Last night, I
wrote about how design by subtraction helped shape some of the
primary mechanics of Tensai, and mentioned the use of a two-layer
Rock-Paper-Scissors system in order to allow a very readable, clearly
understandable elemental weakness chart while also giving room for
those at an elemental weakness to be able to outplay their opponents
through several layers of predictions-on-predictions-on-predictions.
I also mentioned
this Action Type system gave me more control over one of the most
bitched-about aspects of Pokémon from its competitive community: RNG
/ randomness / “Hax.” In Pokémon, some matches can be turned on
their head in an instant by the random chance to inflict a status
effect or have a stat lowered, or the bane of defensively-boosted
stall teams: a critical hit.
The first two
(status effects or debuffs) were easily remedied through Action
Types. An attack move was considered “effective” if it was
neutral or better against the opponent's move (For example, a Melee
move was effective against Melee, Ranged, Magical, and Supplementary
moves such as heals or self-buffs.) If an attack with an additional
effect, such as a debuff or status effect, was effective, its
additional effect was applied. While it's still somewhat random how
often status effects would actually be effective, it wasn't decided
by the game or some dice or some pseudo-randomized bullshit. It was
decided by the players.
Because the
effective chance would generally be a bit higher than most Pokémon
status effects (apart from Spore / Thunder Wave's 100% hit rate), I
tended to make the status effects weaker by comparison, including
Stun (Flinch) and Unstable (A stun that takes place AFTER the player
uses another attack or is hit by another attack...this would work
great in combination with low Priority moves on one turn into a
higher priority move on the next turn.) as common effects, rather
than paralysis or Pokémon-level burns that cut attack by half.
When Triton (the
programmer) asked how I could make critical hits not as
game-changing, I stopped for a second and thought, “What is it that
makes critical hits so bullshit?” A crit in Pokémon ignores any
defensive boosts (treats you as +/- 0 stages, so anyone who's spammed
Defense Curl or Harden doesn't have an advantage anymore) and deals
double the damage. But the defense-piercing effect isn't what made
it so frustrating.
It was the
unpredictability and the abruptness of the effect. You never know if
or when your opponent's next hit will land that lucky 6.25% chance to
crit. If your strategy is built around stalling out, odds aren't
entirely unrealistic that a critical hit could happen. But it's
random, and you can't tell when it is coming. Oftentimes, a crit
will completely wipe out the wall you were using to stall, and leave
your entire strategy in shambles and you with a very slim chance at
salvaging victory. Basically, you were playing against the game, not
against your opponent. And that's bad.
So, how do you
address that problem? Well, it's a turn-based game. My answer was
to simply make the bonus damage effect take place a turn after the
critical hit. Rather than a critical immediately flipping the board
over in chaos, it creates a tipping point. The board can be flipped,
but it is not a guarantee. The game is thrown out of balance
(coincidentally, I'd renamed the “Critical Hit” into “Knocked
Off Balance” to reflect that the creatures were more vulnerable for
a turn.), but the player who was standing tall on the jousting
platforms (man I miss American Gladiators) wasn't necessarily knocked
into the pit.
By making the
critical hit damage take place on the move used the turn AFTER the
“critical hit” effect happens, what changes?
- The player on the attacking end knows that, their next attack is going to deal a LOT of extra damage.
- The player on the receiving end knows that they have to do everything in their power not to let that extra damage take place.
Since the damage
bonus is tied into a status effect, the player on the defending end
has the option to simply swap out their creature and take regular
damage. If this system were applied to Pokémon, the interactions
from this situation would be limited, but still add a layer of Yomi –
if you predict the player wants to swap out of the damage, you have
the advantage in guessing which Pokémon/type they are going to bring
out next and can either use a move with a type advantage, or swap to
a Pokémon that will have an advantageous match-up. You also have
the potential of using higher priority moves (or regular moves if
you're faster).
But this isn't
Pokémon. Even if you're knocked off balance, the inclusion of
Action Types still offers you a manner to have your active creature
take zero damage in the next turn. For example, if your opponent's
strongest move is a Melee type, and you have an Aerial-type move, and
you predict your opponent is going to attempt a coup-de-grace, you
can choose to use an Aerial-type move to keep your previous
advantage. But he can predict your prediction and use an
otherwise-less-optimal decision to go for more likely damage; for
example, choosing an Aerial move as well to go for better coverage of
your defensive options.
Some creatures
also had passive abilities called Stances that made it so upon them
entering the battlefield (or using a supplementary move) they were
treated as using a specific Action Type, such as birds in the game
having an “Airborne” Stance that allowed them to be treated as
using Aerial moves when no Action Type was set by their selected
move. Because of this, a player could use being knocked Off-Balance
as an opportunity for a free swap-in, if their Stance matched up well
against the predicted move. You're gonna use a Ranged move to try to
capitalize on my off-balance creature? I'm going to swap in my
Tortoice with the passive, “Defensive” so he takes no damage as
he comes in.
So thanks to the
inclusion of Action Types, my “delayed effect” solution to
critical hits is given even more depth than it would've had if
plugged straight into Pokémon (where it'd still be better than the
current iteration). The player “screwed over” by the random
chaos of a critical hit is still given some degree of control of what
happens next. They're not playing against the game that decided the
critical hit happened...they're playing against the opponent who
decides what happens next.
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