Panic: It’s my job
As a designer, I feel like it’s my job to panic. Designers are in a unique position where they possess all the right knowledge about the game to evaluate a problem and how severely it will impact the game. During beta in Pirates, I ran across a handful of issues that were believed to be minor until I laid my eyes on them and my head exploded. Many of the issues MMORPGs face are minor quirks and oddities, but sometimes those open up huge potential holes if you know about the related systems. That’s why I say that it’s part of my job. With that, I present you the Design Panic Meter:
I blatantly stole this idea from a Feature Commitment Index that I see posted around the office. Originally, I started this as a joke but I’ve found that it’s actually quite useful. It’s a clear, concise way to communicate to everyone on the “live issues” team exactly how design regards a specific problem, especially when it comes to exploits. It also saved me from having to say, “This Is Really Bad” whenever something came up and no one knows exactly what I mean.
In no way am I trying to say that people in other positions don’t understand games well enough to judge the severity of a problem… but designers are aptly suited to running around and flailing our arms in panic.