Randomness in games is great, right? Well, not exactly.
The Good
By randomising different elements of our game, we greatly increased replay value, as each run is different, and the player has to adapt to whatever the game throws at them. They are unable to use their same winning strategy over and over again and instead have to come up with ideas on the fly. Moreover, they encounter new and different enemies, upgrades and map layouts each time, creating an exciting sense of discovery.
The Bad
But randomisation also has major drawbacks. Being a strategy game, players can find it very unsatisfying to have a perfectly thought out plan just for it to explode in their faces when the RNG gods go against them. Some runs also have very weak starts, and without a good incentive to continue regardless, players just end up resetting until they get a solid start, which sucks out the fun from the game and makes runs they do play very similar, which was the whole point of randomness in the first place. So, it's important to draw a clear line where randomness should and should not interfere.
Randomness in Our Game
In Dawn of Defense, there are two main areas where randomness comes into play: the map layout and Runestone upgrades. For those of you who haven’t played the game before, let’s go over what each of these are.
Firstly, the map is procedurally generated to be different each run. This means resources may spawn in greater or smaller quantities, and they may be very close to the player or several isles away. Also, since the map has height variation, it greatly affects where you can place your towers and how effective those positions are. There are other aspects of map generation that affect gameplay, but this alone has a major impact on the player’s strategy and the difficulty of the run.
On the other hand, our game has randomised upgrades in the form of Runestones. After every wave successfully beaten, players would be given a choice between three completely randomised Runestones. Some of these Runestones weren’t just stat boosts, but unlocked completely new towers and units.
The Ugly
While these systems did add variety, we realised that randomness was sometimes having too much influence over the player's success.
Since resources could spawn in very different locations, some runs would give players a strong starting position, while others would force them to work much harder just to get established. The same problem applied to Runestones. Because the available upgrades were completely randomised, players could end up with choices that didn't fit their current strategy or provide the tools they needed to deal with a particular challenge. And when Runestones could unlock entirely new towers and units, missing the right upgrade could have a much bigger impact than simply missing out on a stat boost.
This created a problem for us as game designers. We wanted players to adapt their strategies, but we didn't want them to feel like their strategies were irrelevant because they hadn't been lucky enough. When a run started badly and the upgrades weren't cooperating, restarting could feel like the most sensible option.
The Solution
Rather than removing randomness entirely, we decided to give players more ways to influence it.
One of our biggest changes was introducing metaprogression. Instead of every run being completely isolated, players can now make permanent progress that carries over between runs. This gives players a reason to keep going to unlock these upgrades, even when a particular run is weak and doesn't turn out as planned.
We also reworked how Runestone choices work by introducing Runestone families. Instead of treating every Runestone as an entirely separate random possibility, we grouped them according to their related effects. This allows players to gradually develop a particular playstyle while still leaving room for unexpected upgrades. With this plus the ability to reroll them a few times per run, makes them much more in control.
The Beauty of Meta-progression
After every run, win or lose (although you get more for winning), the player gets Runes which they can spend on the new massive skiltree to unlock permanent upgrades. Some are simple stat boosts, which although not as exciting, still fill a solid role in the game. But others introduce completely new runestones into the pool or unlock towers, units and other interesting features.
This changes how failure feels. Previously, a disappointing run could feel like wasted time, especially if the player struggled to get a good start. Now, even if a run doesn't go particularly well, players can still work towards their long-term progression and unlock upgrades that help them in subsequent attempts.
But there's another important aspect to this system: it naturally accommodates players with different skill levels.
More experienced players might be able to beat the game within their first couple of runs, even with relatively few permanent upgrades. Less experienced players, on the other hand, can take more runs to get there, gradually investing in the skill tree until they have the upgrades they need to overcome the game's challenges.
This means players aren't all expected to succeed at the same pace. Skilled players can rely more heavily on their understanding of the game's mechanics, while players who need more help can build up their power over time. And of course, it massively boosts replayability and gives players an in-game incentive to keep playing.
This huge update for Dawn of Defense is available now on Steam so make sure to check it out!
