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Action paralysis and complexity cost: a thread
Action Paralysis(AP) is one of the most heavily considered design concerns in board games, but I very rarely hear about it in rpg discussions. Im sure you’ve seen it before. Someone can make one of several choices, and they know
Action Paralysis(AP) is one of the most heavily considered design concerns in board games, but I very rarely hear about it in rpg discussions. Im sure you’ve seen it before. Someone can make one of several choices, and they know
one option is better than the rest, if only they can do the math and figure it out. See all the angles. And their turn takes
F-O-R-E-V-E-R.
Now admittedly, some players come to decisions faster, some slower, but this isnt a player problem, its a design problem. If it keeps
F-O-R-E-V-E-R.
Now admittedly, some players come to decisions faster, some slower, but this isnt a player problem, its a design problem. If it keeps
coming up in a game, someone fucked up along the way. There are many things that can lead to it, but one of them thats particularly relevant in rpgs is complexity cost.
Consider design a resource management game. Everything the players have to know costs 1 point. Everything the
Consider design a resource management game. Everything the players have to know costs 1 point. Everything the
players have to track costs 3. This adds up fast.
Consider 5e. RAW you track hp, xp, food/water, spell slots, equipment/weight, exhaustion. You have to know stats, skills, class abilities for yourself in detail and your party in general. In most games Ive played people just
Consider 5e. RAW you track hp, xp, food/water, spell slots, equipment/weight, exhaustion. You have to know stats, skills, class abilities for yourself in detail and your party in general. In most games Ive played people just
dont track food or item weight. Many games dont track hp and default to milestone or similar. They do it to decrease the complexity cost of the game. Players can make decisions faster and easier and gameplay goes quicker when theres less to track.
A quick aside about depth vs
A quick aside about depth vs
complexity. Complexity is about inputs, depth is about outputs. So a game like Go is deep but not complex. Theres only 4 rules but 361 spaces on the board to play(decreasing over time).
Back to it. Another thing about complexity is that it can be frontloaded or backloaded. Lets
Back to it. Another thing about complexity is that it can be frontloaded or backloaded. Lets
look at 2 relatively complex games: Pathfinder 1e and Warhammer Fantasy 4e.
Pathfinder 1e is classic backloaded complexity. There are a host of standing modifiers: circumstantial modifiers, spell modifiers, item modifiers. Theres something like 9 types of stacking AC types. They
Pathfinder 1e is classic backloaded complexity. There are a host of standing modifiers: circumstantial modifiers, spell modifiers, item modifiers. Theres something like 9 types of stacking AC types. They
are all easily understandable, easy to remember, clearly marked on the character sheet. But every turn is a math problem. Combat slows down at higher levels and depending on the person and the class used, calculators come out. Too be clear, this isnt a value judgement. There are
benefits to it (perhaps another thread about horizontal segmentation in the future). But this is one type of complexity.
Frontloaded complexity requires you know a lot going in. WFRP 4e is complex.Lets look at combat. It has 4 metacurrencies, a rolling combat bonus to track, hit
Frontloaded complexity requires you know a lot going in. WFRP 4e is complex.Lets look at combat. It has 4 metacurrencies, a rolling combat bonus to track, hit
locations, per location armor ratings, different stats for combat than noncombat. You need to know A LOT going in. You have quite a few choices. It is not easy for a newcomer to just jump in. But once you know the system? Its relatively fast. A single roll tells you hit location,
success or failure, what the damage is. Its fast in play, but ONLY once you know it. It sacrifices its learning curve for speed in play.
A thing worth noting is that player facing complexity is usually added for one of 2 reasons: specificity and optionality. A player wants to
A thing worth noting is that player facing complexity is usually added for one of 2 reasons: specificity and optionality. A player wants to
feel like what they are doing is mechanically differentiated from their neighbor, and they want different actions to look different. This is where AP can creep in. Is there a mathematically “best” option? Players recognize its available, want to take it and will understandably
take the time to figure out what it is. Do the players have too much choice but not much guidance? Having one ability or stat that can be used in 20 situations keeps things moving much faster than 10 options that can each be used in specific circumstances.
All of this is to say
All of this is to say
Complexity isnt good or bad. It can have benefits. It can lead to unique experiences. Dont fear it in your games. But recognize that it has a cost on speed at the table, a cost on how easy the game is to learn, and implied in here, a cost on how easy it is to run. Track that cost
Consider if a subsystem is necessary, what it adds, where the price will be paid. If you think its worth it? Add it in and more power to you for understanding what that means.
Last note: @SylphOfWhispers had a great point worth closing on. Check it out https://twitter.com/sylphofwhispers/status/1247557179546140674?s=21
Last note: @SylphOfWhispers had a great point worth closing on. Check it out https://twitter.com/sylphofwhispers/status/1247557179546140674?s=21
