During my work on the text-only video game that I'm designing, I've stumbled upon a question that I've always left unanswered, in a corner of my mind. What would be the most balanced way for a non-animated entity to use a shield? Little did I know that this is a strand that once you start pulling, it keeps going and going ... and going. I think that after researching the subject a bit, I can open a discussion and find out what I've missed, and shamelessly showcase what I believe to be the best shield system (for my game and others alike it!!!). I do expect to be humbled, but the greatest lessons come from that, so ... please do!
= Shields as Absorbers =
One of the most common ways of shield deployment that I came across is that of a padding like structure, that reduces incoming damage through absorption. The bigger the shield, the more damage it absorbs. Needless to say, I find this implementation to be quite lacking in many important areas. First of all, this is not how a shield works in 99% of real life situations. I'm no advocate of "real-life realism" in video games, but I do insist on realistic basic functionality. When blocking with a shield, you either get hit or you don't get hit, unless ... I don't know ... instead of taking a sword to the head, you block it and the shield hits you, instead.
= Shields as Barriers =
If the first category covers almost 50% of the examples that I came across, a similar percentage is covered by this second one. The shield is used as a barrier, that reduces incoming damage to zero, but loses some of its durability in the process. I find this implementation to be more akin to real life, but it's still very limited, linear and quite boring way of doing things.
= My Solution =
This is the way shields are working in my game:
- Every shield acts as a barrier, as in the previous example.
- The more damage a shield takes, the harder it becomes to block with it.
- Needless to say, the shield takes damage only if you successfully block with it.
- The more skill a character has in using the shield, the easier it is for said character to block with a broken shield.
The consequences of this system:
- Shields are more akin to their real life counter-parts.
- It involves a blocking skill that can be advanced during game-play.
- This knowledge can be used not only for defending with a shield, but for reducing the chances of an enemy to block.
- A low level skill prevents the player from losing the shield (a very precious commodity in my game).
- This way of using shields is in line with, empowers and in exchange is empowered by the "learning-by-failing" concept.
Other elements that are not involved in my solution, but I am aware of:
- The type of weapon used against the shield bearer: an axe has far more chances to damage a shield, than a dagger; a curved falx like implement has more chances of circumventing the shield altogether
- Penalties that come from shield usage
- Linking shield usage with ripostes and counter-attacks
I'd really love to hear from you about other implementations that you have thought about or even applied to your games. Consider this to be an open invitation to discussion.