Game Design is Everything

Strategy games aren't the genre of games I play on a regular basis. Even though I am trying to expand my tastes and experiences in the medium, I still find myself drawn back to popular FPS's and nights of multiplayer mayhem on these FPS's. However, I have recently been playing a third-person strategy game called The Bureau: Xcom Declassified. This particular third-person foray deals with aliens invading the Earth in the 1950's. The story's not horrible, and I'm enjoying the strategy aspect of it (commanding your officers, selecting actions for them to take, etc.). Overall, the game has gotten an overall rating of an "average" (mostly 6's or 7's out of 10) and I, personally, don't mind the game. It's definitely a nice change of pace for me. Though, I noticed something interesting in the design of the game's difficulty. Aside from it being a moderately difficult game, the changes made from the 3rd tier difficulty "Veteran" to the 2nd tier difficulty "Squaddie" span all aspects of the game, not just the enemies, weapon pickups, etc. My example? The loading screens. Specifically, the information presented to the gamer at the bottom of the screen changes from difficulty to difficulty. While playing on the "Veteran" difficulty, the gamer is shown information that is all related to the story of the game. The screen poses questions as to what might happen next and solely focuses on the events occurring in the game. This clashes with the "Squaddie" difficulty (a level below “Veteran”), which does not focus on story during the loading screens. Rather, it focuses its attention on giving you tips, such as reminding you to rank up your agents. It even informs you of what plasma weapon is the best to use in the game. I know it might not sound like a big deal, but it just goes to show how thought-out some game designs are. Game design just doesn't span the story. It doesn't exclusively focus on creating objects. Game design is everything.