How Babel went multiplayer

Babel has not always been a multiplayer game. It actually went through a lot of concepts. But when we considered making it a two player coop game, it quicky became our most interesting lead. But one does not simply add a player to a single player concept to make it a multiplayer one.

So how would we handle the transition from one to two players ?

Cursed problems framework

Since it was a critical moment for the game, it was important to me not to fall for the first bait idea. That's why I've used the "Cursed problem framework", from Alex Jaffe, game design director at Riot Games.

This framework gives four techniques, leading to four ideas. We've considered all four techniques, and I'm going to elaborate on the two of them that lead to tests.

The cursed problem Babel faces is quarterbacking. It is a common problem for cooperative strategy games. It happens when a player becomes the "brain" and takes all decisions.

Gives orders

Gives info

First technique : Barriers

The idea of barriers is to make quarterbacking completely impossible by cutting means to do it.

We've been inspired by the board game Hanabi, a game where communication is crucial, yet you are not allowed to speak. To give a hint, you must consume a communication token - you've got very few - and you've got to play well to get one back.

Silent Babel

"No talking. Consume a communication token to reveal one of your cards to your ally. Get a token back when you upgrade a buidling."

Pros

Immediate gameplay feedback

Mindgame gameplay

Cons

Dead silent mood

Confused players

This version brought some really intesresting ideas. In particular, getting the token back : upgrading a building wouldn't only mean more points, or a prettier asset. The reacquiered token would be reinvested and would lead to a new gameplay moment !

However, when it comes to external playtests, it doesn't work. When players don't know each other and don't know the game, they don't understand and the silence imposed on them make them uneasy.

Second technique : Doors

The idea of doors is to make quaterbacking not impossible but harder, thus requiring efficient communication.

We've decided to pressure the players with timer in order to increase the odds of them making mistakes.

Timed Babel

"Start with a 1 minute timer. Scoring a point earns a second back"

Pros

Immediate gameplay feedbacks

Interesting dynamics

Cheap

Cons

Sometimes worsens quarterbacking

Paralyses beginners

Once again, there's immediate gameplay feedback : Playing a building costs time, but may earn more if played well. There are even interesting mechanics about emergency. Players would play not so well but fast to get some time back, but would pay it later due to their poor city layout.

However, quarterbacks may become even worse, as they dont have time to be lenient. As for beginners, they lose before even having time to understand what's going on.

Conclusion

None of our attempts solved the quarterbacking problem without making the horrible when it comes to tests.

But was it the goal ?

This struggle against the quarterbacking problem is a pretext. Chosing a clear problem to cope with enabled us to use the cursed problems framework. Thanks to it, we've been able to iterate on cooperation issues for a whole week. We've learnt a lot about multiplayer Babel, better understanding of our audience and the importance of immediate gameplay feedbacks if I had to quote only two.

In that sense, I think we've handled the transition. Admitedly, the cooperation at the end of the experience was not perfect. But thanks to what we've learnt, we had new setting and a new direction we've been able to work with for months.