These days I studied counterplay in games. When I go through the information, I found out that I've never thought about counterplay. Every time when I was playing multiplayer games, I just found them fun because once my opponent used some abilities to hurt me, I can use other abilities to protect myself at the same time. It's always enjoyable and a joy when I successfully block their attacks. Now I know that because the game has a really good counterplay that allows the player who is being attacked to have many choices to choose from when foreknowledge the attacks from others.
What is Counterplay?
• in a multiplayer game, when designing the ability of your mechanic, you can't only be thinking about how to make that ability or mechanic interesting for the player who gets to use it, you also have to think about how it is interesting for the players to get used on a more rigours level
• it's the idea that the mechanic or ability in a multiplayer game should increase the number of meaningful choices available both to the players using it and the player that's being used on
provide choices for both players
Bad Examples:
in shooting games, when you snipe and you don't know where is the ammo coming from (the sniper didn't provide a dynamic environment for the people he is shooting at)
Good Examples:
Super Smash Bros. series
https://supersmashbros.fandom.com/wiki/Falcon_Punch?file=CaptainFalconSSBWU3DS2.jpg
Falcon Punch
if the player reads the opponent clearly and sets up the punch in the correct moment and position, it will be a very strong attack
if this misses then the player will become weak and the opponent will get a huge opening for a strong punish
League of Legends
https://mmos.com/review/league-of-legends
Skills can be blocked by the creeps:
you are trying to keep creeps between you and your opponent and they are trying to get you out of position so they can have a clear shot
you can also try to lure your opponent into a position where they have manoeuvred themselves into a place where either you or your teammate can pounce on them
interesting options for both the players playing with these abilities and the players playing against them
Super Mario Party
1 vs. 3 Mode:
1 'Boss' enemy with all the power
still fun to be one of three players that are opposite to the 'Boss'
The minigames have a great anti-play design
Dealing with attacks is just as much fun as making them
How to make good counterplay?
• think about how to against it
• does it increase opportunities for skill differentiation or diminish them?
• does this broaden or diminish the number of options I have in play
• once you have the prototype, test them again and again and observe the reactions to your mechanic
• do players actually pick up on and use the counterplay options you've given them?
• do they end up trying a number of techniques they otherwise wouldn't in response to the mechanics being used on them and if not what can you do to fix that?
• how can you broaden those options or make the counterplay clear to your player
aware of group experience rather than focus on a single player or class
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRBcjsOt0_g&list=PL39zgUnuEc02-w_fRAXSP1hIhBtuw46Hq&index=1
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