Bored Panda works better on our iPhone app

Continue in app Continue in browser

User submission

38

37.2K

5 Dirty Little Secrets That Game Developers Use On Players To Make Their Experience More Enjoyable

ADVERTISEMENT

Even if you’re not the biggest fan of video games, don’t play them on a regular basis, or don’t even care about them at all, you can probably imagine that there are loads of things that game developers have to consider when creating one. Some things they do sound pretty commonsensical (well, at least at first sight): they have to plan, design, code, and test. But there are also hundreds of specific things game developers do that you’ve probably never thought about before. Let’s discuss some of them.

A TikTok user, who is also a game developer himself, has shared a few interesting tricks that game developers use on players to make games more enjoyable.

So, here it is—5 dirty little secrets that game developers use to trick us

@swissevans86Tricks us game developers use on players ##gamers ##gamedev ##gamer ##videogames ##funfacts ##tiktokuk ##fyp ##trivia ##gaming ##uk ♬ original sound – swissevans86

1. Sneaky loading

5 Dirty Little Secrets That Game Developers Use On Players To Make Their Experience More Enjoyable

Image credits: Remedy Entertainment

Here’s how game developers get out of using a loading screen whenever a character goes to a new surrounding. “Games are big and need a lot of memory,” the developer begins explaining. “So, any time you’re making a new squeeze through something or shutting a door behind you, it’s so we can dump the last section from memory and then load the next section without having to use a loading screen.”

2. Some help when you’re playing your first games

5 Dirty Little Secrets That Game Developers Use On Players To Make Their Experience More Enjoyable

Image credits: Iceberg Interactive

Turns out, on the first runs of you playing a multiplayer game, game developers help you out a bit in advance. “We know that if the first time you play a multiplayer game, you don’t get a couple of kills, you’re likely not to come back because you didn’t have a good experience. So we actually give you a damage boost the first few times you play to make your experience good,” the TikTok user explains.

ADVERTISEMENT

3. The last portion of health is a lie

5 Dirty Little Secrets That Game Developers Use On Players To Make Their Experience More Enjoyable

Image credits: Epic Games

Apparently, when your health bar gets teeny-tiny, it’s sort of a lie. “We lie to you about how much health you have. That last portion of health, whether it’s a number or a bar, is actually much bigger than it seems. And that sort of feels like you’re constantly on the edge of death, and it makes the game more exciting as a result,” the game developer reveals.

4. The AI misses the first few shots on purpose

5 Dirty Little Secrets That Game Developers Use On Players To Make Their Experience More Enjoyable

Image credits: Bethesda

“We make the AI miss you. The first time you step out of a cover, we code it so that the first couple of shots the AI takes always miss. This way the game isn’t too hard,” the TikTok user explains.

5. The “Coyote time”

5 Dirty Little Secrets That Game Developers Use On Players To Make Their Experience More Enjoyable

ADVERTISEMENT

Image credits: Activision

In games, you can kind of walk on air. “In platforms, we actually give you a second once you step off the edge to still be able to jump. And that’s so you don’t get frustrated by falling off the edge all the time and missing jumps you should have made. We call it ‘coyote time,'” the guy reveals.

And here’s what people are saying

5 Dirty Little Secrets That Game Developers Use On Players To Make Their Experience More Enjoyable

5 Dirty Little Secrets That Game Developers Use On Players To Make Their Experience More Enjoyable

ADVERTISEMENT

5 Dirty Little Secrets That Game Developers Use On Players To Make Their Experience More Enjoyable

5 Dirty Little Secrets That Game Developers Use On Players To Make Their Experience More Enjoyable

5 Dirty Little Secrets That Game Developers Use On Players To Make Their Experience More Enjoyable

ADVERTISEMENT

5 Dirty Little Secrets That Game Developers Use On Players To Make Their Experience More Enjoyable

5 Dirty Little Secrets That Game Developers Use On Players To Make Their Experience More Enjoyable

5 Dirty Little Secrets That Game Developers Use On Players To Make Their Experience More Enjoyable

5 Dirty Little Secrets That Game Developers Use On Players To Make Their Experience More Enjoyable

5 Dirty Little Secrets That Game Developers Use On Players To Make Their Experience More Enjoyable

37Kviews

Julija Svidraitė

Julija Svidraitė is an editor here at Bored Panda who has a bachelor's degree in Psychology. Before starting her journey at BP, she had worked as a social media specialist at a marketing agency. She has also tried herself in a few different fields working as an intern: from practicing graphic design at a social media marketing agency, to being an assistant at a psychiatric hospital. Besides writing, Julija is also very passionate about illustrating, drinking coffee, and watching crime documentaries. You can find her in Bored Panda Office or reach her at julija.s@boredpanda.com.

Julija Svidraitė is an editor here at Bored Panda who has a bachelor's degree in Psychology. Before starting her journey at BP, she had worked as a social media specialist at a marketing agency. She has also tried herself in a few different fields working as an intern: from practicing graphic design at a social media marketing agency, to being an assistant at a psychiatric hospital. Besides writing, Julija is also very passionate about illustrating, drinking coffee, and watching crime documentaries. You can find her in Bored Panda Office or reach her at julija.s@boredpanda.com.

Lukas Garnelis

Lukas is a photo editor at Bored Panda. 4th year in Vilnius Gediminas Technical University as a graphic designer. Can do whatever he sets his mind to.

Lukas is a photo editor at Bored Panda. 4th year in Vilnius Gediminas Technical University as a graphic designer. Can do whatever he sets his mind to.

What do you think ?

Daria B 4 years ago

Calling these "dirty little secrets" is a bit sensationalist. It's just game balancing details.

19points

XianJaguar 4 years ago

Not only that, most of them aren't secret at all. Everyone's known about the Loading scenes for a long time. It's also only logical that the programmers would have the AI miss you occasionally. Otherwise, the AI would always register a perfect hit, and no one would be able to win the game.

6points

Load More Replies...

natie marie 4 years ago

when i first clicked on this, the "we make the AI miss you" was the heading, and I thought it meant the AI actually missed you as a player so you'd feel bad and keep coming back to cultivate the relationship.. the actual kind of missing you was less interesting haha

15points

Shoddy 4 years ago

That's what I thought.

3points

Load More Replies...

Parmeisan 4 years ago

As an indie game developer: Not everyone does this, but I should probably be taking notes...

14points

Daria B 4 years ago (edited)

Not indie here, but yeah, as part of a game company, it really depends on the game and the goal. The real secrets, btw, are the business secrets, and they're never released to the public. But don't worry, people, it's really nothing so bad or unethical. It's just technicalities.

9points

Load More Replies...

Šimon Špaček 4 years ago

Long time ago there was a flash player shooting game on page like armorgames or something like that and there was special booster which lowered taken damage by same percent as what was your lost HP. So at 20 HP you were taking only 20% of damage. It was fun.

2points

Miss Cris 4 years ago

I've never played games. Are all of them fighting games? Which ones would you recommend me to start?

0points

Load More Comments

Daria B 4 years ago

Calling these "dirty little secrets" is a bit sensationalist. It's just game balancing details.

19points

XianJaguar 4 years ago

Not only that, most of them aren't secret at all. Everyone's known about the Loading scenes for a long time. It's also only logical that the programmers would have the AI miss you occasionally. Otherwise, the AI would always register a perfect hit, and no one would be able to win the game.

6points

Load More Replies...

natie marie 4 years ago

when i first clicked on this, the "we make the AI miss you" was the heading, and I thought it meant the AI actually missed you as a player so you'd feel bad and keep coming back to cultivate the relationship.. the actual kind of missing you was less interesting haha

15points

Shoddy 4 years ago

That's what I thought.

3points

Load More Replies...

Parmeisan 4 years ago

As an indie game developer: Not everyone does this, but I should probably be taking notes...

14points

Daria B 4 years ago (edited)

Not indie here, but yeah, as part of a game company, it really depends on the game and the goal. The real secrets, btw, are the business secrets, and they're never released to the public. But don't worry, people, it's really nothing so bad or unethical. It's just technicalities.

9points

Load More Replies...

Šimon Špaček 4 years ago

Long time ago there was a flash player shooting game on page like armorgames or something like that and there was special booster which lowered taken damage by same percent as what was your lost HP. So at 20 HP you were taking only 20% of damage. It was fun.

2points

Miss Cris 4 years ago

I've never played games. Are all of them fighting games? Which ones would you recommend me to start?

0points

Load More Comments

You May Like

The Top Highest-Grossing Video Games Of All Time

Saimonas Lukošius

110 Of Probably The Best Arcade Games Ever

Saimonas Lukošius

50 Retro Video Games That Will Remind You Of The Good Old Days

Neilas Šurkus

Back to Homepage

More about Entertainment

Next in Entertainment

Related on Bored Panda

Related on Bored Panda

Trending on Bored Panda

Also on Bored Panda