Basics of Game Design

Random Encounters

77

where enemies appeared as red or blue blobs depending on if they

were a challenge or very weak but not identifying exactly which crea-

tures the blobs represented. Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIII, on the

other hand, uses the latter approach, so the player see the real mon-

sters roaming around the playeld and can decide to attack them

to gain experience or, if supplies are low, to try to avoid combat by

sneaking around it.

Using a Random Encounter Table (see Table 4.3) allows more

variety in the encounters. In addition to the enemies appearing in

the encounter, the designer can also assign experience points and ...