One of the toughest things for a game developer is to balance the needs of gamers with different skill levels. There can be a large disparity between experiences, and it isn’t always easy to reconcile, or even identify where the disparity is.
For a while now, many players in the Discord have been absolutely crushing Gunlocked 2, making quick work of bosses, and obliterating late game waves. From screen clearing bullet and laser builds, to massive swarms of drones, and gigantic barrages of missiles, they’ve done it all (okay, bombs need a little more love, but that’s coming).
On the other hand, a number of other players have complained that you never get strong even with “good” builds. Now, obviously this can’t be objectively true if some players consistently get super strong, and achieve victories, but then what’s the issue? I can’t just shrug and say “git gud.” I want this game to be enjoyable for a wider range of skill levels. Clearly there’s a disconnect for some players. But where, and how do I help them?
The way I see it, there’s a few possibilities, and it could be some of each, or one in particular:
Players aren’t fully engaging with the systems that allow them to create powerful builds. I’m not blaming the players here. It could be my fault they aren’t. There are a lot more tools in Gunlocked 2 than in the first game to tailor your builds, but it may also be harder if you ignore them.
The upgrades are too hard to understand, so powerful upgrades are being ignored in favor of easier to understand upgrades that might be weaker overall. The upgrades often work in unique ways, and that can make descriptions wordy. Not being able to localize the text might further compound this problem.
The way that upgrades work together isn’t apparent enough so powerful synergies are being ignored.
The reason I use Early Access for my games is because there are hundreds of upgrades and multiple game systems interacting in a variety of ways, and as a solo developer, I can’t predict how easy all of it will be to grasp. And often times, players will engage with my games in ways I didn’t even imagine.
But while I will never be able to please all gamers, and that’s never been my goal, I think there’s room here to find a better balance between skill levels, so more players can enjoy the game. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Whether about the bullet points above, or something I didn’t mention.
I’m working on a small polish patch before the endless mode update, and I’d love to incorporate your feedback to improve balance. So leave a comment below, and/or join the Discord here.
Not every piece of feedback can be addressed, and some players are always going to want what others don’t, but you can see in reviews of my games that I do my best to listen to the community. I’ve made hundreds of changes based on feedback, and I hope to keep improving. So let's chat!