1. Luck Vs Skill
A hindrance or a tool?

2. A look at luck

3. What makes a game of luck?
Random outcome
Players are often played by the game, not vice-versa
Strategy is often needless
Appeal is massive!

4. An ancient game One of the first ever games: the game of dice
Mostly dominated by luck
Played by billions of people through history
Legends say it was invented to distract from famine

5. A look at skill

6. What makes a game of skill?
Deterministic outcome
Reliance on player’s abilities to discern outcomes
Strategic planning is of crucial importance

7. A practical example
Still incredibly old, the game of chess is said to be entirely relying on skill
Legends say the inventor was incredibly rich, fooling a king by asking very little
Still, played by billions of people through history
But, less than dice…

8. What if they were interlinked?

9. Experience reduces luck
Kids playing tic-tac-toe play it like a real game, feels like chess
Eventually they master the game
Luck switches into the solved game we know and love

10. A false dichotomy Can we have Luck with no skill?
Can we have Skill with no luck?

11. A toy game Can you guess the digit of PI? Completely deterministic
Almost impossible to determine

12. Why not both? Liar’s dice, the best of both worlds?
The game still involves luck as you still have to roll dice
The game also focuses on the skill of the players as the have to lie about their results

13. How can we use luck to make better games?
What sort of luck do we have?
Luck as an equaliser
Luck as a difficulty spike
Luck as a reward
Luck to create drama

14. Luck as an equaliser
How can we make video games more fair for everybody?
Add in dice with less variation
Swaying the chances in favour of the last in a race
Tripping the fastest opponents in a fighting game

15. Luck as a difficulty spike
What if our players want a bigger challenge?
Random chance can screw up the best of plans
Planning for the unthinkable is a great thrill
Elevating the odds, elevates the reward!

16. Luck as a reward Do we like a game, or its elements?
Roguelikes are infinitely recombining games
The slot-machine effect can improve a player’s experience
The playground effect creates a social facet of an otherwise “lonely” game

17. Luck to create drama Do we like winning without effort?
Swaying the chances in favour of the losers can lead to last-minute comebacks
The best of stories are those full of conflicts to overcome!
Luck can lead to “I will win next time” situations

18. A look at complexity

19. What does more luck and less skill entail?
What sort of luck do we have?
Games are more accessible
They have more “memorable moments”
Are often considered “casual” by the “hardcore” demographic

20. What does more skill instead?
What sort of luck do we have?
Appeals to the ego!
Can foster “addicted” audiences
Personal progression is more rewarding

21. How can we use them as a tool?
Complex systems breed emergent gameplay
Luck can be used as a tool to give life to a world (literally!)
Skill can be added to extend a game’s longevity and depth

22. An experiment: add luck to skill
Take Tic-tac-toe and add an element of luck, how does this change the game?

23. Another experiment: add skill to luck
Take dice and add an element of skill, how does this change the game instead?