What Makes Celeste's Assist Mode Special | Game Maker's Toolkit

Hey Mark, I know this is old, but I just wrote an article on this topic which uses your video as a jumping off point, so I thought I'd share the link in case you're interested: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/2019/03/the-designer-is-dead-five-reasons-to-go-beyond-intended-experiences/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://pixelpoppers.com/2019/03/the-designer-is-dead-five-reasons-to-go-beyond-intended-experiences/</a> :) Have a great day!

Doctor Professor

Another great video, Mark! I'd like to suggest something that perhaps is a bit of a personal preference, but I think it's important to mention: another reason why Celeste's (and similar) Assist Mode is so good is because it offers very few and clear options. In the video you show a game (Invisible Inc.) which has a complex menu to customise the experience. 6-7 numerical options that affect the underlying game systems in an opaque way. Would you really mess with those options? What are they *actually* doing (especially when combined) and what are they taking away from the experience?

Ciro

Another excellent GMTK, Mark. I think this issue is important, And you're doing an excellent job of navigating towards a set of best practices. My twopeneth: The problem with the "I spent a lot of time fine tuning the difficulty curve to make the game play how I wanted it" argument is, no you didn't. I have MS, you have no clue how it plays for me. It is an argument from arrogance. "I spent a lot of time tuning the game to be great for people just like me, therefore I only want people just like me to play it." Assist mode Is good nomenclature I think, and Celeste's assist mode allowed me to play. But there has to be a better way of putting it than wording such as 'this is not the game how I intended it', because, no shit Sherlock, I was under no illusions I am the player you intended. /rant

Ian

Lars Doucet's 2011 article "RPG's, challenge, and grinding" (<a href="http://www.fortressofdoors.com/rpgs-challenge-and-grinding/)" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://www.fortressofdoors.com/rpgs-challenge-and-grinding/)</a> is a great resource on this topic, and while his (excellent!) game Defender's Quest is not a "hardcore" game, it is a good example of providing many difficulty options, some of which are an intended part of the game experience (e.g. optional challenge missions), and some of which are not (but are still available in the settings menu for players that find the intended experience too difficult or time consuming).

Søren

I love the quote "I don't want players to feel like they're being asked to design how the game should work", because it clearly communicate my problems with a lot of game. For example i had a big problem with Metal Gear Solid 5, because i wanted to play the game as a stealth game and it just wasn't fun. The game has so many options and i never felt, that the options i like to use, where ever creatively challenged or the vision of the designers. It's clearly my fault, for playing a series known for stealth as a stealth game. Most people only would simply say "Make your own fun, it's a sandbox", but like the quote says, i should not have to design the game myself! Communicate clearly, what the game is about, and give a clear direction, how it's supposed to play (and than give options, which break the gameplay). The approach of just throw a bucket of game-mechanics over the top of the player and give him the responsibility of finding "the fun", is just very weak game-design. I hope, that the aftermath of Zelda BotW, is that designer create open-world, which tighter game-design. Like how George Weldmann (Super Bunnyhop) wished, that Watch Dogs 2 would focus on the drones and stealth alone and just throw away all those other mechanics, which didn't fit the characters, story and game-world. Focus the gameplay and minimize options. And if you want to give options, which go against the base ideas, like the video said, communicate, that this goes against the vision of the designers.

Björn Apel

It's always this great dispute between accessibility and vision! Incredibly hard to balance! But letting the player know that they are explicitly not getting the intended experience, while letting them play in their own way seems to be the closest thing to a compromise they can get!

I'm not sure I fully agree about there being some sort of moral obligation for the developer to allow anyone to play their game in such a way that it compromises their artistic vision. They are not just selling a piece of software, they are selling their art. And that art should be experienced how the developer intended. I always hate being forced to select a difficulty mode before even experiencing the game. I'd rather the game was set at a single difficulty, so I could be confident that I am experiencing it as they intended.

Thanks for the help, Jason!

Alex Van Aken

One other thing I think is important is to be upfront about the consequences of switching to an easier mode. Can I switch between difficulties, or is it a one time decision? Are certain achievements or unlockables locked out if I pick the wrong difficulty? Is there a true ending I can't get if I play on an easier mode? Etc. I shouldn't discover that I accidentally locked myself out of something when I'm halfway through the game.

Tom T

That's a game called "The Swindle". Mark actually already made a video about it! <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUbyNJKsi7E" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUbyNJKsi7E</a>

Jason Petitjean

Hey Mark! Bit of a silly question, but which game is on display at 00:25? I've never seen it before &amp; its aesthetic caught my eye!

Alex Van Aken