Including optional challenges for expert players...

[jonthefox]

...without frustrating new or the average player. I really like this feature in games, but I'm wondering about good ways to include them.

For example, let's say you're in the first dungeon of your game. It's pretty soft, since it's mostly about just getting the player familiar and comfortable with the mechanics of your game. However, let's say you have one room that is guarded by a particularly tough enemy. If you can beat this enemy you get a really good treasure item, but for the new or average player, beating this enemy (or beating him and making it through the rest of the dungeon) would be difficult / frustrating. It's a completely optional fight but the player might not realize that this is meant as an optional challenge, plus some players just like to check every nook and cranny before proceeding to the boss. How would you include this kind of thing in your game, or do you think that it's not really viable in most games, since the risk of frustrating many players is too great?

 

[MintAdnade]

One could give the tough enemies some dark aura or something similar to show it is different from normal enemies.
Maybe even have a cutscene/popup/skit about how dark aura'ed enemies are dangerous and should be avoided.

 

[TheoAllen]

In my game, there's a hidden room guarded by enemies that has the stats equal as the enemies in later floor in a dungeon. And it's located in the first floor. I designed the room that if you get lucky, you could managed to avoid the though battle with those enemies. And if you engaged the battle, there will be no escape. And it really become easy if you already leveled up high enough, then back tracking to the earlier floors. The treasure is really worth for the trouble.

Then, I once got a feedback that the room design was quite unfair because the battle was hard and need a little luck to avoid those battles. He just didn't realized that it was completely optional. But at the same time, he also admitted that the treasure also worth for the trouble. Completionist players would be frustrated over that, since they think completing anything before proceeding to the next stage is a must. They might also think that if they didn't get the treasure, they gonna get a hard time in later stages (which they should not).

I don't think that there's a thing you can do about this. At the end, I kept the room that way. I already achieved my goal, and I want my players to think smart during battle if they really gonna skip the hidden treasure

 

[Wavelength]

You can try to signal it to the player with sights and sounds like @MintAdnade suggested, or straight-up tell the player what that symbolism means, and that works well, but if you don't want to be obvious about it, then I would suggest including most of these "optional" areas as things you need to make an extra effort to seek out.

For example, that one room can be locked by an obviously glowing door - the player doesn't need to see the tough enemy behind that door right now. Soon after the player completes the dungeon (even in the very next dungeon, if you want), the player finds a glowing key in an obvious treasure chest. Now the player probably understands that this is how they open that glowing door from the last dungeon, but they also have completed that dungeon already, and been told their next objective is somewhere else. It will feel optional to the player to backtrack to the last dungeon to clean up whatever was behind the door, and players who don't usually seek out optional content may leave it alone and continue through the next dungeon, whereas players who want to seek out every nook and cranny (who are almost always the type that like these optional challenges) will take a detour back to the first dungeon to see what's behind Door #3.

Similarly, you can include challenges like this in towns behind not-so-hidden "hidden" areas, like a fairly obvious crack in an item shop's well that the player needs to interact with to open up. At the point the player does something like this, they feel like they've accessed some hidden content, and doesn't expect it to be mandatory to the plot unless the narrative has specifically mentioned this item shop or a hidden passage. If the player follows through and winds down the hidden passage, and runs into a miniboss that they can't beat, they will probably think "it's okay to give up on this for now", rather than thinking "crap, I need to beat this boss in order to move on". Only a compulsive player won't allow themselves to leave it unbeaten, and there's not too much you can do as a designer about compulsive players besides not give them content in the first place.

One last word of advice - unless it's something that can only be accessed in a New Game +, I'd advise you not to include "optional" ways for players to get lost or frustrated in the first two dungeons. You haven't fully gripped the player yet, and if they meander down a path thinking that it's the way they're supposed to go, and run into a hard optional miniboss that they think is guarding "the correct way to go", they're going to think your balance is out of whack and probably drop your game in favor of something more accessible.

 

[mauvebutterfly]

If you are serious about having optional challenges, it is important to be consistent and obvious about the challenge being optional. If every dungeon has an optional enemy that is significantly more powerful than the rest of the dungeon, it might be a good idea to have the first such enemy you meet competely destroy the player. Player hits for 0 damage, and enemy his for 200% of the characters' max HP, or something like that. Furthermore, have that encounter not result in a game over, but instead have a quick cutscene where the party regroups outside of the room and one member makes a comment along the lines of "I don't think we can do this now. Let's come back later."

Tracking these enemies in a quest log is a double-edged sword. On the one hand the player will appreciate the reminder so they don't forget about the encounters that they have skipped. On the other hand, players are less likely to ignore an optional challenge encounter if they have a quest telling them to complete it.

 

[Raths Rants]

On tough enemies I just build the troop event to include "If Escape" & "If Lose". Then add a text dialog to each option that represents the encounter may be too tough for them.

Example: If Lose: You have been defeated! This is NOT the end! Rest up and try again!

This supersedes the game over screen and helps with the level of frustration a player might experience. It's also can save a lot of time when building the event.

 

[kirbwarrior]

It's a completely optional fight but the player might not realize that this is meant as an optional challenge,

Let the player know either subtly or not. May favorite form of non-subtly is:
Objective: Get through the candy shop
Optional Objective: Find every hidden lollipop
A normal player may try at the optional, but they know that's it's optional. A completionist will see it as necessary (which is the target). For something more subtle, you can do something like having a party member say that the wrong path is being taken, or have a sign that says "Dead End" (in a comedic game, "DEAD End. We mean it.").

Completionist players would be frustrated over that, since they think completing anything before proceeding to the next stage is a must.

I never find it frustrating I can look at the save point sitting right by the treasure chest and think "I don't have to fight this mimic, but I really want to." Part of being a completionist is knowing that 95% of what you do is optional.

Furthermore, have that encounter not result in a game over,

Something similar to this. Another is like a said above, having a save point right by the challenge makes it clear to the player without ruining immersion.