Video games are built on patterns, rules and fixed mechanics. Players need to play countless hours and understand how a game works and only after that they get better at it. But, when a game is played over and over again, it becomes predictable and predictability in a game results in losing interest. This slowly takes away the fun part.
For example, if you always know which enemy is coming next, where it is coming from, how would it attack, where a specific item is placed, and what reward you will receive, the excitement and fun of discovering new things fades away and you don’t feel the excitement you should, in a video game.
For this, the game developers keep a special strategy to introduce a factor of randomness; they achieve it through random encounters, random enemies, random worlds, or random loot items to keep the audience alive.
We explore today how modern games use randomness to keep us involved and how boring can a game be if the factor of randomness is eliminated.
Adding Randomness in Games
This is where randomness can save a game from dying. An unexpected encounter of an enemy, a new different reward, introducing a new map, changing the map’s design, and adding new items can make the same game feel fresh and exciting. The rules usually don’t change, but the environment players find themselves in, does.
This does not mean that randomness is all about making the gamechaotic and impossible to understand. The best of games are balanced and perfected down to the last small details. You know the rules, but you can’t always tell what is coming next. This uncertainty that we get after introducing randomness in the game maintains the feeling of what is coming next. Such unforeseen and unpredictable patterns in video games is what makes them a success.
Why We Keep Hitting ‘Play Again’
Randomness can make a game we play every day, feel different. Whenever we return to it, the map, game mode, and objectives remain the same but changes like different enemies and upgrades make it feel not repetitive, rather a whole new playing experience. When a player doesn’t know exactly what will happen next, the chances of hitting play again are high.
The most important aspects in a game that make the players play it again are often related to the random objects introduced in the game at different points:
· Random Rewards: Weapons, skins, and different items make players return to collect more rewards.
· Different Enemies: Each match puts you against different opponents whose play styles are completely unknown.
· New Events: Games nowadays introduce new events often with collaboration with any brand or movies. This adds new in-game characters and abilities that change the playstyle of the game during that specific event.
· Player Decisions: In multiplayer games, unpredictable moves from opponents can push you to play differently.
Randomness in PvP and FPS Games
PvP (Player vs Player) or Multiplayer games already contain an element of randomness and non-predictability because of opponent players. Two matches in a line can take place on the same map with the same mode but still feel different just because you don’t know what strategy your enemy will use next. They might play aggressively or completely camp, because it is a real human being on the other hand and you cannot predict any patterns.
FPS(First Person Shooting)games take the element of randomness even further. Changes in spawning location of weapons or upgrades, maps, and equipment force you to adjust your play style accordingly. You know the layout of a map, but that does not mean you know what your opponent will do next, or you don’t know the fixed location of most items for that matter.
This is what makes the combination of randomness and skill so interesting and keeps the players engaged in video games.
Role of Randomness Across Different Genre of Games
The element of random is used by different genre games in their own ways. The basic rules and mechanics however stay the same:
· Roguelites & Roguelikes: In this genre, players understand the main mechanics but have to adapt to different challenges they face. Random rooms, enemies, upgrades and combinations make every play through feel unique. Games like Hades and Dead Cells are great examples of how random objects keep the players coming back to a game.
· Survival Games: Random spawn location every time, sudden hunger, side effects, running from threats change how players approach the same world. A best example of this is Minecraft where every new world presents to its players a completely different landscape.
· Open-World Games: Different behavior of NPCs, missions, and storyline make the world feel more alive. Open world games also have a “Role Play” mode where you can play with real people in an open world environment. The best example of this is Red Dead Redemption 2, because it presents random encounters and loot items all over the world.
· Card & Strategy Games: Random cards, starting conditions, and rules force players to adjust their tactics accordingly. Playing with a fixed , perfect strategy every time doesn’t always get you a win. Games like Hearthstone is a perfect example of how controlled randomness can keep the players excited for video game.
A Favorite Example: How MECCHA CHAMELEON Makes Randomness Fun
A fun example of randomness in latest multiplayer games is Meccha Chameleon , a hide-and-seek game based on blending into the environment. Players can use objects as disguises, something that looks like a simple object can be an actual player hiding in plain sight.
The fun part is that hiders can paint themselves to blend into the objects behind them, hence the word “Chameleon” in the game title. The same map can create completely different situations because every time players are hiding in different locations and the seekers are constantly looking for them.
Meccha Chameleon is a proof that randomness doesn’t always require complicated systems or constantly changing maps. Sometimes, a simple idea, a small feature makes the game interesting to play.
Random Ideas Help Developers Build Better Games
Randomness is useful even before games reach the hands of players. Developers are always coming up with items, rewards, environment, and mechanics. Sticking to the same items eventually limits creativity and results in the game losing its popularity. At some point, an unexpected object or concept is needed and is enough to give them an idea and a completely new starting point.
For example, a random object can inspire a collectible, a quest object, or something to add in a map, or a mirror for a part of a puzzle, and a compass for a navigation system. Even if the object does not appear in the final game, its real value is the idea it sparks.
As thinking of thousands of random objects while developing a game is not an easy task, a Random Object Generator is a great way to shake up a developer’s brainstorming. It forces to think about ordinary things from a different angle. It could be turning a mundane item into a unique gameplay mechanic, a hidden map details, or adding an Easter Egg in a map to hook players. The real thing is simply shattering your usual concepts and coming up with new ones that keeps your audience interested.
Games without Randomness
For a moment, let us imagine a game that does not have the factor of randomness involved. Sure, for the first time every new thing is exciting but what about a second or a third time? Once you have played a game you essentially memorized all the encounters, worlds, and items present in it.
What if the next time everything again appears in the same place? Same enemies, same worlds, and same object?
It is evident that if the randomness factor is taken out of a game nobody will bother playing it another time.
A Final Look
Randomness is one of the reasons video games stay alive. The best games don’t make everything random; they balance rules with unpredictable situations. Players understand how the game works, but they still need to adjust to what happens next.
Randomness can also help developers discover new ideas in the production phase of a game. An unexpected object or concept might inspire a new item, or gameplay mechanic.
At last, a little uncertainty can go a long way. Players keep returning simply because they don’t know what the next round will bring and they want to prove themselves worthy of the challenge.
