the co-operative scenario (chapter 2), player success/failure cannot be measured by their development relative to their peers, as players want to all grow together.
Instead success is measured by the entire team’s strength relative to the strength of the major bosses. Time pressure that was previously created by trying to develop faster than one’s peers is simulated by giving these bosses objectives and scaling abilities that incentivise players to confront these bosses sooner rather than later.
This left us to question how we are supposed to address the defeat conditions when players fail to overcome the major bosses. A simple game over is punishing and inconsistent with the game’s overall aesthetic.
However without a punishment for failure players will always inevitably defeat the bosses (viab repeat attempts with stronger characters)- undermining the threat and tension these major set pieces present.
Tune in next week to find out how we resolved this paradox.
Keep fighting together AetheRen.