In Part 1, I discuss growth in games and the definition of an engine building game. In Part 2, I discuss the problem of diverging player odds, odds diagrams, and the first of five solutions.
In Part 3, I discuss the remaining four solutions to the problem of diverging player odds:
- Damping Mechanisms (which coerce player standings into similarity)
- Variance Reduction Mechanisms (which reduce variation in player’s individual outcomes)
- Escalation (which delays the divergence of player odds)
- Obfuscation Mechanisms (which obscure logical player elimination).
These latter four solutions are general solutions to the problem of diverging player odds which are not specific to exponential games. However, exponential games may me more likely to feature these solutions due to their pathological diverging player odds.
Continue reading “The Problem of Engine Building Games: Part 3”