Pareto Principle
Excerpt from
Diefenbach, P.J. Computer Graphics and Applications, IEEE, 2011
80/20 Rule
In addition to gameplay tweaking, teams are directed to focus on efforts that provide the most “bang-for-the-buck” as exemplified by the 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto Principle or the “vital few and trivial many,” which states that approximately 20 percent of the vital tasks are responsible for 80 percent of the results. In the workshop class, this principle is applied at week 8, where the final 20% development effort can make or break the game and outweigh the 80% effort to bring the game to beta functionality. Besides the obvious addition of visual effects such as shaders and particle systems, students are taught to focus on additional game modes and reuse of assets.
While visual effects can provide significant enhancements with relatively little effort, game modes can provide a similar multiplier for gameplay with minimal code changes. For example, in a castle defense game, testing revealed that players enjoyed facing unlimited enemy troll attacks in contracts to the normal game mode where each level had a set number of attackers. Additional variations include adding a timer for determined gameplay time or defenses that are triggered automatically or by the player.
Figure 5. Project Bolt: Menu with repurposed 3D animated character.
With visual effects and gameplay modes enhancing the core game experience, simple repurposing of assets can enhance the game. Animated characters can be integrated with menu screens (Figure 5), or for visually enhancing intra-level story elements. A spherical camera path around a victorious character can enhance a win condition. While re-use of assets requires minimal effort, it can greatly improve the professionalism.