Asymmetrical Elements in Multiplayer Games — Why is it fun? (Part 1)

Jirawat Srirak
Nov 2 · 6 min read

Many multiplayer games we know usually have some degree of “unequalness” or “differentness” in it. In Hearthstone, players in a single matchup may have different heroes, special abilities, and cards. In Root, a board game by Cole Wehrle, different factions have different mechanics and do things differently to win the game. Or even in hide-and-seek where a seeker and a hider have different goals to follow.

These differences make the game fun, but why exactly? Here is my take on exploring some of the reasons behind the fun (and unfun) of asymmetrical elements in games.


The Fun

Differentness creates a fun narrative

We, as humans, are different. We live in different environments and surroundings. We have access to different kinds and amounts of resources.
We think differently and have different goals in life. We are individuals.

Differentness creates a sense of individuals. In a game, when we have different resources, different options, or different goals between different players, we as a human — a storyteller, can make up a story from this abstraction to create a sense of self. This encourages us to roleplay or be “someone” while making us see others as “someone else”.

Cute stuff toys individuals

Most of the time, a game forces us to roleplay. Like in Bang!, a card game by Emiliano Sciarra, someone has to be an Outlaw and must kill a Sheriff to win the game while a Deputy Sheriff has to protect a Sheriff and eliminate those bad guys.

But even the game does not tell us about the story of why we are different, we tend to have an ability to create this narrative ourselves. While you and I having an equal amount of gold does not tell much, if you have a hundred gold and I have only one gold, now we can assume that “you” are rich, and “I” am poor.

This is what makes us immersed in our figurative role, and sometimes it may leave an emotional impact on us, even it is not real.

Whereas on the opposite side, in a game of chess which is considered to be a symmetrical game, we usually do not think about the individuality of another player while playing the game. Because it is not about “you” and “me”, it is more about “your move” and “my move”.

Differentness drives expression and creativity

With only one watercolor, kids may not have many choices on how to paint on their painting. But by offering a wide range of different colors, now they can create a colorful piece of art with a variety of pigments to choose from.

Each kid might have a different choice of colors. Some of them might discover a new color by intentionally, or accidentally, combine some of those colors. And some of them might just stick to that one color, even those options are given.

These are not watercolors by the way…

In a game where different options are presented to us, serious players would always choose “the best option” based on statistic and logical sense on the situation, especially in a competitive game or a game where the choice has a strong consequence.

But often, without the aspect of the seriousness, we tend to choose an option that “best suits” us, or in other word, match our preferences.

Take Dota 2 for example, I love to play almost all of the intelligence heroes because I love magic. And in real life, I like to be in a quiet place. So I love how my favorite hero, Silencer, tells everyone else to “SILENCE!!” like a librarian in a library.

Other than that, with a pool of different heroes to choose from, players can mix and match different heroes into a team of five. Sometimes when I played with friends, we like to “try-out” if this hero is going well with that one, to keep our creative side of our brain in use, to experiment, to try something new and different.

If the difference in options and consequences is significant enough, it will also enhance the replayability of the game.

Dota 2 Hero Selection (with bots)

Asymmetry elements are fun to explore and feel natural

Nature is unpredictable and uneven. Mountains do not have the same height. Oceans do not have the same depth. The North Pole and the South Pole are not symmetrical to each other. It gives us a sense of the unknown, and a joy of discovery.

Unbalanced landscape. Balanced photo.

When we see something symmetrical, we know that it is some kind of a system, a pattern, a man-crafted structure, or something that is not made by nature. And to most of us, this sameness can sometimes lead to a feeling of boredom, uncreative, or simply uninteresting.

Let’s take a look at Red Alert 2’s maps. There are many symmetrical maps where all player’s starting locations are spaced equally, have access to the same kind of resources, or simply be a mirror map where both horizontal and vertical layout is pretty much the same when flipped. And it feels unnatural.

(From left to right) DEFCON 6, Official Tournament Map, and Breakaway.

These kinds of maps are designed specifically for competitive plays, which is suits for its purpose, it is a fair play. But honestly, it is a bit dull. It feels like we play a game of chess on a thematic game board where the only things we focus on is the play.

On the other hand, asymmetrical maps of the same game seem to be more interesting to me. Like in Mayday, a two-player map. The top player starts on a wide-open area with a lot of buildings around and has access to Tech Airport on the top-right corner of the map, which gives an ability to summon paratroopers anywhere on the map when captured. Whereas the bottom player has much narrower space, but have access to a ton of Tech Oil Derrick, which generate income over time when captured.

(From left to right) Mayday, Cold War, El Dorado

The asymmetry of those maps makes us wonder “what is on the other side of the map?”. It gives a believable sense that those islands exist somewhere in the world or the game world. It creates a story of “I’m on an island all alone!”…while the other two are on the continent. It helps with immersion because it feels more natural.


Final Thought

Asymmetrical elements in games can create a compelling gameplay experience, especially in a narrative or thematic aspect. However, it does not mean that it has no downside, or that asymmetrical elements are fun and symmetrical ones are not fun. Both have its own upsides and downsides when applied to game design.

In the next part, we will further explore some of the downsides of asymmetrical elements in multiplayer games.

Jirawat Srirak

Written by

A wizard. Play and make games to earn XP. Spending skill points in game design, digital art, and some coding. Now take a break from the real world.

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