Balancing Fun and Difficulty in Games - The Standup

You know those recipe blogs where you furiously scroll as fast as you can through the writer’s life story to get to the meat of the post (or in our case, a delicious pancake recipe)? Yeah, that’s what we’re NOT going to do. The Ascendant Studios Newsletter: The Standup will be chock full of studio news, Immortals of Aveum updates, and helpful thoughts from our veteran development team that will be inspiring to up and coming game developers and seasoned pros alike.

In our most recent post, we talked to our game and level designers about how they approach finding the right balance between challenging the player and keeping the experience enjoyable.. They shared some incredible insights that are sure to make your players feel like masterminds that have solved serious trials, all while having a fantastic time. Here’s a quick quote from our Senior Level Designer, Daedra:

“When striking a balance between fun and difficulty, I take into account things like player progression, current mechanics, narrative plot points and the pacing of the game. Once I understand all of the factors involved, I play through the space in a multitude of ways, usually with a particular playstyle or goal in mind. For example, I might play as someone who wants to just focus on the main objectives. Then I ask myself, is this fun? Alternatively, I will then play as someone who wants to collect everything and explore every nuance. I again ask, is this still fun? I vary the challenges to take into account player skill levels and repeat my playthroughs. I try to give players a rewarding sense of achievement that further arms them as they progress through other areas of the game.”

- Daedra Christopher, M.F.A. , Senior Level Designer at Ascendant Studios

Stay In Touch

Check out the full blog post here and check back often for new content! If you need more content right away, our podcast Rise Above just released a bonus episode featuring a candid chat between Dead Space OG and NextGen Creative Directors Bret Robins and Roman Campos-Oriola. You can also subscribe to our newsletter, The Standup, and follow us on YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and here on LinkedIn to keep up with our game, Immortals of Aveum?, as well as all of our other exciting content.

Thanks for reading and we’ll meet you at The Standup next week!?