Game design to make you feel "Pro"

[Frizz.Meister]

It dawned on me that no one has discussed this yet and im wondering what everyones views are on the subject.

Games have pretty much since Halo 3 been designed to make the player feel "Pro." It sounds crazy i know but this sort of design really helps games sell well and is clearly not picked up on by the majority of player (2 mins in XBL chat can tell you that). The idea of being pro at a game has been around since... well since before 1990, but it is only in recent years that being a "Pro" at a game doesnt mean you get beat up but rather makes you cool. Game designers cottoned on to this quickly and adjusted their game to make the players feel more "Pro."

Some examples:
- Halo reaches sniper rifle (the Pro weapon) has rediculous auto aim
- Call of Duty rewards bad player for sitting still watching a doorway with "Pro" kill streaks
- My minds gone blank but ill put the others i was thinking of down later

Is this incredible game design as it makes the player feel good and encourage him to play his friends so they have to buy the game. Or is this poor game design where balance is compromised to increase sales?

[Curlypaul]

Another example is the last few levels of Red Steel 2. By this time you should have levelled up to point that you can steamroller anything the game throws at you. Some people said this was a flaw, that the game was unbalanced, but I think they did it on purpose so that you'd feel like a badass samuri gunslinger.

I dont really care whether the decision to do this sort of thing is driven by sales or not, a sense of achievement and mastery is what makes fun as far as i am concerned.

[Erik_Twice]

You are not crazy, it's a very real trend that has been around for a while.

There's a recent game that awards you points for doing "pro things", like airshots with rockets, making enemies fall into pits, using splash damage or just hitting the enemy. It was sad, because the enemies just sat there doing nothing. There was no reason to do those things other than, as you say, feeling "pro" and bragging online. The game doesn't lead you to those things.

It's sad trend because it leads to poor design. If you limit the difficulty so much you are stuck with only a few things you can do. Would the lasers in Quick Man stage be fun if they didn't kill you in one shot? I don't think so. Difficulty is a vital element in game design.


It's one of the reasons I dislike Guitar Hero and think it's a poor game compared to other music games.

It lets you miss half the notes of the song and pass, it has an automatic win button for hard parts and you don't have to time the notes. It ruins the sense of achivement when you can bullshit your way through. I can't help but think that it's designed so you go online and brag about how l33t you are.


Don't get me wrong, it's not that it's an easy game. Portal is easy but it doesn't have this design. This trend is about making you feel a "pro" when you aren't.

[Bradtemple87]

Maybe in first person shooters, but I play fighting games. I don't see fighting games giving any grace online. Characters can be tweaked but matches are won entirely on a player's skill level. It definitely takes a LOT longer to master this genre.

[Erik_Twice]

^I can't think of any Fighting game that has this kind of design, fortunatedly.

[Frizz.Meister]

^I can't think of any Fighting game that has this kind of design, fortunatedly.

But they easily could if say one was designed with a near 1 hit KO button combo. O and great point about portal.

[jfrost]

Guilty Gear had a 1-hit KO move. It was not an easy game by any means.

[t0yrobo]

I think fighting games have developed somewhat in a way to give that "pro" feeling. Because i don't play fighters much I'm using a old game as an example, MvC2. All the various text that pop up on the screen, the double jumps, and huge combo counters on super moves, all make the player feel as if they're doing something completely badass when in fact it's totally normal.
There's a fair bit of it in shmups and rpgs as well. Executing massive combo moves with one button press in rpgs, and withstanding huge barrages in shmups because you have tiny hitbox, then unleashing a massive laser blast. I think all these examples are good ways of handling it. I totally agree that all these fps games just encourage bragging and effect the gameplay negatively.

[AmishSamurai]

Would the lasers in Quick Man stage be fun if they didn't kill you in one shot? I don't think so. Difficulty is a vital element in game design.

That's insinuating that the Quickbeams were fun and not a nightmare-inducing hell that still makes me cry myself to sleep at night.

[Limewater]

That's insinuating that the Quickbeams were fun and not a nightmare-inducing hell that still makes me cry myself to sleep at night.

I could never get past the quickbeams when I was younger. I found them frustrating and just gave up pretty easily and tried to beat other levels (I was pretty bad at Mega Man back then). I went back and played Mega Man 2 last year, and got through them on my second try.