tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6742419267437171290.post2392530184908876835..comments2012-04-10T12:13:35.727-04:00Comments on Jason Wilson On Games: Justin Time!Jason Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935462772065640011noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6742419267437171290.post-3680313238629984652011-11-25T12:58:57.986-05:002011-11-25T12:58:57.986-05:00Something I'd want to discuss is how currency ...Something I'd want to discuss is how currency becomes valuable to a player. <br /><br />In the instance of your concept, time is the currency, and is used to buy power ups. However, time is also constantly fleeting, and I'm assuming time is at least one component of play (if time runs out, the game is over; another stream may be hit points). So now, the idea of spending time for power ups/weapons is seen as an investment with potential risk factors. Do you sacrifice 5 seconds for the chance to earn 10? What are the odds? How can the skilled player recognize a good opportunity to use an investment? <br /><br />It all becomes very economic, and I wonder if we can even approach this concept from a financial/economic perspective.<br /><br />Maybe power ups can fluctuate in price as they're used; using a supply and demand model to determine pricing. Taking the time acceleration cost from your multi-shot power-up a step sideways, maybe there's an item that requires actual time investment, where you activate it, but won't be able to use it for another X seconds, much like a mutual fund, though the return may not be measured in time specifically. <br /><br />I think the idea of currency itself has the potential to be explored much deeper than elementary buy-sell model used in most games. And making comparison to real world models is a fantastic way of generating deep thought and design considerations.<br /><br />Thanks for the article, very thought provoking.jonchanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15191450178116567439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6742419267437171290.post-61173375175898443122011-11-24T16:25:12.328-05:002011-11-24T16:25:12.328-05:00I admit that the time as a currency model I sugges...I admit that the time as a currency model I suggested is rather dependant on a score based type of game. The basic premise of my suggested model was that you were sacrificing time for score. There may be a way to incorporate the idea in a non-score based game, but that will be another thought experiment for a different time.<br /><br />As for there being no guaranteed upside to sacrificing game time for powerups, I would argue if there was no upside to the powerups than you've created poor powerups. The whole idea being that if used correctly the powerups should give the player more points than if they hadn't used them and instead opted for more time. The choice thus becomes when to use the powerups to maximize their effect and maximize the player's score. Since score can also reward the player with additional time, a well used powerup can in fact increase the length of game time rather than decrease it.<br /><br />Finally, the Daytona example was merely to point out that there have been games that have rewarded the player with actual time for playing successfully.Jason Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14935462772065640011noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6742419267437171290.post-49877712918856930192011-11-23T18:38:01.083-05:002011-11-23T18:38:01.083-05:00While the idea of using time as a literal currency...While the idea of using time as a literal currency is an interesting idea, one major barrier in my mind is that this only really applies to games where scoring/time matters. Even games that used to depend on scores (like the racing genre, or a hack and slash game) no longer place emphasis on scoring, which makes this a somewhat muted idea. In a game like geometry wars, I'm having a difficult enough time surviving the allotted base time, but giving me the option of trading time in for better powerups only shortens my play experience with no guaranteed upside, not give me an interesting choice.<br /><br />Instead of taking the Daytona time extension parallel, I would have taken the Daytona pitstop parallel: You can choose to lose position, but you gain in car damage and tire wear. In this scenario, the tradeoff has a direct correlation with a positive result.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10545234971740321398noreply@blogger.com