Generally there are two kinds of conflict you should be concerned about in the design of multiplayer games: intended (e.g., team competition) and unintended (e.g., in-fighting).
Having a handy list of the predictable sources of conflict can make it easier to identify, mitigate, and avoid those you don’t want in your game design.
How to use this checklist
Use this checklist to:
- Get a basic understanding of conflict in games.
- Evaluate existing games for potential sources of conflict.
- Proactively avoid or mitigate conflict in game design.
- Aid brainstorming and social mapping exercises.
Checklist
This list provides some quick and easy checks to avoid common sources of conflict in multiplayer games:
- Incompatible goals — Have you made sure players aren’t given conflicting goals by missions or similar systems?
- Task interdependence — Have you taken steps to alleviate the stress of shared objectives (where personal success depends on teammate success)?
- Poor communication — Have you ensured players know what’s important to communicate and have good ways to do it?
- Power struggles — Have you made sure all teammates have a voice in key decisions?
- Scarcity — Have you made sure the distribution of scarce items (e.g., loot drops, ammo) is fair and equitable?
- Time pressure — Have you helped players make important decisions wherever there are countdown timers?
- Inadequate skills — Have you given new and inexperienced players meaningful ways to contribute?
- Misaligned expectations — Have you set clear group behavior expectations? Do players have ways to set their own group expectations?
- Attitude conflicts — Did you tell players that good attitudes are important through narration, codes of conduct, or other means?
- Conflicts of interest — Have you checked that the interests of any outside game group, like guilds, won’t conflict with team interests?
- Differences in information — Did you make sure players are working with the same information? Social deduction games, where missing information is a mechanic, are an exception.
- Differing role perceptions — Have you made sure that all players have a shared understanding of team roles (requires setting rules for roles)?
- Lack of trust — Can players see obvious trust-building details in strangers, like accomplishment or reputation?
Now what?
- Put this checklist to work!
- Read 10 Heuristics for Mitigating Intra-Team Conflict.
- Explore other useful methods.
