Post by Eric Farrington on Nov 29, 2022 15:29:01 GMT
On the blog this week, I have some Wargame Design thoughts about Melee.
Everyone knows that the basics of wargame design are the 4Ms. Those stand for:
Movement
Missiles
Melee
Morale
I have spoken about the 4Ms and individual aspects of the 4Ms at various times on the blog. However, as a designer one of my big fascinations is how to effectively deal with Melee as one of the 4Ms. In many genres, Melee is the great "decider" and is the crucial mechanics for the period or genre. That weight of decision for the game should come from Melee.
Yet, despite the importance of it I have found Melee is often the anti-thesis of fun and instead simply bogs down into a game of Yahtzee where you roll and pray for a better dice roll. The core of good game play is decision making, and in many games once you get into Melee there are no decisions to make. As a player, you simply completing the mechanical process of the game to get a result, so you are not playing the game. The game is playing you.
If you are inclined, the rest of my thoughts are on the blog:
bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2022/11/wargame-design-avoiding-melee-yahtzee.html
Everyone knows that the basics of wargame design are the 4Ms. Those stand for:
Movement
Missiles
Melee
Morale
I have spoken about the 4Ms and individual aspects of the 4Ms at various times on the blog. However, as a designer one of my big fascinations is how to effectively deal with Melee as one of the 4Ms. In many genres, Melee is the great "decider" and is the crucial mechanics for the period or genre. That weight of decision for the game should come from Melee.
Yet, despite the importance of it I have found Melee is often the anti-thesis of fun and instead simply bogs down into a game of Yahtzee where you roll and pray for a better dice roll. The core of good game play is decision making, and in many games once you get into Melee there are no decisions to make. As a player, you simply completing the mechanical process of the game to get a result, so you are not playing the game. The game is playing you.
If you are inclined, the rest of my thoughts are on the blog:
bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2022/11/wargame-design-avoiding-melee-yahtzee.html