How Video Games Lie To You

[@twinsen04]

One thing to keep in mind as a game designer is that players are smarter than you think. Depending on the game, as soon as a player notices this invisible balancing, they will likely feel cheated and lied to. So one important part of invisible balancing is making sure the player doesn't notice, or when they notice, it feels fair. The things you mentioned make sense, and in your game they are fair. But things like dynamic difficulty in a single player game can completely ruin your sense of accomplishment when you realize you barely just won because the game let you. Or in a multiplayer game, when that awesome headshot wasn't skill, but the game helping you out because you are at the bottom of the scoreboard.

[@hankhill5913]

@@MentalCheckpoint very wise

[@weirdchickenman]

I’ve encountered one game balance that to me seemed unfair once I noticed it. In Brawl Stars, losing a few games in a row as long as you are under a certain rank will force your next match to be against AI opponents (that look like real players but are easy to spot.) It makes the game easier for sure, but it’s demoralizing to realize the game is treating me like I’m not good enough to play against real players.

[@muhajaya3161]

@@weirdchickenman like uno too

[@Soul-Burn]

I learned that in Bioshock, enemies have worse aim when you're looking away from them, to stop players from getting hit by enemies they didn't see. As a veteran FPS player, I always move so I can have the enemies in my sight and never behind me, causing the enemies to aim better. I was punished for playing what people will consider "better". I felt lied to. Similarly in Bayonetta, enemies off screen move slower and don't use projectiles too much. It's a common tactic in high level play to keep enemies off screen for this reason. On the other hand, In Doom 2016, when you move erratically, enemies aim worse than if you stay in place or move in straight lines. This was by design, to reward "better" play.

[@YeaButCanUDoABackflp]

I very crititcal of this practice actually. Fifa has a lot of those mechanics, but they seem rather random and aren't even favoring the less skilled player. Mario Kart was mentioned in the video. Battlefield (One and V) has this mechanic for sure, too make it seem more close. Not only does this make the game feel more stale and ruin the sense of accomplishment (if you figure it out while playing), but it also tends to make every round kinda the same. You already know what's gonna happen, how close it has to get at the end and can even tell what's likely gonna happen to you: Like in Mario Kart, when you know exactly which Item you can get or can't get, depending on your current place. And if you figure out that every game/round is being nudged to play out a certain way it just get's stale and boring much quicker. Even if you want to cheese a game to be more exciting, this doesn't make that much sense. What about the psychology of lootboxes? They are so addicting to us because they can be rewarding and can also be shitty at the same time. We don't know what it's gonna be. A lot of algorithms work like that to get us hooked. So, there are good uses for those tricks but I don't think it's good for the game to enforce a certain outcome. I haven't played Move or Die btw, but I feel this in a lot of games that overdo it and it's annoying af. But I also felt like the main audience doesn't care as much as I do, doesn't even notice or notice but can't put their finger on it.

[@mihaiioantabacaru7758]

I love how in Dead Space, if you get scared and try to do a 180 really fast, the camera pans really slowly. In contrast, if you move your mouse slowly, the camera pans faster. The game teaches you to be brave and composed in order to be fully immersed. Beautiful

[@kornsuwin]

i somehow thought you were matt parker

[@mihaiioantabacaru7758]

@@kornsuwin ha :)) should update my picture

[@shanroxalot5354]

Are you talking about dead space 1? That wasn't intentional, but was poor port of consoles analogue stick controls to a mouse. Unlike a mouse analogue sticks have a max speed, so it's more like you have to move your mouse slower just so you don't run out of space while waiting for the camera to rotate.

[@mihaiioantabacaru7758]

@@shanroxalot5354 if that's the case, then it's the best "it's a feature not a bug" I've ever seen xD

[@justarandomguy1652]

@@mihaiioantabacaru7758 Yeah that's definitely poor mouse optimization became a feature. Watch dog 1 has it too but in that game I found it impossible to enjoy with a mouse lol

[@Mr.Electricc]

I didn't realize this was the move or die guy. Been following the main channel and the game ever since it came out. Been a fan of your style of video and game and happy to see you making more content

[@arandomhashbrown3756]

Same

[@Lernos1]

Still wish he'd made that singleplayer puzzle game instead or alongside with Move or Die. Looks like such a cool concept.

[@leirex_1]

I am super split on invisible balancing. I am all for making matches more interesting by, for example: making the leading player more likely to be targeted by stage hazards. However, people are not as clueless as one might think. As soon as I realized what COD's engagement based match making was doing I felt punished for playing well and every win felt like a hand-out. It's tricky to implement invisible balancing, because it not only needs to be hidden from the player but also stay undetected even after many hundreds of hours. As soon as players find out the game lets you win because you suck they will feel worse than if it straight up told you to "git gud".

[@RickMyBalls]

THE GAME LET IS YOU WIN

[@leirex_1]

​@@RickMyBalls It's just a small grammatical error. No need to get your panties in a twist.

[@RickMyBalls]

@@leirex_1 you would say that

[@fangsup726]

13:12 Yes, YES, FEED the Algorithm. It accepts your delicious offering. Om nom nom. But anyway, a very detailed and interested video about the little lies needed to make a game really good. One of my favorite examples is in Resident Evil 4, where some zombies will occasionally enter a "Phase 2" when being killed, causing the virus to mutate them, giving them a new attack, and keeping them fighting. Now, this is mostly left to chance, but if the player is doing well, (IE, not getting hurt often, killing enemies quickly, loads of spare ammo) it will happen more often, putting the player in more danger and making them spend more ammo or resources to fight them. But if the player is doing poorly, (Getting hit a lot, missing shots, low on ammo) this will happen less often. This means the game eases up when you're having trouble, but also pushes you a little harder if you seem unchallenged, keeping the game engaging all the way through.

[@jmvr]

Yup. That's why speedrunners will play on the hardest difficulty, due to the lack of the mutations (of the game difficulty, not the zombies).

[@Zodaxa_zdx]

this is a good trailer for your game right here, also ruins the inner workings but it's SO LOVELY to see a dev just spill the beans on how their game just works

[@kristyandesouza5980]

Tbh every aspect he talked about on Move or Die seems fair, while many games, especialy triple A ones, feel... Off, making it slightly harder for someone taking your game easily is really useful against boredom, but making it easier would definely make it feel less rewarding for the players if they got to know the thing they did was easier than they thought, even if that diference was really small

[@thespeedyyoshi]

Oh my gosh I’m in LOVE with your editing Those title cards are EXQUISITE The b-roll footage is perfect The script writing articulate And your voice just ties it all together. Absolutely phenomenal for a seemingly relatively new youtuber. HELL YEAH I’m helping that algorithm! ^^

[@mcquizzer106]

The problem with "invisible" balance, I think, is that it can lead to degenerate gameplay once a player learns about the mechanic. For example, sandbagging in mario kart in lap 1 to get good items.

[@EvilParagon4]

But that leads to some high skill play, for instance in Mario Kart Wii, a player can dodge blue shells in first place by hanging back to fourth, getting lucky and grabbing a mushroom, making it back to first without using it, then holding on to it and hoping lightning doesn't ruin their plans. When the shell comes down, the player then has to perfectly time when to boost to complete the dodge. That shouldn't be discouraged at all.

[@revimfadli4666]

@@EvilParagon4 it's always interesting to see the high risk high reward skilled plays that emerge from abusing rubberbanding/catchup mechanisms. Open Forting in autobattlers also comes to mind

[@GameFuMaster]

@@EvilParagon4 I think the presence of a blue shell is terrible game design, punishing the best player doing well for no reason. The lightning item is much better because it affects everyone else equally.

[@EvilParagon4]

​@@GameFuMaster It doesn't actually. It only affects the players in front of the user. So this evens out to punishing the player in first, who has a near 100% chance of getting hit, and the player in last 0%, since they can never be hit. Additionally, the shrink-recovery of lightning prioritises the players in last the fastest, for instance a player who's shrunk in 11th will pop back up almost immediately whereas a player in 1st can take several seconds. The lightning is also an awful item. When someone gets hit with a red shell the usual reaction is something like "Aww." But when lightning strikes, everyone in the room suddenly gets annoyed. The lightning is too punishing. It: 1. Removes held items. 2. Causes a spin out (including mid jump). 3. Makes you smaller, thus easier to bump around and get squashed. 4. Makes you slower. 5. There is no way to avoid it. 6. Affects everyone (in front of the user). Better items include: The lightning cloud, a skill based item that hits one person, speeding them up temporarily but shrinking them if they hold it for too long. It can also be removed by boosting on platforms. The POW block, an item that affects everyone and causes spin outs, but can be minimised in danger by performing a trick/wheelie or being in the air. A way to fix the lightning would be to give players more options in countering it. One such solution could be that instead of striking everyone, it essentially puts a lightning cloud over everyone that will soon strike. You can't give two clouds to someone so you're stuck with it. Or perhaps a player has the horn and can get rid of it, but then they're still at risk of a player nearby giving them the cloud. Meanwhile the risk-reward of keeping the cloud for as long as possible becomes entirely self contained. Perhaps this would get people to not take risky flight paths in maps with the glider, as they could see the cloud and decide not to let it surprise them. A simple change like this suddenly changes how annoying the lightning is. Regardless, the blue shell is indeed a terrible item. The game should have a bias installed where if it detects a blue shell on the map, the next item a player in first picks up is 50% chance something to counter it. A player could with that knowledge either gun for a cube or hold back to second to avoid the penalty. Additionally a reduction in warning cues for the blue shell's arrival could reward an astute player for recognising that they need to keep the horn they just got.

[@D_YellowMadness]

@@EvilParagon4 Agreed. The blue shell & lightning are easily the two worst things in the Mario Kart franchise, so much so that Mario Kart Wii's online play was ruined almost entirely by those two items. A 12-player race where everyone except the lead racer has a random chance of getting those items is just infuriating & tedious. Skill is 99% meaningless. Especially since that game also had red shells & pow blocks. Going a few seconds without being hit by something you couldn't have avoided is rare.

[@cachotognax3600]

Mostly feeding the algorythm, but as other people pointed out players can and will discover the invisible balancing. I think the most important part is then to make sure that that invisible guiding doesn't remove agency, or reduce percieved agency, Like if half life always healed you to full hp between every encounter people would learn that avoiding damge isn't really necessary past to an extent, not only healing is not to full, but the ammo crate could have had ammo instead of health, so a player that notices the trick kinda gains a new kind of agency, knowing that taking less damage might mean more ammo.

[@vtnk7597]

This is true. I kinda droped doom 2 because i realized that i was barely surviving way too much; and that a clear sniper miss was, somehow, a head shot. I felt like i couldn't get better because i was not been punished enought by my bad missplays

[@TinyDeskEngineer]

Ah, so I don't need to worry about dying so much, because 90% of the time I have full ammo.

[@IC-23]

In half life'e case I'd argue it makes the game more stressful constantly being healed means you aren't getting ammo and sooner or later you'll get to the point where you're just about to run out of ammo and that's more stressful than low HP ever could having to brave through wave of enemies with only enough fire power to kill 3-4 enemies is terrifying. Granted Half Life doesn't capitalize on that as much as it should by giving you infinite ammo caches or in sections where killed enemies drop bullets, guess this just goes to show how great Ravenholm was.

[@3nertia]

Reminds me of the Futurama episode where Bender meets "god" and "god" says, "When you do things right, people wont be sure you've done anything at all" :D

[@EviGL]

I really NEED a video that lists all known invisible balance in all games. That's what I want to know, that's what I NEED in my life.

[@bigmclargehuge8219]

Ditto. It would be like.. a stupidly long video, but still.

[@RickMyBalls]

NEED

[@Nylspider]

Hard agree

[@marquesghm]

Great video! I only started noticing these "lies" when I started playing board games, where the rules of balance are literally described in the rulebook.

[@xchronox0]

I think the worst offender I've seen is like... "If you reach the winning score, every player except you gets another turn and then if they have more than you, they win." Like, one that's been okay with me is "Every player gets another turn if they've had less turns (i.e., player who went second won, in a four player game, the third and fourth players in the turn order would get to play one more turn)" because that ensures everyone got the same number of turns. But that first one is just straight up... lose by winning most of the time. 😂

[@weirdchickenman]

One example of this is in Splatoon’s story mode, where enemy octocopters won’t shoot at you if they aren’t on screen. They even move around the player to try and get in the player’s view.

[@ultimateking2238]

That also happens in Breath of the Wild, enemy archers have a signifigantly lower/zero chance to hit you if they're offscreen, and lynels move around to an invisible mark on the screen before using some of their attacks, letting you basically drive a lynel

[@DiamondAppendixVODs]

In Ocarina of Time, Wallmaster doesn't spawn if you're in first person mode

[@FlameUser64]

Oh I just remembered a very important instance of lying in the player's favour at a mechanical level that actually does a _huge_ service to the game it's from and should really become a staple of the subgenre: the Sonic-inspired Freedom Planet does not have contact damage from most enemies. And even the ones that _do_ deal contact damage, or simply are actively using a melee attack at the time, cannot deal melee damage to you while _you_ are dealing melee damage to them. This even applies to those spiky helmeted guys in Dragon Valley that are totally immune to damage while not moving; you can roll straight through them as Carol without taking damage simply because you're constantly hitting them, even though all you're getting is a lot of "no damage" ping noises. For a platformer that wants to both focus on speed _and_ have a sub-focus on combat, I think this is a very good and important mechanic that allows for a much more aggressive playstyle that allows speed to be rewarded rather than being the reward.

[@helper_bot]

if it was not made for balance purposes would it still count as a 'lie'? it fits the name 'hidden mechanic' but i usually hate them because it provokes hidden cheezing strats that actually made the game unbalanced toward players that know them vs casual players. but fun is fun i guess, i wouldn't hate a game as long as it is fun to play

[@KrazyCouch2]

This made me think of Uno! How the winning player has to draw attention to themselves by telling out uno, and how the game gets harder as you get closer to winning. Not really the same but y'know...

[@notveryobservant1056]

I think that that’s the most interesting type of balance, where the way the game works forces it to be balanced.

[@zacharyrenfro3716]

I adore how you talk about important game design concepts like invisibile balancing and then go on to give examples of how you've implmented them into your game. It's a really cool way to give examples of the concepts in practice!

[@scrabblehandforaname]

I'm reminded of Crash Bandicoot. In 2 and 3, there are some systems to gradually pull back the difficulty when the game notices that the player is having a particularly bad time: more hitpoints, more checkpoints, lessened time limits, that sort of thing.

[@JamEngulfer]

Here’s an important question that ties into what I’ve found when playing very intense games: do you factor in intensity burnout when designing these things? I’ve had experience with online games where the balance is tuned towards very intense game endings, namely Overwatch on release, where most matches were a 99%/99% overtime fight over the point, or League of Legends around Season 5, where most games had a super tense late game extending to the 50+ minute mark, or Counterstrike matches ending up at 14/14 with a desperate scramble to win the last two rounds. What I found was although those sorts of games are the most fun to play in the moment, every single game being very close made me burn out way quicker, to the point where I stopped playing Overwatch entirely. Do you have any advice/experience balancing to make sure there’s a tension/release curve over multiple games played over time? As someone who wants to get into making online games, it’s something I’ve been trying to figure out to no avail. Thanks!

[@DarkOminigiri]

Have you found your answer yet?

[@JamEngulfer]

@@DarkOminigiri nope!

[@piersonlawrence3467]

This is one of the best videos I've seen about game design. Catchy title, Intuitive layout, and the Climax at the end where all parts come together and it shows all components coming together and people giving natural reactions to it. Good work!

[@GrayCatTheMemeMachine]

In Portal, the devs added a speed modifier so you can make a jump that were too high for the game's normal physics

[@yummydragon8533]

I remember in the Portal 2 escape cutscene in The Part Where He Kills You, specifically the part where you're in a funnel and Wheatley brings out the spikey masher. You escape that by shooting the portal below so you fall out of the masher's way and into the funnel that comes out of the portal. But, so that players don't accidentally put the wrong portal and die, the developers made it so that regardless of the portal you put, blue or orange, you'll get the funnel.

[@halfcraftgamer6640]

Man, as someone who wants to develop their own game at some point these videos are basically inputting a cheat code for it. Couldn't thank you enough for this stuff and with the amazing editing, any teacher who would grade this would give you a gold star.

[@D_YellowMadness]

1:29 Some mod levels are so badly designed they pretty much require you to know how that works so you can decide whether to break boxes now & get health/batteries or stockpile boxes to be broken later for ammo.

[@Frn1]

In Splatoon 2, making the camera look away from an Enemy makes it miss a lot more

[@jhonnythejeccer6022]

The fact that you had real life examples of your own game made it sooo much more understandable. And i just loved the little compilation at the end, just perfect

[@totaltakeover]

Hi Xelu. It's been a while, but I'm glad you're still around. I really look forward to what cool concepts and content you post on this channel! See you around!

[@Engoneer]

I love this so much, i've seen a lot of game design videos but this is a topic people don't mention as much as it deserves

[@danieltillson6904]

So interesting! I've wondered about things like this in games, where you notice something that should be random seems to present a subtle pattern, nice to see that confirmed, and the reason behind it.

[@Fehhh25]

I've just stumble on your channel thanks the the gods of the algorithm, and all i have to do is praise them. I've already gone trough almost all videos, and I'm learning, so much. I love this video so much, I've once saw a video that explain how mobile games and heavily micro transaction focused games perverse this type of invisible balance to milk money of players, and because of that got kind disgusted of this sort of practice. But omg your video change completely my mind, the whole time i could not get the quote "Given the opportunity, players will optimize the fun out of a game." These things can make a game so much more fun for everyone. Thanks for the knowledge the video and keep the amazing work.

[@DANNYonPC]

Some nice visuals in this video! good stuff Yea, ive been kinda exposing some of these invisible catchup mechanics inside the battlefield franchise from double damage for new players, to faster flag caps and more vehicles for the losing team

[@andy4an]

having just suffered (and triumphed) through Dark Souls 1, i'd love to hear if they have any of these lies... or if the game is just as brutal as it feels and there is no hand holding at all

[@mathiasjensen2841]

Super informative video! Any particular reason you did not use terms such as positive and negative balancing loops? What you are describing is pretty much negative balancing loops to balance the game towards being close calls towards the end. Would also be interesting to see you talk about game genres and this kind of balancing. Very competitive games generally avoid these negative balancing loops, since they interfere with the fairness of matches, whereas more casual/party-type games use these balancing tricks in abundance.

[@MattiaBelletti]

What I also think it's interesting in this talk is that, after all, everything we do in game design is about providing players with a specific _experience_. If you want the experience to be that of a tense competition between players, well, then invisible balancing comes almost inevitably as a consequence, because of the "tense" part: you do everything you can in your game to keep the tension up. Very well made video, super interesting to watch!

[@foreducation408]

This is the most in-depth game Mechanics video I ever seen on KZbin of a game developer loved it soo much.

[@EtraGames]

Sharp video, fascinating concept. Interesting to see Nintendo doesn’t use this much, while Western studios seem to use it constantly. I know these examples are not a perfect sample of all games, but in general, a video taking a look at different design focuses and patterns from different nations would be fascinating

[@someweeb3650]

I think that's mostly because of the main thing you think of with "Japanese game" is a JRPG or something with JRPG mechanics, or just general power scaling. The idea there is main quests for challenge and side quests to make it easier.

[@cowgoRAWR30]

These videos are fantastic. Your editing and quality make this seem like a channel that's years old. So I'm glad to watch you grow.

[@omarghadir]

I shall feed the algorithm especially with such great edited videos with great thoughts presented in a simple yet informative way (some gaming channels are soooo technical it hurts)

[@jimjam4real]

Was not expecting this channel, but I'm already quite excited to see where it's headed.

[@PTFVBVB]

Your insights on game dev have really helped me build appreciation for the hard work done to make the game more exciting in ways the user may never recognize. I'd really love to hear your take on the game manager for L4D2, even though it's well known it just works so well.

[@LappenGamer_Sven]

Thanks for making that video. It was really interesting to see how developers secretly balance games to be more fun and close in the end.

[@Alaskanraider2734]

Amazing video. It's fascinating seeing all these little parts of the game I never saw before

[@Metaknigthbg2]

This is quickly going up there next to game makers toolkit as one of my favourite channels! Love it!

[@dylanjack6784]

I may or may not have just binged all this mans videos. XD. well done on this new channel, its very entertaining.

[@NicolasPL_]

This video is extremely good, dude. And really interesting as well!

[@Yolwoocle]

I love the player's reactions, it must be amazing to see your own game in practice

[@Ozdical]

I LOVE THIS VIDEO SO MUCH??? THIS IS SO INTERESTING I ADORE THE EDITING ND SCRIPT WRITING!! Good job dude!!

[@y404]

Hey, I don't know if you'll see this but please keep making these videos! They're really really high quality and provide some really useful insight into the decisions game makers (such as yourself) make to create their game! Hope you are having a good day wherever you are!

[@zuzursuz]

Whoa, clearly a lot of work went into this video. Awesome content, loved it!

[@jayd777]

This video was nice, can't wait to see your future videos! It would be great if you covered other games and how they have invisible lies more in depth, but the examples you chose in this one were great

[@sipofsunkist9016]

I think THIS very thing is what differentiates E sports and for fun video games

[@matheuswohl]

man that looks like a well designed game but at the same time, this invisible balancing is the kind of stuff I would more or less hate to see on e-sports like games. More specifically the ones that try to help level the playing field handicapping high performers while boosting low performers, however the mechanics that increase overall tension the further along the game progresses... those might be fun if well implemented

[@ryzeonline]

Brilliant look at invisible balance, thanks so much for the insight and I love the production quality and editing on your videos.

[@Einekha]

I loved this! It's such a difficult line to thread but y'all seem to have done it amazingly! Thanks for the insight :3

[@lonelystar25]

Dude you've come out of nowhere and your videos have SO MUCH QUALITY and are very enjoyable. I hope the algorythm blesses you because you deserve it

[@Propaganda66]

How does this guy only have 20k subscribers? These are some of the highest quality gaming related videos on KZbin

[@uncle_antonio6841]

Your vids are awesome! I just started game dev and even tho I don’t have any application for your tips rn, it makes me think about where I want to go with my game in the future, which is really exiting. Keep up the amazing work while we feed the algorithm…

[@sluginator1313]

Cool video, I liked the editing and your commentary, and I learned a whole lot about game design. Before watching this, I was unaware of the “invisible balancing” in games, but it totally makes sense now and I can think of countless examples. Thanks for this, Mental Checkpoint :)

[@BuzzRizzyear]

Saw an ad for your video in Move or Die, watched a video, and now I'm your subscriber

[@davion_4623]

Thank you so much for the information.the editing is amazing and engaging

[@Jiririn]

Leaving some algorithm seeds along, great videos. I realised I've watched one before somewhere and I'm back can't believe you're only at 7k subscribers. Made a checkpoint over here for sure!

[@rightycat]

I knew about invisible mechanics in games, but exposing the ones used in your own game was very pog

[@rigaudio]

I love these types of videos. Keep it up!

[@joaopedroholanda4167]

Great video, with high-quality content and editing! I knew about some of these concepts, but it was interesting to see how they are used by an actual game. Just subscribed, I hope you continue making great stuff!

[@polymathmusic5371]

i love seeing people reacting to your game. must be a great feeling.

[@aligoo4638]

This is a really cool video! its cool to see developers pealing back the curtain on their games, good work!

[@Vennele]

I'll give my comments on your videos from now on, just for the algorithm. I truly enjoy the videos you make, if this is the best way I have to support them for now, it's what I'll do. Thanks for the great content. I'm willing to play your game. 💕

[@aidenvalentine220]

I'm glad I found this channel as early as I did. Seriously, I just subscribed yesterday and there's already another thousand people. I think you're doing an incredible job with your videos, and I look forward to watching other ones. Keep up the great work!

[@grassblade2383]

this feels like a big sponsorship for move or die. and honestly im all for it, it looks gun. the advertisement worked

[@jegantdragoch.7088]

great editing to keep things very entertaining and informative

[@i_fish6657]

This channel feels like gmtk but also as a epic flex for move or dies design

[@TheStashOfNash]

As someone who's fallen out of gaming, and knowing nothing of development, this is one of the most fun and informative videos on game development in a long while.

[@AndrewDavidJ]

This was great! Looking forward to more :) Subscribed!

[@somegermanbassist]

Very cool mechanics! I love the skewed randomness, because it works, and its not exactly foreseeable. Thus it keeps the game fair. I'd really like to know about invisible AI cheats in strategy games, except from the obvious infinite APS or increased resource gathering. :)

[@rogofos]

man, this kind of mechanic where the last point needed for victory is extra hard to get its a double edged sword like for a player who reaches 24 points only to fail to 1st place repeatedly before someone else wins you end the game on a very frustrating note its the most memorable part and you make it the most frustrating

[@rogofos]

there's this common game mod in shooters - gun game that commonly has this mechanic where scoring a kill will change your weapon along a predetermined parth which usually ends with the worst weapons of all (usually some variant of a golden knife) and every other time I play it (in multiple games I've tried) I am often the first one to reach the golden knife but rarely the one to win, because I fail to strike the last kill before someone else catches up and beats me the thing is its not actually the case I reach the knife as often and win as often as other players but the rounds where this happens are the one's I remember the most so it feels like every other time making me just hate the game mode even tho I enjoy it greatly (up until the knife point)

[@blindsloth364]

a couple other things in mariokart, depending on your place, the lightning effect (where you are small and go slower) lasts longer or shorter, 1st being the longest, 12th being the shortest. the same goes for a couple other items that affect all people, like the blooper. theres probably a couple more, but i dont know about them.

[@skii_two]

These videos are super informative. I've always wanted to code, (granted I suck at it) and I'm trying to improve, but this really shows the deeper part of game development. I thought it was just make a game and be done, but the things you put behind it to improve it are incredible :D will be watching more!

[@moonman9553]

2:00 skull, 4:13 banana , 8;24 key (old key), last one at the end fire 13:32

[@JLBGreenBay13]

Even if you had just given me the time codes, I still would've never figured out the whole code. Thank you! 2:00 💀 4:13 🍌 8:24 🗝️ 13:31🔥 For those who might not know (took me a minute to figure out), you'll want to redeem the code in your Steam wallet.

[@himaritachi]

@@JLBGreenBay13 After over 10 mins i anyway don't understand this. Can you tell what correctly means this emojis?

[@CaeruCat]

I don't even really have anything specific to say, but this video is more than worth feeding the algorithm for. Keep up the good work

[@CasperA]

Amazing video, reminds me a little bit of GMTK

[@cassou124]

Invisible game design is a fascinating concept and one that most games should have, to some degree (IMO). Seeing some games turn that on its head (like Undertale does with the Toriel and Asgore fights) is also really fun, putting a small spotlight on these "invisible" tricks to turn them into story beats. Edit: For those who have played Undertale or don't mind spoilers Toriel literally cannot kill you unless you are TRYING to get killed (her projectiles start avoiding you once you drop to 1HP), while Asgore will always drop you to 1HP before finishing you off. In both cases, it shows reticence to actually killing you, it shows mercy - however fleeting it may be in Asgore's fight. These are usually invisible tricks in other games, but, in this case, the mechanic is far less invisible and is used to show motivation and personality

[@D_YellowMadness]

Plus Toriel looks horrified right before the game cuts to the game over screen.

[@cassou124]

@@D_YellowMadness Yep! Though that's more of an easter egg, due to how hard it is to actually get killed

[@crackedemerald4930]

This data kinda reminds me of the video explaining the core concepts of what makes a chaotic system. Which are Folding and Stretching. Where you keep things bounded, but also spread close apart points for example.

[@ulysse_gen]

The fact that this video length is 13:37 makes me happy

[@L1Q]

ah yeah, this is why this channel makes sense. you did make that one game I totally own but never play, but have seen many times and am sure it's good, but I don't have friends to play party games with but otherwise would totally do, but anyway the game seems well designed both graphically and functionally, but welp I would not really know because of aforementioned reasons, but you do get credits for nice game design so yeah you would know what you are talking about, but yeah something something feed the algorithm

[@alextreme98]

Pot spune ca recent am aflat ca esti roman de la GDC-ul in care te-ai prezentat si am ramas placut surprins. Keep up the good work 💪🏼👏🏻

[@MentalCheckpoint]

MERSI!

[@Obsyd]

I sure hope you keep doing this. Because this is pure gold for gamedevs!

[@zornor]

I'm glad Al Gore Rhythm threw me at your channel. (Don't forget to put up a card 8:11)

[@vvsuschevskiy]

Your videos are fucking amazing! That is the first time I randomly encounter an explanation of UI/UX design decisions that are supported with the data. Please keep going

[@legokirbymanchannel]

I came here just because I was told to, and all I've got is "Not so fast, young grasshopper!"

[@TorManiak]

Pretty sure one of the most known "lies" is the input buffer. (it's a "queue" for the inputs you do so that they are done at the earliest frames after an action you did, most noticeable when you play an old game without input buffer compared to its sequel with input buffer, like Platformers or Fighting Games).

[@jademonas]

"using my game as an example-" oh cool! i wonder wha game it i- "move or die" iM SORRY????? you're the guy that created that amazing game?? brooo

[@PCgenie100]

I really love your videos. Keep up the awesome work!

[@gabrielbuonomano]

The algorithm requires sustenance

[@taranchulatv7895]

love me some good ol game design vids and yours are top notch with the others I watch! also the game looks right up my alley as a “ruin your friendship” type haha. thanks for the insight and love for us gamers!

[@Gazebr]

Awesome video, same for the game! :D Tho I would agrue about clutchness of ghostly jumps mutator :P

[@Gazebr]

What ghostly jumps? 😶

[@an_annoying_cat]

i knew about the rubberbanding in mario kart but i never took the time to consider that type of design in other games

[@kintrix007]

Really well made super easy to follow video. Just great job!

[@Oscar4u69]

this video was fantastic, had me hooked all the way through

[@asdfasdf4176]

I have the impression that most people can see the invisible balance thing right away

[@mcmlava254]

when you mention system shock with the last bullet dealing extra damage i think it would be more fun for the last 2 bullets to do more damage to try and give a move indena jones moment where you just make it but still have time to grab your hat

[@byeguyssry]

I feel like the most important thing is that the players feel that any lead they have is still significant. Let's imagine a two-player game, just to be simple. If the player who's ahead realizes he's being put into a disadvantage, but knows the disadvantage is small, he won't care that much. Like, a 5% advantage to the losing player is small enough. This is the case in games like Mario Kart - no, not the items. That's too much. But iirc, the player in first place starts the race slightly behind the player in second place, and so on. Alternatively, another way to make the game always close without lying, is systems like double-scoring rounds (for example, if you play a game for 9 rounds, but the last 2 matches are worth 2 points, then even if you're up 5-2, you can still lose, but the points you've earned gives you more leeway), or a last-ditch effort to allow comebacks at some expense (like Jeopardy, where you can bet some amount of money. So if you're up 2000-1500, if your opponent bets 600 and wins, while you bet nothing, you can still lose. But at the same time, if you bet 1001 to guarantee your victory, if both of you fail but your opponent only bet 500, you lose). These are quite substantial comeback mechanics, but being told ahead of time means the player won't be upset upon learning of it. Or, still without withholding anything, you can make party games closer by openly revealing the balancing mechanisms, but then poking fun at the losing player ("Hey, you seem like you reeeeallllly need some help. You know what? Have 5 gold.") It only really works in the party genre and if you can make it amusing for everyone else while still being substantial enough that the losing player regains hope.