Are Score Systems Still Relevant? | Game Maker's Toolkit

In the earliest days of gaming, it was all
about the high score.

Arcade classics like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong
couldn’t be finished because they just looped

around forever - and so the challenge was
to see how high of a score you could rack

up before you finally screwed up and got a
game over.

Beating your personal best provided a goal
to strive for.

And once Space Invaders introduced the concept
of saving high scores, they also provided

competition, as nearby players could jostle
for the top spots on the leaderboard.

But as gaming moved over to home consoles,
the focus shifted to titles that could be

finished.

Games like Mega Man and Castlevania did hold
onto scores, for a time, but players were

more interested in fighting the end boss,
saving the princess, and seeing the end of

the story.

And as for competition, real time multiplayer
became more interesting than leaderboards.

The glory days of points, high scores, and
personal bests, was over.

But the question I want to explore in this
video, is whether or not this old school relic

can still be relevant in modern game design?

Is there still a place for high scores in
2018?

Well, the answer is obviously: yes.

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Because some games straight up emulate arcade
game design - like the intense twin-stick

shooter Tormenter X Punisher, which simply
asks you to survive against infinite waves

of demons for as long as possible, and then
compare your score with others on an online

leaderboard.

And that’s fun.

But unless you’re really good, or have very
competitive friends, or just get a bit addicted

to chasing your personal best - these endless
arcade-like games can have quite limited staying power.

So I’m more interested in games that lay
retro score systems on top of modern design

- and find awesome advantages for doing so.

Like, for one, scores can provide an additional
level of difficulty.

For example, in the anxiety-inducing rhythm
nightmare that is Thumper, getting to the

end of the stage is one thing - but doing
so with a high enough score to earn an S rank

is something else entirely, and only for those
with serious skills.

This is cool, because it essentially gives
the game multiple levels of difficulty - but

avoids all the issues of having a difficulty
select screen.

You know, like how you have to choose your
own level of skill, before you’ve played

a second of gameplay, and with no real context
for what “hard” actually means in this game.

Instead, you just play the game as well as
you can, and you’re rewarded for whatever

skill level you bring to table.

I really enjoyed this approach to difficulty
in the most recent Zachtronics game, Opus Magnum.

The goal of this one is to design bonkers
mechanical machines that can automatically

turn raw elements into potions, poisons, and
other alchemical nonsense.

You’re given infinite money, space, and
programming lines - so any machine that actually

spits out the required product is seen as
a success.

No matter how inefficient or expensive your
creation is, you can finish the level and

move on with your life.

But - and here’s where the scoring system
comes in - your machine will be marked in

three different criteria.

There’s the cost of the components you’ve
used, the surface area of your machine, and

the number of cycles your creation goes through
before completion, which measures the efficiency

of your work.

Your scores are then displayed on a histogram,
that shows you how well you performed compared

to the average scores of every other Opus
Magnum player in the world.

And seeing that your machine is hideously
below average in cycles is just the kick up

the arse you might need to go back in, rethink
your approach, put down some more tracks and

arms, and see the number of cycles start to
drop.

What I love about this is how it’s so player
driven.

It’s up to you whether good enough is good
enough, and then it’s down to you how you

optimise your machine.

Maybe you find it really fun to make small,
tightly contained machines.

Or mechanisms that work with the cheapest
parts possible.

Or the most efficient machines.

Or perhaps something balanced across all three
criteria.

Zachtronics could have put a strict goal on
each level - you know, you must finish this

stage in under 200 gold or with fewer than
60 cycles - and some players will need that

to push them to play better.

But, for me, seeing my crappy performance
ranked against the world’s averages was

more than enough motivation to get back in
there, optimise my awful creations, and challenge

myself to be better.

But a scoring system is not just about making
the game more difficult.

Because scores can reveal completely new ways
to play.

In a Platinum brawler like Bayonetta, getting
a high score doesn’t just mean making fewer

mistakes - it means playing in a fundamentally
different way to a novice, button-bashing scrub.

Getting Pure Platinum medals means using those
complex combos (that novices can ignore).

It means fighting quickly to chain together
enemies.

It means using complex moves like the taunt,
and dodge offset.

Now I don’t really know, or - to be honest
- care all that much about the medals in Platinum games.

But there is one series where I have totally
internalised the scoring system to the point

where I could write a dissertation on its
design.

It’s the Tony Hawks Pro Skater games.

So here, most of the goals require a very
basic understanding of the game’s moves

and mechanics.

You don’t need to know how to do a variable
heel-flip to knock a foreman into water, after all.

Or at least I hope that’s water.

But if you want to go for a high score - then
you’ll suddenly need to use the full skateboarding

system on offer.

You’ll need to chain together multiple moves
- using the revert and manual to keep your

combo going across the level - to gain a score
multiplier that massively boosts your points.

You’ll need to use lots of different tricks,
because you’ll get fewer and fewer points every time

you repeat the same move.

You might want to add in spins and stance
switches, because they give you more points, too.

And you’ll want to move around the level,
because special gaps between bits of the stage

offer big point bonuses.

Basically, to get a high score in Tony Hawks,
you need to fully understand every part of

the trick system - and approach the game in
a different way to those who are playing more casually.

And then - here’s the cheeky bit - when
you’re ready to go for high score, you’ll

actually find yourself playing the game in
the way the designers intended.

Because the things you’re given points for
actually encourage you to play Tony Hawks

in the most interesting way.

The degrading points on repeated moves makes
you play with more variety.

The bonuses for racking up combos puts you
at higher and higher risk of bailing.

And the use of gaps pushes you to move around
the level.

Because scores can encourage you to see the
intended experience.

In a game like Metal Gear Solid V, you can
play the game in pretty much any way you like

- from being a sneaky, stealthy snake in the
grass - to simply calling in a big attack

chopper to mow down waves of enemies.

It’s up to you how you play, and the game
doesn’t do much to force you to act in any

specific way.

But if you’re interested in getting high
rankings, then you might want to shift the

way you approach things.

After every mission, you’re given
a score - with points added for accuracy,

speedy gameplay, and rescuing prisoners - but
points deducted for getting spotted or taking damage.

This means that you’re not exactly punished
for playing in a gung-ho, Rambo-kinda way

- but you are rewarded for being more sneaky
and Snake-like.

So scores are not just a relic of the arcade
era.

And not just for nostalgic games that try
to capture that coin-op feel.

They can jive with modern design for all sorts
of advantages.

But they’re not foolproof.

Many players have complained about feeling
discouraged when - at the end of a seemingly

successful run through a level in a Platinum
game, they’re slapped down with a crappy grade.

Oof, that doesn’t feel very good.

And because scores are completely optional,
there is the risk that some will never see

the real experience.

If you can button bash your way to the end
of Bayonetta, plenty of players will see no

reason to explore the full combo list, keep
chains going, or use that dodge offset.

But there is a game that goes some way to
solve these two issues: the cheeky, twin-stick

shooter Assault Android Cactus.

So in this game, it’s totally possible to
progress through the game simply by killing

all of the enemies in each level.

That’s classified as a win, and it’s enough
to get you to the end of the game.

But you can also aim to win enough points
to finish the stage with a higher rank.

This is done through completing the level
more quickly, avoiding getting knocked down,

and - most importantly of all - killing enemies
in quick succession.

You see, every time you kill an enemy you
start a chain - and if you can kill another

within a couple seconds, you’ll keep the
chain going.

A big chain will multiply the score you receive
for killing enemies- up to 10 times the number

of points, for a chain of 10 or more foes.

And if you chain together every single enemy
in the stage, you’ll go one step further

and earn an S+ rank.

Keeping that chain going is a tricky challenge.

You’ll need to play much more aggressively,
prioritise enemies, and think more carefully

about using your special weapon.

And these red enemies - who generally take
more than two seconds to kill with your standard

weapon - need to be dealt with carefully to
keep your chain going.

So this means that Assault Android Cactus
uses its scoring system to give players an

additional level of challenge, a fundamentally
different way to play, and a way to experience

the game at its absolute best.

But developer Witch Beam did a couple clever
things to skip the most major downsides of

scoring systems.

For one, the designers ensured that the core
experience was available at every level of

play - not just for those who dived into high
scores.

You see, the game has a cool death mechanic
where you’re always running out of battery

and must constantly top up your juice by killing
enemies and picking up dropped power cells.

And so this means that the new player experience
- of frantically killing enemies to pick up

batteries - neatly mirrors the veteran experience
- of frantically killing enemies to keep your

score chain going.

Both put you in a high intensity panic, where
every split second of gameplay counts.

It’s just one is on the razor’s edge of
failure, and the other is on the edge of ruining

a perfect run.

And then, while scores do show up at the end
of levels, just like Bayonetta, the special

Pro Mode - where an S+ medal appears on the
screen, and then falls apart as soon as you

break your chain - only unlocks after you
chain together all the enemies in a single level.

Until you get there yourself, you might never
know that this extra mode exists.

Hiding this away until players prove their
worth is a neat way to stop players becoming

demoralised when they’re hit with crappy
medals at the very start of their experience.

So through this design, Assault Android Cactus
ends up being a game that is accessible and

thrilling for new players - but also hides
a secret second game for those who really

want to prove their skill.

And you don’t even need to change difficulty
modes - you just need to play differently

and better, than everyone else.

CACTUS: Oh no problem. I do that kind of thing all the time.

So scores might not fit into every game in 2018
- but when used carefully, they can provide

real benefits for game designers.

We may be long past the days of writing rude
words into coin-op leaderboards, but the thrill

of chasing down high scores is still alive
and well in modern game design.

Hey! Thanks for watching!

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