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Hi, this is Mark Brown with Game Maker's Toolkit,[br]a series on video game design.

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So there's this bit in Uncharted 3 where Nathan[br]Drake is about to jump between two ships,

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and he says...

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NATHAN DRAKE: Okay, there's the ladder. Only got one shot at this.

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Which might make you think that you will only get, you know, one shot at this.

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But if you do mess it up and jump to your[br]death, then - this being a video game and

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everything - you'll respawn right back here[br]and it's about 10 seconds until Drake is back

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to saying...

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NATHAN DRAKE: Only gonna get one shot at this.

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Video games aren't always that good at raising[br]the stakes, are they?

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Which is perhaps why there are so few truly[br]great heist games, especially in single player.

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Because how can you have a game about pulling[br]off a big, high-stakes heist if you know that

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getting spotted or killed by a security guard[br]will just whizz you back to the last checkpoint?

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Enter: The Swindle.

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This is a game where you genuinely feel the[br]pressure. And you know that screwing up will

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be a big set back, so the stakes feel pretty[br]damn high.

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But there's more to a heist than just tension.[br]You also need to make the robber get greedy,

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to take more than they should and put themselves[br]in risky situations. Because that's where

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the best stories come from. And The Swindle[br]nails this, too.

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So let's break it down and figure out exactly how this game encourages you to become a master thief.

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The Swindle is a side-scrolling platformer,[br]with lightweight stealth mechanics. Which

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means whacking enemies in the back of the[br]head, rewiring mines, sneaking past security cameras,

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and hacking into terminals.

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In each randomly generated stage you'll try[br]to pinch as much cash as possible, before

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choosing to exit the level.

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Money earned in[br]a successful run will let you buy advanced

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abilities like triple jumps, bombs, quieter[br]movement, and a greater field of vision. Plus,

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you must buy access to later levels - including[br]the final caper. The swindle.

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There are two secret ingredients, though,[br]which encourage you to ignore the tiny scraps

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of cash - and go for the really big scores.

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For starters, there's a 100 day limit. Every[br]burglary, successful or otherwise, is counted

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as one day. And if you haven't finished the[br]final mission in 100 days, it's game over.

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And then there are the bonuses. Getting every[br]scrap of cash in the building, without being

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seen, gives you a ghost bonus. And making[br]off with most of the money makes your burglar's

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experience go up. Keep them alive long enough[br]and you'll earn huge bonuses for every successful

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heist.

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These two systems make you feel the pressure,[br]because if you mess up and fail a level - which

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is pretty easy when you get killed in one[br]hit - you'll get zero money, and you'll have

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to play as a new thief, which means you'll[br]have to start building up experience points

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from scratch.

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But they also pressure you into taking more money, and taking big risks. You'll want to make every day

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count by getting as much money as possible, and you'll want to get the XP and ghost bonuses.

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And that's smart, because the game

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is at its best when it puts you in those dangerous[br]situations.

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There are essentially three potential outcomes[br]when you take a big risk. You could pull off

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the impossible, and make off with the cash[br]like a ninja thief. Which is a pretty good experience.

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You could mess it up and trip an alarm, but[br]still make it out the level - sirens wailing

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in the background. That's also a good experience.

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Or you could fail completely, and lose the[br]money. Which isn't so great, but it might

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actually work out in the long run.

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Each failure makes puts you further and further[br]behind the 100 day deadline, which raises

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the tension even higher, which encourages[br]you to get even more greedy, and take even

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more risks - which could lead to more failure,[br]or it could lead to one of those epic heist

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stories.

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It's also important that failure isn't too[br]punitive. There are other games that are about

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preparing for one final mission, like space[br]survival game FTL, and cyberpunk spy thriller

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Invisible Inc. but screwing up in those games[br]is either game over, or it really puts you on

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the back foot.

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The Swindle is purposefully a little more[br]lenient, I think, which gives you the encouragement

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to take those risks. You can even retry the[br]final caper if you mess it up, though you

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must quickly raise the £400,00 fee to retry[br]the level. Which, yes, you guessed it, leads

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to you taking on more risky heists.

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Basically, The Swindle is a brilliant example[br]of using game design to encourage a certain

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type of behavior in a player.

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Because without that 100 day deadline, and[br]the other systems, you'd have a very different

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relationship with the game. And we know this[br]for a fact.

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I spoke to The Swindle's designer, Dan Marshall[br]who told me that at one point in development

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there was no 100 day limit. But he showed[br]this early build to a journalist who figured

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out that it was much safer to steal a few[br]quid, exit the level, and repeat this process

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thousands of times, than risk the big scores.

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And I don't blame the journalist - this is[br]a well documented phenomenon in game design

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called the dominant strategy. If a player[br]finds a loophole in a system that they can

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exploit for an easy win, they will almost[br]always opt to use it, over and over again,

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regardless of how tedious it is.

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So it's not enough to just hope that your[br]players will do what would be most fun - in

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this case, risk everything for a big score.[br]Without proper motivation or reward, players

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might never see your game in the way you intend[br]it.

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As a designer, it's your job to put in the[br]right pressure points and manufacture the

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right systems to encourage the player behave[br]in a certain way. In The Swindle that's the

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difference between feeling like you're nicking[br]a chocolate bar, and feeling like you're pulling

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off the heist of the century.

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Thanks for watching! If you enjoyed the episode,[br]please give it a like, subscribe to my channel

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on YouTube, or consider supporting me, and[br]my ad-free videos, over on Patreon.