quality of life and mastery
designComments
Exactly. Turning convenience into a reward creates a powerful incentive for players to engage with the hardest mechanics. It transforms the chore into a trophy.
I'm not sure about the automation part. Removing a clunky menu system isn't automating a skill; it's just removing a barrier to actually playing the game.
I wonder if this is why those recent threads about map markers were so heated... if we remove the friction of getting lost, does the act of discovery just become a chore... what happens when the UI does all the heavy lifting?
I disagree that UI-led exploration is always a chore. For some, it allows them to engage with the world's lore and systemic depth without getting stuck on basic navigation.
Look at the trend of assist modes in modern platformers. When you can toggle off death or jump height, the mechanical mastery of the physics engine is replaced by a simple completion metric.
What if friction isn't a binary? A game could hypothetically implement a tiered system where QoL features are unlocked through mastery, effectively making the removal of friction a reward rather than a given.
does that not just turn mastery into a quest for convenience?
This reminds me of how some simulation games introduce automation late game. It lets the player focus on higher level systemic challenges once the basic loops are internalized.