Day9 On Multiplayer Game Design

[LifeNine]

This might be interesting for the team working on the PVP side of Warframe, but since this isn't really feedback and not directly related to Warframe, I'm going to leave this in off topic. Mods, move this topic if you feel like it belongs somewhere else.

 

Day9 talks about what design aspects make multiplayer competitive games popular. I think it might be useful for the PVP team to watch. It's pretty entertaining just to hear about these thing even if you're not designing a game.

Note: Day9 does swear a few times in the video. Do not watch if you absolutely can't tolerate it.

 

 

 

My TL;DR summary:

A game should have 4 things

1. The game needs an "engine" that makes players interact with each other

2. Strategy

3. Some execution aspect that players can continue to improve on

4. New content

I suggest actually watching the video because it explains stuff a lot better.

 

I don't play the PVP side of Warframe (I only play a couple matches a long time ago), but here's how I see Warframe's PVP fills the role of these 4 ideas.

• Capture the Cephalon, has an engine to make players interact. The deathmatch modes not so much. Maybe a new game mode in the future?
  

   

• Not too sure if there's a whole lot of strategy. Day9 explains it as decisions that has permanent or semi-permanent consequences. I can't think of any lasting consequences in Warframe's PVP. Maybe if a new game mode comes out with rounds, then energy can be used in a similar fashion to CS:GO's currency. Each round with give players some energy. Getting kills or completing objectives will give the player more energy for the next round. All players do not get more energy during the round. That way energy is a finite resource that players have to decide if they should use or not. Warframes might need to have the same energy cap for this to work (Let's say something like 300).
  

   

• Like all FPS, aiming is Warframe's execution. Parkour as well, but I say to a lesser extent because it is fairly easy to do and there isn't much of a way to get better once you get used to it. If parkour relied more on environment then it will have a higher skill ceiling.
   
• New maps, weapons, warframes are the new content in PVP