Speed is Opportunity
If I were to ask you what's the most important stat in your favourite game, I'd get a range of answers depending on the game, and the playstyle of the person at hand.
But, chances are, after a bit of investigating, maths, and some analysis of the competitive format of the game - I'm 95% sure that with any given game, the correct answer would be "Speed".
Why Speed?
Because Speed is Opportunity.
Let's take the most common forms of speed, "Movement Speed" (mobility), and "Attack Speed".
Movement Speed
In every game, Movement Speed, and general mobility are extremely important.
Mobility is Control.
In an RTS, if you outmaneuver your opponent, it's often called Flanking.
In a Fighting game, it's Spacing.
In an FPS, it's Zoning. (Or gaining weapon advantage, flanking, spacing, etc.)
Whatever the tactic is called in each game, your ability to utilise the geometry of the playing area, and use the distance between you and your opponent is a domination tactic. It's controlling. It's fighting on your own terms.
Now, usually I resent people quoting Sun Tzu with regards to video games (it's overdone), I love his work otherwise - but really, the best way to express myself is through his quote:
"And therefore those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him."
Which is precisely what I'm getting at.
Superior Mobility offers:
- Control over the terms of the encounter.
- Control over your enemy's options.
- Greater ability to scout the enemy's strategy.
- Superior options and opportunity to counter the enemy's attacks.
Attack Speed
Attack Speed is less important as mobility in most games, but don't get me wrong - it sure helps.
When you think about it, in most games, no-one is attacking without pause. Guns reload, characters guard, and attention is given to other priorities - so, nobody is really attacking at their highest speed, they are choosing to attack at designated times. With a higher attack speed, it's far easier to slot your attack into these times.
So, when you think about it, a character whose standard attack speed is a single attack in 0.2 seconds, will be able to shield until the time is right, and be shielded again after 0.2 seconds - giving his opponent a small window to attack him - in which case the opponent will usually have to attack through a hitbox.
Contrasted to a character who has an attack that takes an entire second to deploy - its opponent will have a much larger window to seize the opportunity to attack.
In this very simple case, it's obvious to see that the 0.2 second attack is superior, and, if these characters were to fight each other, the first could likely read the opponent's attack, and hit it 3-4 times in this window - which in most games means that the opponent's attack would be interrupted.
Think of it this way - every attack animation has foreswing, and backswing.
Foreswing is the lead-up to the attack, whether it be the charging of a strong attack, or the time between the input of the command, and the attack's full potential being reached.
Backswing is often the recoil from the attack. The sword going back into the sheath, the gun being prepared for the next shot.
The addition of these is what gives you the speed, or time of the attack. For example, the speed of an attack that has 0.5s Fore and Backswing, is the same as one that has 0.25 Fore, and 0.75 Back.
A lower Foreswing is mainly important for preventing your opponent from guarding against your attacks - if the punch comes out in less than 0.2 seconds, the opponent will generally have to input the guard command before they know that you've punched. In the same light, a move with a large foreswing (such as 0.8 seconds) can often be recognised, and shielded before the attack is even close to hitting.
A low Backswing is important to prevent the attack from being punished.
The act of punishing an attack is where an attack is blocked, or dodged, and the opponent seeks to attack back before the original attacker can regain control of their character. This is heavily aided by mobility, but simply having an attack with a lower Foreswing than the opponent's Backswing will do the trick.
So, a High Attack Speed:
- Gives you the ability to punish attacks.
- Gives your opponents little chance to punish yours.
So, what are you getting at?
You know the slow and heavy, but powerful units in games?
Time and analysis has shown that across many games, across many genres - they rank lower than faster units on average.
This is poor balance, carried by the widely-spread, flawed notion that "Slow but Powerful is equal to Fast but Weaker".
Due to the Control afforded by Mobility, and the Opportunities afforded by Attack Speed, this will likely never be true unless paired with higher resistance to all consequences of being attacked (such as flinching) and, at least some attacks that break the mold.
It seems that many developers are starting to see this, and that's great - but, they are still falling into the biggest trap, which, is continuing to give the units slow Movement Speed to compliment their slow Attack Speed.
To be blunt, this can rarely work, and is unnecessary.
To start with, have all your units start with the same movement speed, and then alter them individually as needed.
Summing Up:
- Movement Speed gives one the ability to control the terms of engagement.
- Attack Speed gives the opportunity to attack with less chance of being countered.
- A larger Foreswing increases the chance of an attack being guarded.
- A larger Backswing increases the chance of an attack being punished.
- "Slow but Powerful" vs. "Faster but Weaker" is a false balance notion.
- If a unit is slow in attacking, they will usually need to be compensated with Resistance to attack.
- All units should start at the same Movement Speed, and they should be altered after a lot of testing and analysing.
- If a unit has a slow Movement Speed, they will usually have fewer options against faster opponents.
- Units with slower Movement Speed often have a lower skill ceiling, and lose the competitive edge in skilled play due to the previous point.
