alea and agon

The Rituals of Alea

This article discusses Alea,which is a fancy word for Chance in games. It makes me feel good about the game I am currently working on because our battle system doesn't always favor the veteran player, which actually worried me quite a bit at the start. Now I've started to warm up to the idea that a total newb could still potentially triumph just by being dealt a "better hand". Also, I've been playing a lot of Mario Kart on the Wii online these days, and I swear that the only reason I keep coming back is the knowledge that there's always a chance I may be dealt 3 Bullet Bill Power Ups in a row and maybe win the race at the very end. If Mario Kart didn't have this "Alea" built into it, I would have long given up on online play due to sucking way too much balls to be a true competitor.