Re: PBM design: give away the formulas?

From: skrenta@rt.com (Rich Skrenta)

Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1993 13:00:52 +0000

I finally hit the rec.games.pbm jackpot.  :-)

Here are my conclusions:

1.  Players want a sense of wonder.
    2.  Explicit documentation is good.
    3.  Obscuring the rules is a poor way to achieve a sense of wonder.

Some games show you all the rules, mechanics, and playing pieces before
you start.  Olympia will never be like that.  A large part of the game is
exploring the locations and skill groups, finding artifacts, fighting new
monsters.

But hidden workings in major systems that are never explained, and
difficult (or painful) to learn only cause grief.  PERSUADE in Oly I: lots
of unexplained internal detail.  Not explained up front, not explained when
invoked.  Result: "bug" reports and hate mail, from players who were
unpleasantly surprised when PERSUADE didn't work the way they (intuitively)
thought it should.

So I intend to explicitly describe the workings of major game systems such
as combat, travel and study.

But at the same time, I won't be "giving away all the formulae".
The workings of unlearned magic spells will be a mystery.  Who knows
what the Staff of Calyx really does?  What happens if I try to harvest
wood in a sacred grove?  Mwah ha ha.

But if you get a lore sheet on "Cast shroud of concealment", you deserve
to know how long it can be expected to last, and what it's supposed to
protect against.  However, you won't necessarily know that there is also
a "Dispel shroud of concealment".

I've found that vagueness in documentation often occurs when it is written
separately from the code.  "Hmmm, have to see what that routine looks like
when I get to it:  'Travel times may be affected by terrain.'  There, I
documented it.  Now no matter what I code, I'm covered.  Plus, I've added
a sense of mystery!"

--
Rich Skrenta <skrenta@rt.com>

References

PBM design: give away the formulas?
skrenta@rt.com (Rich Skrenta)
Sat, 19 Jun 1993 18:12:59 +0000

Referenced By

PBM design: give away the formulas?
skrenta@rt.com (Rich Skrenta)
Sat, 19 Jun 1993 18:12:59 +0000