What not to do Part 4: All things…

So, you are a budding modder. You have an idea and a basic understanding of how the tools you will be using work. That’s great, but before you begin upon what you will consider your magnum opus, why don’t we step back a bit and focus upon a few of the mistakes we, at UserCreated , don’t want to see.

Skip on past the break to read the last part of my little series.

All things… (a.k.a: closure)

It has taken me a little too long to start the final part of this weekly ramble. Somewhat perplexingly I’d planned out the first few parts of this series but never really got around to planning how I’d conclude things.

My bad.

Anyway, after quite a long pause (replete with myriad cups of tea) I have come to the inevitable conclusion that I should start at the end. To be honest so should you. I recently played a NWN2 module, which (for reasons I have outlined before) shall remain nameless, that somehow managed to avoid the pitfalls I have previously delineated. The story was well paced, there were just enough twists and turns to hold my interest and – somehow – it managed to include great characters. In fact, I was quite ready to name it one of my favourite fan made modules. Then I suddenly (and quite unexpectedly) reached the conclusion of the story. Abrupt endings are all very well but they must conform to two basic rules: first they must make sense and second they must grant the gamer closure.  These two rules are absolutely paramount if you are writing a story, but they also apply to those amongst you who might decide to dream up a new game mode.

Nothing is worse than not knowing why you lost, or how you got from a position of strength to one of weakness. Team Fortress 2, the paragon of team games, is sometimes guilty of breaking that rule – a single spy cap can leave the losing team feeling deflated, confused and usually angry – but the same might be said of most multiplayer shooters. If you are going to create something competitive, which we will no doubt end up playing at some point, then you have to be sure to always keep your players in the loop. Whilst your game mechanics might be faultless, the art direction perfect and the actual act of playing fun no game will survive if people continually rage at the end of a match. Much as finishing my module left a bitter aftertaste, so will a match that is lost for no obvious reason; no one will be happy with losing, so no one will want to play.

To be honest there is no set way to avoid this. Like I said, this is something that even the greats are sometimes guilty of, but it is something that will come up as you test your game. Always keep aware that very few people play games to feel powerless, they play because they can control what is going on, and any random element should be minimised. Clarity and transparency are your friends in this endeavour.

Anyway, I guess I’ve annoyed you enough for this week. I’ll be back next Wednesday with a new series, feel free to leave a comment if there is anything you’d like to read. I was planning a tour of Fallout 3 mods, but that might wait up a bit because my EVE corp is currently grabbing sov so I’m not sure I’ll have the time to do justice to such a mighty endeavour. Perhaps you’d like to read a review? Or hear me rant about a topic particularly far from your heart? This site is dedicated to what the community can achieve so feel free to pitch in guys!

Till next time!