Predictability and unpredictability in video game design

Oraclea · Sep 16, 2019

Celeste and Dead Cells are two of my favorite video games. They're both games with high difficulty, platforming elements, and excellent pixel art. However, they're very different experiences to play, and I think a lot of that difference lies in how predictable
their levels are.

Dead Cells' standard mode thrives on its unpredictability. Each time you play, the level layouts change, the weapons you encounter change, and it's up to you to adjust to what you see. Dead Cells succeeds through its unpredictability, presenting you with
something different each time and testing how you react and adapt.

Celeste, on the other hand, is mostly a collection of smaller areas to traverse, most of which are difficult but unchanging in layout. The areas reveal to you what they are and, through your attempts at them, how to beat them. Celeste succeeds through
this predictability, giving you total control over what you're facing and testing you to find a solution and execute it.

I don't think there's anything fundamentally good or bad about how unpredictable to the player a game's design is. There are so many great online multiplayer games, which inherently feature unpredictability due to how other players might play. There are
amazing "walking sims" and many puzzle games where I can take my time to study the environment to make my way forward. And, of course, most games fall somewhere in the middle on the spectrum, or consistently waver between more predictable and more unpredictable
sections.

For this discussion, feel free to answer any of the following:

-For a more 'predictable' game to succeed, what's a quality that it has to have, and what's an example of a game that does this quality well?

-For a more 'unpredictable' game to succeed, what's a quality that it has to have, and what's an example of a game that does this quality well?

-What's a memorable game for you that either combines predictable and unpredictable design elements, or memorably shifts from one to the other, and what was most memorable about its design?

:)

ScottTHEscammeR

Theres a fine line between a game being unpredictable, and being incoherent. That's the key to being unpredictable and good....it has to make sense

Villarino

Hello Horaclea!

Im a big fan of Roguelike games, and Rpgs too, and i would say for me unoredictable games are the most fun to play, its a matter of luck not skill sometimes, but definetley the story is the most important thing, like Void Bastards for example

DoubleDRAGON666

If you like them games, maybe give Binding of Isaac a go as well. I'm sure you'll like it if you love dead cells.

veiledbythemist

For me quality and story line are the most important aspects of any game.

Bountyhunterxx5

If celeste had changing areas I would have never finished it. Being able to attempt the same level over and over allows you to figure out what works and what doesn't.

Predictability and unpredictability in video game design