Coronavirus Remained Us Very Clever Game Design Element

Let's take a walk in streets. Street are empty except a few people, nearly all shops are closed except pharmacys. All restaurants are empty... Very terrifying view isn't it, how this happened? Keep walking and seeing all billboards have Corona virus messages. But one week earlier there wasn't anything like this, every one was going to work, meeting with friends and rushing for school.

Some events are changing our lifes very easily; wars, outbreaks, economic crisises... This terms sounds boring until they hit us. After that we are knowing what they are because they effect us. I think game designers can learn something by that phenomenon.

In a game story's a lot of things happens but we are barely remember the details. Because they are not useful for playing that game or effects anything. We can fix it including that details in gameplay some how. We are gonna looking at spasific game and how it manage with that.

In Deus Ex Mankind Dividend augs(humans who has robotic parts) rioting to all injustice things that impose for them and government declearing the marital law in Prague, in that point game uses that story detail very effectively. The main protagonist Adam Jensen must meet someone but city ordered a curfew that means game's open(Hub world) became a danger zone.

You can't go to shop or walk easily in streets because of marital law. This brings us a dynamic open world, that can be change due to events. More exemple, if you kill a shop keeper in this game next chapter you see that store has been closed or billboards, day-night cycle, streets are all changing chapter to chapter. This little details remind us we are part of this world and if something happens in that world it will effects us soon or later.

And how you can adapt this game design element in your games? How you can make a dynamic world that changes with events and decisions? First of all changes can be very critical or more visual. Critical changes may be like martial law in Deus Ex or far more like The Witcher 2 Assassins of Kings chapter two. In that game your decision converts the chapter to a different game. Your friends, your enemyes, weapons, armors and story line full changing. Yeah... changing a full chapter by decision may be too difficult to make. Small changes also can create a dynamic world. Side missions can changes your companion or unlocks a new shop in game world? I don't know do something fells player special.

What teach Coronavirus to us? If you want player cares a detail or a event that things must changes gameplay good or bad and creating a dynamic world fells player special and part of that world.

Thanks for reading.

Wash your hands well and stay heath.