Fun versus Logic
It’s a curious thing how after a period of time, familiarity with the various rules and systems changes the way you behave in a game. When I first started playing Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout last summer, I would doggedly compete in every game, right the way up to the last second. However, six month later I am far more cognisant of the way in which the game works. There is a counter in the top right hand corner of the screen indicating that only 43 players can go through to the next round. If you get obstructed, delayed or stuck while completing the course there comes a point where you realise that you will not qualify. When this happens I now just stop and wait to be eliminated. It would appear that a lot of other players do the same. The round then ends and you are awarded your points regardless. There is no sanction for failure in Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout as it is not that sort of game.
This example raises an interesting point. Once you know how a process works and act upon that information, it changes your relationship with a game. In this case it turns a fun activity into more of a logical process. That’s not to say I no longer enjoy Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout but my actions in game change according to how well I’m performing. If I get stuck and feel that I’ve lost too much time then effectively I stop playing that round and wish to move on ASAP. Furthermore, there are other examples of players “gaming the system”. At present I am not aware of an AFK penalty in the game. Hence there are some players who wish to grind out the season pass for its various rewards, without the bother of playing. As you get a fixed amount of points, even if you don’t qualify, some will simply stand at the starting line and just wait for the round to end. They do this continuously.
From a social science perspective, I find it interesting the way different players adapt their behaviour in a game, once they’re familiar with its mechanics. Competitive games will naturally attract those who like to excel and win. Shortly after the launch of Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout there was a degree of community pushback against the “try hard” culture that emerged. The question raised was is such a competitive mindset compatible with a game that is supposed to be “fun”. The game was also blighted by cheating for a while although the matter appears to have been addressed by developers Mediatonic. A cursory internet search shows that many players are also driven by collecting all things cosmetics. This may well be the reason for the emergence of AFK players. And then there are those who play for amusement, like myself, who are happy to just progress through the game and season pass at their own pace.
Six months on and I have still not won a game of Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout. The most I’ve achieved is 4 out of 5 rounds. There are strategies and tactics that can improve your performance in the game but there are also a lot of random factors that impact upon the outcome. Although it is only anecdotal data, after reading a few subreddits, it would seem that I am not alone in this. Whenever I play now, I see a percentage of players who go AFK either right at the start of the round, or like myself, when they know they’re not going to win. If I remain as a spectator after I’ve been eliminated, it becomes clear that the same people tend to keep winning. Occasionally, they’ll be a player with a cheat enabled and I’ll see their avatar literally fly to the finish line. All of which seems to suggest that the game’s organic fun is giving way to gameplay driven by logic and a more procedural mindset.
I’m not sure exactly how to articulate this but on some level I feel that there is a flaw at present in Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout. I am aware that it can be cogently argued that there isn’t a problem, that the game is working as intended and people are playing in the manner that suits them. However, consider the following. I may not know for sure if I am going to win a round in Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout but I definitely do know when I’m not going to do so. Combine that with the fact that a player can go six months and never win, there does seem to be a risk of diminishing the incentive to play. Would it not be wise to address this and add some mechanics that showed some random benevolence? If for example you’re getting “Mullered” on a specific obstacle, why not introduce a chance of being ported to the next respawn point? Or why not allow one player to qualify due to “effort” (IE the number of times they failed and respawned).
Naturally, my ideas will not find any favour with the “your playing the game wrong” community and those with an overly competitive mindset. But I would argue that Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is not that sort of game to begin with. It is a game with an element of competition but it is primarily designed to be fun and amusing. Those qualities need to be sustained by the developers. As the player base evolves, then surely the game design should as well? However, there is one factor in this fun versus logic debate that I haven’t addressed. A lot of people play with friends and I’m sure that adds a very different dynamic to the proceedings. The focus upon fun and competition may shift to your peers, rather than other players. At present I always play alone. Irrespective of this, I feel that Mediatonic needs to keep fun central to the game and ensure that they don’t lose players due to an emerging trend of excessive logical analysis.
