10 Simple Video Game Features (That Are A NIGHTMARE To Develop)

Okay, so this one might not seem that simple if you’ve ever done any work in accountancy. A few fields grow into an enormous, outrageous spreadsheet that starts to look like an abstract ASCII masterpiece after a while.

But how hard can it be? If you can sell duplicate loot items, sell the rubbish stuff for cheap, and keep the rare stuff expensive.

Done, finito, you’ve solved everything.

But game systems aren’t nearly that linear, and you end up with a wide variety of parallel systems working together in tandem. What happens when you have a loot drop system with randomised elements, and a market system which allows you to sell off that loot for a consistent fee every time?

You end up with no consistency, and people that only play your game a little might end up - through sheer luck - with the same amount of money as someone who has been grinding for a month.

Balancing your systems in-game often requires a ton rarity adjustment, and also scaling (for example, every subsequent rare item you sell is only worth half the gold, etc), and you could be doing this for years after your game releases.

As complicated as it is SOUL-DESTROYING.