What the community and third parties are building in StoryNexus
Missable Qualities -- Opinions?
Alex Livingston
Posts: 34
12/3/2012
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I have a handful of rare qualities in The Annwn Simulation 1985 which are missable. Most of these are based on getting a Rare Success. I use them a few times in Road-With-Many-Faces-esque situatiions, so in many cases players may not even know about their existence until they see themselves being denied the ability to use them.
Does this lead to replayability, or is it the height of cruelty?
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b_a_start
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Hierophant
Posts: 782
12/3/2012
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Every part of your game should serve the story. Including and especially its mechanics. If your missable qualities enhance the story, they're probably fine -- in small doses. But if they're a mechanical trick designed to entice players into a second playthrough, leave them out. They're extra work for you (not good) and frustrating for completionist players (very bad).
Put in a broader context: when you design branching content, you're always trying to balance player joy ("I got to choose meaningfully!") with player frustration ("I can't believe I missed X!")
Missable qualities for the sake of replay value probably don't come from meaningful story choices. They're behavioral-psych doohickeys. Skip them and focus on telling a compelling story to everyone.
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Head Writer
Zero Summer
zerosummer@outlook.com
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