What is POWER CREEP? (And How to AVOID IT!) | Game Design

Summary

In this episode of 'Draw Five Move Five', host Gabe explores the concept of power creep in game design, using Yu-Gi-Oh as a case study. Power creep, where new content outperforms older elements, can alter a game's dynamics and audience. Gabe discusses strategies to mitigate this, such as creating counters, using ban lists, and introducing incomparables to maintain balance. The video also promotes 'Legacy's Allure', a card-based war game seeking playtesters, emphasizing the importance of community involvement in game development.

Takeaways

• 🎮 The video discusses the concept of 'power creep' in game design, which is the gradual increase in the power of new content over time, making older content less relevant.
• 👾 Power creep can drastically affect gameplay and audience composition, as seen in the example of 'Yu-Gi-Oh!', which has a large and dedicated fanbase despite being unbalanced.
• 📈 To avoid power creep, game designers must carefully consider the power curve, which plots the cost and power of game pieces, ensuring new content fits within this curve without overshadowing existing elements.
• 🛠️ Introducing new game content to keep a game fresh can inadvertently lead to power creep if not properly balanced, as new elements may become too powerful compared to their cost.
• 🔄 Power creep can be mitigated by introducing counters to powerful game pieces, which can bring them back in line with the game's balance.
• 🚫 Another method to avoid power creep is through the use of ban lists or creating multiple game formats with different restrictions, allowing for a controlled power level in competitive play.
• 🔄 The video suggests that introducing mechanically diverse tools, or 'incomparables', can help avoid power creep by providing players with choices that have different strengths and weaknesses rather than simply being more powerful.
• 🔄 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' has attempted to manage power creep by embracing it to some extent, with every card now having multiple effects that either boost consistency or interact with the opponent.
• 🎲 The video also mentions 'Legacy's Allure', a fantasy war game seeking playtesters to help balance its factions, emphasizing the importance of community involvement in game development.
• 📅 The channel's anniversary is in May, and the creator is aiming to reach 1,000 subscribers by then, highlighting the importance of community support for content creators.
• 📝 The video encourages viewers to engage in the comments section to discuss power creep, share thoughts on the topic, and suggest other games that manage power creep effectively.

Q & A

What is the main topic discussed in the video script?

The main topic discussed in the video script is 'power creep' in game design, its effects, and how it can be mitigated or avoided.

What is the definition of 'power creep' as mentioned in the script?

'Power creep' is defined as the concept where new content in a game becomes more powerful over time compared to the previous content, making older content irrelevant and potentially changing the game significantly.

Why is 'power creep' considered a problem in game design?

'Power creep' is considered a problem because it can lead to older game pieces becoming obsolete and can drastically affect the balance and play style of a game.

What game is used as an example to illustrate 'power creep' in the script?

Yu-Gi-Oh is used as an example to illustrate 'power creep' in the script, highlighting how it has affected the game's balance and design over the years.

What is the 'power curve' mentioned in the script?

The 'power curve' is a concept where each game piece has a cost and respective power, and the average of these two elements can be plotted on a curve to represent the balance between cost and power in the game.

What are some strategies mentioned in the script to avoid or mitigate 'power creep'?

Strategies mentioned include providing counters to overpowered elements, using ban lists or creating multiple formats with different restrictions, and introducing mechanically diverse pieces that are incomparable to prevent direct power level comparisons.

What is the role of 'counters' in managing 'power creep'?

'Counters' are game pieces introduced to penalize or negate the strengths of overpowered elements, helping to bring them back in line and maintain game balance.

What does the script suggest about introducing new content to a game?

The script suggests that while introducing new content can be exciting and draw in players, it must be done carefully to avoid causing 'power creep' and disrupting the game's balance.

What is the significance of 'incomparables' in game design as discussed in the script?

Incomparables are game pieces with mechanically diverse tool sets that offer different advantages and strategies, making it harder for any single piece to dominate and thus helping to prevent 'power creep'.

What is the game 'Legacies' Allure' mentioned in the script and how does it relate to the topic?

'Legacies' Allure' is a card-based war game sponsored by the video, which is mentioned as an example of a game with a clean and simple gameplay loop that avoids randomness, providing depth and replayability without the issue of 'power creep'.

What is the script's stance on the idea of not introducing new content to avoid 'power creep'?

The script humorously acknowledges the idea but dismisses it as impractical, suggesting that instead of avoiding new content altogether, game designers should implement strategies to manage and mitigate 'power creep'.

Outlines

00:00

🎮 Power Creep in Game Design

The script introduces the concept of power creep, a phenomenon where new game content becomes increasingly powerful over time, rendering older content obsolete. It uses Yu-Gi-Oh! as an example of a game that has experienced significant power creep, affecting gameplay and audience composition. The video aims to clarify misconceptions about power creep and discuss strategies for avoiding it. The sponsor, Legacy's Allure, is mentioned as a fantasy war game seeking playtesters to help balance its power levels.

05:00

📈 Understanding and Combating Power Creep

This paragraph delves deeper into the mechanics of power creep, explaining how new game elements can disrupt the established power curve by being more powerful than their cost suggests. It discusses the impact of power creep on game balance and player experience, using the evolution of Yu-Gi-Oh! as an illustration. The script also explores methods to mitigate power creep, such as introducing counters to balance overpowered content, implementing ban lists or different game formats, and encouraging mechanically diverse toolsets to prevent any single element from dominating.

10:00

🛡 Strategies for Managing Power Creep

The final paragraph focuses on strategies for managing power creep, emphasizing the importance of providing players with a variety of mechanically diverse options to prevent any single piece from being overwhelmingly powerful. It discusses the use of incomparables—game pieces that serve similar functions but in different ways, allowing for strategic choices rather than automatic inclusion due to power. The paragraph concludes with a call to action for viewers to engage in the discussion about power creep, share their thoughts on the topic, and support the channel by subscribing and participating in community activities.

Keywords

💡Power Creep

Power creep refers to the gradual increase in the power level of new content in a game over time, rendering older content less relevant or obsolete. In the context of the video, it is the main theme, illustrating how it can drastically affect gameplay and audience composition, as exemplified by the evolution of 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' and its impact on the game's balance and player experience.

💡Playtesting

Playtesting is the process of testing a game by playing it to find any issues and ensure it is enjoyable and balanced. The video mentions 'Legacy's Allure,' a fantasy war game seeking playtesting help to refine its gameplay mechanics, indicating the importance of this process in game development.

💡Game Design

Game design encompasses the creative and technical aspects of creating a game, including its mechanics, rules, and dynamics. The video is a part of a series focused on game design, aiming to explore and explain concepts like power creep within the broader context of game development.

💡Balancing

Balancing in game design refers to the process of ensuring that all elements of a game, such as characters, abilities, and items, are fairly matched against each other. The script discusses how power creep can disrupt this balance and the measures taken to counteract it, such as introducing counters and creating different game formats.

💡Yu-Gi-Oh!

Yu-Gi-Oh! is a popular trading card game used in the video as a prime example of power creep. The script describes how the game has evolved over time, with new cards often being more powerful than older ones, leading to a shift in the game's power curve and affecting gameplay strategies.

💡Power Curve

A power curve in game design represents the relationship between the cost of using a game element and its power or effectiveness. The video explains how power creep can alter the power curve, making older, less powerful content less desirable compared to newer, more powerful options.

💡Incomparables

Incomparables are game elements that serve similar functions but are mechanically diverse, making direct comparison of power levels difficult. The script suggests using incomparables as a strategy to avoid power creep by providing players with choices that have unique advantages and disadvantages, rather than simply more powerful options.

💡Ban List

A ban list in game design is a set of rules that prohibit certain game elements from being used in official play to maintain balance. The video mentions that 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' uses a ban list to manage power creep by removing overly powerful cards from competitive play.

💡Counters

Counters in the context of game design are elements introduced to neutralize or reduce the effectiveness of other elements, often in response to power creep. The script discusses how introducing counters can help balance the game by providing ways to deal with overpowered cards or strategies.

💡Game Mechanics

Game mechanics are the underlying systems and rules that govern how a game functions. The video draws connections between different game mechanics to explain power creep and how it can be managed through various design strategies, such as introducing counters and creating alternative game formats.

💡Replayability

Replayability refers to the quality of a game that makes it enjoyable to play multiple times. The video mentions 'Legacy's Allure' as having a clean and simple gameplay loop similar to chess, which contributes to its replayability, and contrasts it with the complexity and power creep issues found in 'Yu-Gi-Oh!'.

Highlights

The video discusses the concept of power creep in game design, its effects, and ways to avoid it.

Power creep is described as the gradual increase in the power of new game content over time, making older content less relevant.

The video uses Yu-Gi-Oh as an example to illustrate the impact of power creep on game balance and player audience.

The importance of understanding the power curve in game design is emphasized, relating it to the balance between cost and power of game pieces.

Designers often tweak new game pieces to make them functionally different, which can inadvertently lead to power creep.

The video explains how power creep can cause a shift in what players perceive as good, fine, and bad in terms of game pieces.

Yu-Gi-Oh has attempted to correct power creep through various methods, including introducing cards with multiple effects.

The video suggests that avoiding power creep can be as simple as not introducing new content, but acknowledges this is not practical for game longevity.

Counters, ban lists, and alternative formats are presented as methods to manage power creep in games.

The video introduces 'Legacies Allure', a fantasy war game seeking playtesters to help balance its mechanics.

Incomparables, or game pieces with unique mechanics, are suggested as a way to avoid direct power comparisons and creep.

The video likens power creep to entropy, a natural process in game design that can be managed but not entirely avoided.

Strategies such as creating counters and using incomparables are discussed to maintain game balance amidst power creep.

The importance of player feedback and playtesting in managing and mitigating power creep is highlighted.

The video concludes by encouraging viewers to share their thoughts on power creep and its management in game design.

The channel's goal to reach 1k subscribers by its anniversary is shared, inviting viewers to engage with the content.

Transcripts

this video was sponsored by legacy's

allure a fantasy war game in need of

your playtesting help to start its power

levels off right

thanks to keith and stay tuned for how

you can get involved

okay next video last one didn't do too

well

really need a good one this time next

youtube game design video

easy peasy i do this all the time i am

out of ideas

oh no oh no no no no no

i can't be out of ideas if i'm out of

ideas all this work goes down the toilet

the grind i've been on raising the

channel up is over the community i've

been building dies

and all those horrid voices in my head

that tell me i'm not good enough are to

be right and i can't

no comment oh

yeah let's talk about power creep most

players and designers have heard the

term

power creep it's the boogie man the

monster under the bed that can destroy

an unsuspecting game if it isn't

accounted for

but what it is why it happens and how to

avoid it are often less discussed

we're going to clear up any

misconceptions about what power creep is

and

chat about how we can avoid it today on

draw 5 move 5.

[Music]

hey everyone and welcome to the table my

name is gabe and this

is draw five move five the show we draw

connections between the mechanics behind

our favorite games it is not

lost on me the irony of a yu-gi-oh

player running a game design channel

yu-gi-oh is frankly a hot mess it's not

especially well balanced and though i

adore it

it isn't always the best example for

game design because of how different it

is from other games

how often it completely breaks standard

design convention and makes mistakes

that you figure konami would have a

handle on by now

many people call this game too

overpowered and say that power crepe has

completely

ruined it to that i say you are mostly

right

i don't think the game is ruined it has

a specific and dedicated audience that

enjoys it for the monstrosity it is

today

but it is a great example of how power

creep can drastically affect how a game

plays

and who makes up its audience so today

we're going to discuss

what power creep is why it occurs and

ways to avoid it

let's be candid you like new things i

like new things and developers know that

we all like

new things to keep the game from getting

stale then the most

logical solution is to give us new

things

if done well this can draw in new

players incentivize old ones to return

and get current players to keep enjoying

the game

it's a dream effects a flawless perfect

solution that is if you ignore

power creep power creep is the concept

that over time

new content in a game will be more

powerful than the previous content

as power steadily increases old material

becomes irrelevant

and the game can irrevocably change as

yugi's rather dramatic and unstable

mutations over the years have shown

in order to make new fun stuff actually

new and fun

rather than just a reskin of another

game piece designers will tweak them to

make them

functionally different increasing or

decreasing stats

changing costs providing new abilities

and so on

all of these alterations however run the

risk of taking a game piece

off curve and inciting power creep

every game has something called a power

curve

each piece has a cost and a respective

power and the average of those two

elements can be plotted on a curve

like so things that require minimal cost

to play

generally fall at the bottom of the

curve with low power

while pieces with a greater cost receive

more powerful stats and effects

looking at early yugioh for example

monsters like urbi with his fast feet

and skull red bird with its knife

starring

wings oligie was weird guys had the

highest power for a low cost to play in

legend of blue eyes

the game's first set the release of the

yugi and kaipa starter decks a few weeks

later immediately saw attackers at the

same cost but with a higher

power legend the mystical meaning of a

genie and his fellow buffed out buffoons

were significantly off curve or stronger

than their cost should allow

while powerful pieces like these are

cool they also present a game design

problem why should the player use the

factually worse pieces they already have

when these new ones are better in every

case this is where power creep comes

from

to get players using other game pieces

again the designers either need to

reduce the power of the new pieces

through errata or countering them or

they need to release

more content with similar power and cost

the latter is often the go-to answer and

the resulting mass of high power

low cost game pieces encroaches on what

makes the higher cost pieces

special why spend an extra card to play

succubus knight

other than the multi-armed goth queen

aesthetic when legend can tire in a knot

without the added cost

as a result the same process we saw with

the low-cost cards ripples up the power

curve

and stronger high-cost cards like summon

skull are created to ensure the pieces

in more costly slots are worth playing

eventually a full cycle is completed

correcting the shape of the power curve

while the curves shape is back to normal

the baseline has irrevocably changed

what players perceive as good fine and

bad is now different

cards like skull red bird and herbie

which were good

before are now just fine you might play

them if you want more of the 9 or 10

attackers in your deck but that's about

it

sorry irby your fast feet don't cut it

anymore bud

the cards that were fine like celtic

guardian and with the phantom are now

bad and the cards that were bad rarely

have ever played before

basic insect and company can buzz off

they're not worth discussing

yu-gi-oh has done a few things to try

and correct this but for the large part

it kind of embraces power creep for

better or worse

nowadays every card has several effects

and most either boost consistency by

finding other cards or

interact with the opponent to reduce

their plays and pave a path to victory i

wonder if the people who designed irb

ever dreamed they'd see a monster like

soul eating overraptor

fast feet got nothing on gross teeth

now that we have a good grasp of what

power creep is and how it occurs

is there any way to mitigate or avoid

its effects

thankfully yes the most effective method

of avoiding power creep is not to make

any new content for a game

ever simple thank you so much for

watching

you have my humble and eternal great

okay okay i'm kidding mostly the idea of

expansion packs and supplemental

material didn't start until the 1970s

with tabletop rpgs like dungeons and

dragons introducing additional books for

players and game masters

for a very long time games didn't have

supplemental material of any kind

and plenty still don't introduce

additional material to drive interest

for example chess is one of the oldest

best known and most played games in the

world

yet since the modern version of the game

took shape in the 1800s

it hasn't introduced any new pieces no

archers that can attack from a distance

but the game is just as fun

some rules variants have arisen but none

as popular as the standard version

oh and if you do enjoy chess but one

version with more options and cool

fantasy theming

look no further than today's sponsor

legacies allure which is a card-based

war game with no

randomness you'll select what units you

want to accompany your

hero on the battlefield and fight for

control of the map's center

the basic gameplay loop is clean and

simple just like in chess and the card

interactions and variable setup provide

tremendous depth and replayability

i've played a few games with the lead

designer keith rice and it's honestly

been a blast

reminds me of my olden days teaching

chefs at summer camp with a much

improved level of depth and

far more orcs keith needs clever play

testers to try and break the game's

basic factions and he is running

tournaments with prizing

all you need to do to help out is have a

copy of tabletop simulator on your

computer

and follow the link in the description

to join the legacies of lore discord

community

i hope to see you there now if you

actually

do want to introduce new pieces to a

game and still avoid power creeping out

your old content there

are still quite a few options at your

disposal the first is something we

mentioned a bit earlier

providing counters if powerful elements

get introduced to the game they're too

strong for their cost

introducing pieces that punish or negate

their strengths can bring them back in

line

yu-gi-oh has been doing this a lot over

the years especially since they hit a

critical mass of hand traps in 2017.

these cards are specifically designed to

negate or interact with the opponent's

plays even if you have no cards on your

own

field creating counters is a very

precise

balancing act because by their inclusion

in a game the next

new content may be designed to overcome

them thus accelerating power creep

honestly i think that all of the hand

traps may have had that effect in

yu-gi-oh

most meta decks in this day and age are

able to assemble a competent board

through two interactions of this kind

something they weren't able to do when

hand traps were on the rise

second designers can artificially cut

off pushed content like amputating a bad

limb

this can be done through a ban list

which is yugioh's bread and butter

disposal bin

for cards that were always a bad idea or

by creating multiple formats with

different restrictions to the cards

available

magic to gathering pokemon and

hearthstone do this with their standard

formats

only allowing a certain amount of the

most recent sets to be played in

tournaments

and allow much more of their cards and

history to be usable in another format

such as modern expanded and wild

respectively

this allows problematic game pieces to

cycle out of the tournament heavy

formats

while still being legal to play in other

ways keeping the power level of the

highest competitive play manageable and

allowing a high powered environment with

more pieces to exist for those who want

it

the third and final method is to use

incomparables it's a lot easier for

power creep to occur when the only thing

that's

changed on a new piece is number if it's

higher it's better

end of story by giving different pieces

mechanically diverse tool sets

as long as none are strictly and clearly

more powerful than the others

players can discuss the pros and cons of

each to their heart's content without

any of them ever really causing

power creep in magic gathering doomscar

and descend upon the sinful both serve

similar functions of removing all

creatures from the board

but go about it a little differently one

destroys

one exiles and each has an additional

upside there are reasons to consider one

over the other in a given deck if both

are playable choices

similarly in yu-gi-oh cards like pot of

extravagance and pile of prosperity

both allow the player to draw cards but

the way each does so is different

as are the costs of doing so one offers

more cards but they're random

the other offers a single card but it's

the most useful one from the top

few these incomparables are powerful but

not overly so

and it's a calculated choice whether to

include these cards based on which

options best fit your needs

rather than having to include them

because of how much better they are than

other game pieces for the same

cost and comparables also have the

benefit of being combinable to solve

problems presented when power crept

pieces rear their ugly heads

having multiple kinds of creature

removal can deal with a tricky board

state and

using a draw card can find your answers

to specific situations

faster power creep is a lot like entropy

it's always there slowly influencing a

game over time it's

frankly impossible outrun but when you

know what you're fighting it's a lot

easier to avoid it to plan around it

with a solid understanding that power

creep comes from individually

overpowered content

rippling outward and affecting a game's

power curve we can craft measures like

counters

ban lists alternative formats and then

comparables to put this content in check

before it starts pumping the gas

you're in the driver's seat and your

game's power and speed are entirely

under your control

as long as you keep an eye on power

creep in the rear view mirror

thank you so much for watching you have

my humble

and eternal gratitude what did you think

of the conversation

did this exploration of power creeps

solidify what it is and how it occurs

are there any preventative measures i

haven't covered and what games do you

think keep power creep in check well or

have managed to get a power creep issue

back under control

i'd love to hear your thoughts so let's

keep this discussion rolling down in the

comments

if you enjoyed the conversation

subscribe we're around 800 subs at the

time of recording and i would

love to hit 1k by the channel's

anniversary in may

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i'd really appreciate it especially if

you enjoyed the content and you haven't

subbed yet

unfortunately i do have to take the rest

of april off to work on a few sound

design projects

so the next video will be up on june 7th

in the meantime

i'm curious what topics everyone here

wants to discuss

this video was actually a suggestion by

lost geass gaming as you saw in the

intro skit

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until next time go have a good game

[Music]

you