Dead State - Design Update - Random Design

Brian Mitsoda explains randomisation for replayability in Dead State in this week's Design Update:

I don’t know how many people replay games – I often don’t – but I do know that I like knowing that a game isn’t always going to offer the same exact experience to everyone or that it won’t always offer the same experience to players who liked it enough to give it a second go. Player decisions and character builds are one way we can change the experience, but one thing that seems to be missing from a lot of games is randomization. Some games will do this with maps, but very few do this with events.  Today I thought we would cover a few ways that Dead State changes things up so that even the best FAQ can’t always prepare you for what’s in store.

In Dead State, there are multiple ways we randomize the events of the game outside of just reacting to player choice or from resource shortfalls. On our area map, for instance, some locations for allies and resources are randomized at the start of the game. You may never even find some of these locations on your first playthrough or you may discover them much later than your first playthrough/friend’s playthrough. Everyone will have the chance to discover these locations – we always spawn them – but prior knowledge of these events won’t make finding them any easier. Some locations/allies will always be in the same place, so you’ll somewhat of an advantage when playing a second time, but not for everything.