“Conflict in a game can be direct or indirect, violent or non violent, but it is always present in every game.”
Chris Crawford
Challenge without conflict is predictable. Conflict enlivens and animates challenge.
Forms of conflict include:
- single player vs single player
- group vs group
- one against many
- every player for him or herself
- single player vs the system
- individual players competing side by side vs the game
- a group of players vs the game.
Some ways to create competition include introducing game scoring systems, having levels of achievement, game statistics, objects that players compete/cooperate for.
Games should aim to “provide a rich space of possilibity that supports a range of conflict”.
Game design elements that lead to conflict include:
- number of players that can play
- players play simultaneously
- players take turns
- high score list
- player gets constant feedback about their relative scores
- game pause allows players to directly compare their scores and other game statistics
- computer-generated opponents and obstacles that players face together
- players are opponents for each other
- direct conflict between players
- resources for which players compete.