Instructinator

Challenge is fun, so why are some challenges in games not fun? One of the primary factors that lead to frustration for the player comes right down to communication. Because the player is an active participant in the medium, you need to instruct them or inform them about what is going on.

In some instances this can be compared to not telling someone how to play poker before you start. In other circumstances though, it is like taking the production of a linear medium back a step. Imagine a director not telling his editors what the movie is about, or what the target audience is .. imagine they don’t tell them any thing at all. How the hell are they supposed to do a good job cutting together hours maybe days of shots into a 90 min thing that’s fun to watch. I’ll tell you how; trial and error. Frustrating, tedious, repetitive work. Exactly the kind of response that not communicating effectively or informing the player will produce.

If you let the player know somehow that there are traps in the dungeon, by maybe having an NPC die from one in a cinematic, the player will be prepared for the event of dying by surprise. The shock and surprise will still be there in the instance of the trap that kills them, but their reaction to it will be tempered by their mental preparation. This preparation for challenge can be the difference between fun and not fun, return it to EB.

Inspiration, preparation, fear.