Is it all for NOT?!

[8bitpontiff]

I've been spending a LOT of time adding secret stuff to my game. I've got a bunch of side-quests and hidden caves and hidden rooms and hidden items. I even have hidden boss battles. The problem I am having is that this makes balancing the game VERY difficult. I have to assume that the player is not going to find the hidden stuff. But, at the

Comments

[moogle1]

RPGs tend to be self-balancing, in the sense that a bad player can just level up to beat the game. This is a really poor argument for game balance, but it does let you balance the game towards good players rather than bad players.

It sounds like you've already designed the quest rewards in this case. From here, you've got a few options:

- Rebalance the items. Like I said, the more fun they are to use, the less game-breaking they need to be. An example that comes to mind is the Mog Bangle (or whatever) from FF6 that disables random encounters. It makes the game easier, yes, but since most of the challenge comes from bosses, it doesn't break the game, and in the long run it might actually increase the challenge.

- Add an optional dungeon/boss. If you wanted to, you could even say that you only unlock the bonus dungeon if you've finished all the sidequests. This solves both problems: the main game is still easy enough to beat without the equipment, but the game still presents a challenge after you've found it.

- Don't worry about it. Players who want to equip the Ubersword do so at the risk of removing the game's challenge. (I don't recommend this, for the record.)

[8bitpontiff]

As an example: I plan on having an item that really BOOSTS the ~MP stat to the point that most spells cost tiny amounts of MP. The way to get it is to steal it from one of the hidden bosses. You have to complete a side-quest to get the Steal technique. Then you have to find the hidden boss (which is pretty hard to find and you only have a limited window of time to do so,) Steal the item from him, and then beat him. What are the odds that the player is going to accomplish this? Pretty low, I would guess. So why not give them an awesome item like that?

Because it leads to this: The Shaman has a Meditate technique that replenishes his MP. He also has a Transfer technique that allows him to transfer MP from him to one of his allies, 10 MP at a time. If you equip the SUPER item to Shaman, he is basically able to transfer MP to his allies without it costing him any MP.

I guess this is no different than the 100% Invisible trick from Oblivion. It's using the game mechanics to kind of cheat without cheating. Since attaining the item is so difficult to do, I guess it's not that big of a deal. Maybe most players wouldn't even think of using the item in the way I describe, either. Maybe I'm just over-thinking things!

Anyway, thanks for the input. I think you have some of the best balance in the games you design and it's cool to let me pick your brain.

[moogle1]

Except in the case of Oblivion, I think it was developer oversight. At least you've considered the ramifications.