LogIn"It is all about feelings, but you use numbers to arrive at that feeling."
Josh Sawyer, a Project Director and Lead Designer of Fallout: New Vegas, recently posted a YouTube video discussing the placement of skill checks in video games. The developer explained that the main goal is to keep players rewarded.
In the video, Josh answered a subscriber's question about how game creators populate the game world with places or situations where skills can be used and if there is a systematic approach to skills distribution. The developer said this process starts with a plan and finding creative ways to use players' skills in a particular game area. This specifically concerns designers. Managing stuff, for example, Lead Area Designer or Director, also opts for a particular type of mechanics that can be used.
Obsidian Entertainment
Sawyer also noted that it is useful to have a special tool to track things that are used in the game. For instance, when Obsidian was working on FNV, such a tool was called the Script Tracker. However, the developer stated that paying close attention exclusively to numbers is a mistake. The main point is "to find a rewarding level of feedback."
Also, according to the developer, context matters as checks placed on the critical paths in the game storyline will feel more rewarding. Apart from this, the number of checks drops off as the game goes on, so most of them tend to be located at the beginning of the game. The developer concluded that distributing skill checks is guided by the goal of keeping players motivated over time.
Previously, Josh Sawyer also shared some insights concerning balancing abilities and weapons in games before launch and shared his opinion on Amazon's Fallout show altering the events of Fallout: New Vegas.
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