It is important for developers to take note of the different ways users engage with their game’s mechanic during play testing. Some players will naturally gravitate to different methods of play than what was originally intended, or will be more interested in exploration than anticipated. It is wise for the creators to adjust the game to accommodate these different play styles, especially in more competitive games. When they fail to do so, some players can feel frustrated as it takes the element of choice away from the game. The player is unable to interact with it in the way that they want to and, as a result, the play feels punishing. This is only compounded in games where one player is in a competition with another player whose play style is more largely supported by the design.
Many multiplayer 2D platformers have good examples of this favoritism in the way that their camera is bounded. Trine is one such example of this. The camera is tied to whichever player is in the front. If this player gets too far ahead of another player, the player in the back falls off the screen and quickly dies. This completely ignores the fact that the player being punished could be more interested in collecting all of the available items than the player who is always rushing forward. In killing them, the creator is punishing them for having a more completionist style than the other player. This penalty is then compounded by the fact that this player now has to wait until the next player reaches a checkpoint to be revived.
Demonstrative Examples[]
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge[]
In the clan battle mode of Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge, players fight against each other with an assortment of weapons. However, the game is unbalanced becuase it favors the attacks of players that use the scythe weapon. This weapon has an attack that causes a lot of damage and is very simple to input. This in consequence makes most players choose the scythe weapon because all other weapons are not as effective.
