3 ms·
I agree that going to extraordinary lengths to prevent software augmentation of gameplay is attacking the wrong thing. What does it matter, if people are still
by dTal 5y ago
I agree that going to extraordinary lengths to prevent software augmentation of gameplay is attacking the wrong thing. What does it matter, if people are still having fun?
But software augmentation doesn't just improve apparent skill, it can also distort gameplay. What if you're really skilled and you get matched with what amounts to a bot? Even if you're good enough to overcome the bot and win the game, it won't be the game you signed up to play.
The real problem here is "annoying play styles", something that humans are capable of indulging in without any software help. This is usually policed - ineffectively - by social pressure ("no camping!"). The real solution is an extension of the ranking system - a reputation system, which tracks sportsmanship. All of these problems ultimately stem from the practice of connecting vast numbers of anonymous strangers with each other - cheatbots simply aren't an issue when you play with your friends. This is a social problem.
- bee_rider 5y agoI wonder if they could outsource this to the crowd. With things like Twitch, there are already lots of eyeballs on some of the higher-skill games. I mean you couldn't trust the twitch chat to actually do banning, but maybe they could flag things for in-house human review. Independent of that and completely niche -- a game where they specifically themed it as some sort of 'gladiatorial combat,' and ranked the players based on crowd response could be cool. I definitely wouldn't want that in every game, but it could be a neat spin-off.