Episode Details

What is "friction" in video games? We've got a taxonomy, of course! This week, the Triple Click gang talks about how Dragon Dogma 2 tries to push players away, the necessity of video game friction, and what it means when a game is impenetrable.

One More Thing:

Kirk: Girls5Eva (Netflix)

Maddy: The Holdovers (2024)

Jason: Secrets of Grindea

LINKS:

Triple Click LIVE in LA! Saturday, June 8, 6:30PM at the Teagram Ballroom: https://teragramballroom.com/tm-event/triple-click-podcast/

Tim Rogers’ “In Praise of Sticky Friction,” 2010 https://kotaku.com/in-praise-of-sticky-friction-555816

Preorder Jason’s Book! https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/jason-schreier/play-nice/9781538725429/

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Kirk’s Three Types of Video Game Friction

Mechanical Friction: Relating to inputs and interaction. i.e. kinesthetics, “game feel”

• Certain moves require complex inputs or timing
• Beating a boss means not just attacking but reacting/countering
• Combat’s relationship to animation, e.g. locked animation means you can't interrupt attacks and dodge whenever you want
• No jump button, you have to use the world to get vertical advantage (souls, monster hunter)
• Enemies can stagger or stun-lock you just like you can them
• Stamina bar limits the number of chained inputs you can give
• Delay on spellcasting means relying on teammates to provide cover
• Slow or complex reloads with modifiers, minigames for healing, sub-inputs required while in the heat of action (stratagems, active reload, far cry healing animations, etc)
• "Sticky Friction" (TM Tim Rogers) - inertia, weight, acceleration, the feel and heft of movement and interaction tied to pause/delay/rhythm and animation

Logistical Friction: Relating to planning, (in)flexibility, the need to prepare

• Customization is costly or difficult. e.g. to change classes or appearance, you have to go see a vendor in a town
• There's limited fast travel, so you have to plan trips carefully. Or can only travel from certain points on map
• The game's map is an in-game object and doesn't pause
• No pause option in general
• Penalty for death - lost progress, maybe the game even becomes harder
• Finishing a mission requires extraction, waiting, defending
• You can't save just anywhere, or have a limited number of saves
• Loot and upgrades don’t unlock unless you complete the mission
• Quests are complex and require a lot of micro-managing or specific steps
• Crafting and other similar activities require in-game actions or specific locations
• Often referred to as “Player Friendly/Unfriendliness”

Informational Friction: Relating to what the game does/doesn’t tell you

• The game doesn't tell you what you're supposed to do next
• The game doesn't spell out for you what's going on with the story and leaves it for you to figure out (Narrative Friction)
• There are a lot of concepts, mechanics, or rules to keep track of or understand (Conceptual Friction)