Hello there first congrats for the awesome math course, i have started in the video games side and i have a question related with. multiplication topic, if i have a platform game or something like block breaker if i have elements inside the game that give the user more powers or points is the multiplication the best way to increase the values into big values? or this kind of things depends that the unit setted by default for each of the elements previously mentioned.
Thanks in advance!
Welcome to the course @williamsnieves!
When it comes to things like scoring mechanics in arcade style games, there will usually be an element of multiplication in there somewhere, but that doesn’t always have to be the case.
You can just use regular addition and the choice comes down to the feeling you’re trying to create.
Let’s take Peggle as an example, since it’s the example we used in the multiplication video.
In this game, you get a set amount of points for each peg you hit, and you also achieve bonus points for completing trick shots (like landing in the bucket) - all of this is just simple addition.
However, the designers wanted to reward you for keeping the ball in the air and hitting more pegs in a row. So they added a multiplier for every peg you hit. This means if you hit 2 pegs in 1 shot, you’ll get more points than taking 2 shots and hitting 1 peg each time.
So lets say you hit 3 pegs at 200 points each.
With simple addition you can get 3 x 200 = 600 (remember multiplication is really just multiple lots of addition, so 200 + 200 + 200).
With the hit multiplier you get (3 x 200) x 3 = 1800. So you’re getting the same reward as if you hit 9 pegs across 9 different shots but you’re rewarded for doing it in one.
Neither of these options is the “correct” way to do scoring in your game but in this case the multiplier option works to reinforce the way the designers want you to play the game.
As another example, let’s take the speed of your ball in block breaker and let’s say you want to increase the speed over time - and we’ll start with a speed of 1 for simplicity.
You could go the route of maybe adding 0.3 to the speed each time you hit a block, so after 5 blocks you end up with a speed of 2.5.
Or you could multiply the speed by 1.2 for every block you hit, which would also leave you with a speed of around 2.5
In this case, the end result is the same but the way you get there is different.
With simple addition your speed would become; 1.0 > 1.3 > 1.6 > 1.9 > 2.2 > 2.5
Whereas with multiplication your speed would become; 1.0 > 1.2 > 1.4 > 1.7 > 2.1 > 2.5 (all rounded to 1 decimal place)
Notice that the multiplication option started off slower but quickly caught up.
If you then extend the sequence further, this option will begin to outpace the other and lead to very different play experiences over time.
So again, neither option is “correct” because it depends on the experience you’re trying to create.
Hopefully that helps answer your question.
@garypettie Awesome reply! now this explanation has clarified me a lot and you are completely right all the ways to apply a mechanic depends the experience that we want to give to the players.
Glad I could help.
Scoring mechanics can be incredibly tricky to get right, so my advice would be to start simple and then just keep playtesting with people to refine it.
If you notice people are playing differently to how you expect, tweak the scoring system to see if that changes things.
Just be aware that it can be very easy to get carried away and make something far too complicated.
When that happens, players will no longer be able to figure out how to easily maximize their score and will usually stop trying.
So if you make a change, don’t always try to add complexity but also look at how to make the scoring simpler and more transparent for the player.
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