[Arcade] Score as a resource.

[Own]

It seems like you have two types of Arcade players. People who want to get the highest score possible, and people who just want to go deeper, they don't care about trying to set a gigantic score.

So I was thinking, would it help those types of players to use score as a resource? That is, you could have Score Rooms that cost # score to enter, or are free to enter and have chests that cost # score to open. Or no chest, but specific bonuses laying inside that you can see and choose to spend score on. Things that are selected at random each run. The longer you hold onto score, the better things you can spend it on later in the run.

So on Floor 2 or Floor 3, someone could spend 30,000 score in order to get an extra skill point, or two extra talent orbs, or a Stinger.

On Floor 7, 100,000 score for 1 of each potion except a Health Potion. Or 150,000 to immediately spawn a nurse.

Or on floor 12 you could spend 250,000 score on an immediate advancement to the next level. Or 100,000 on a health potion. Or 500,000 score to reduce the total health of the boss by 50% / damage the boss by 50%.

 

[Teddy]

I've had similar thoughts on the score, actually. It would require pretty careful balancing, though, unless we're gonna go crazy and have stuff cost score multiplier, sort of like with your Muffin suggestion.

My concern is scenarios such as this: if the bonus is gained early on, but is useful later, the cost will be trivial and a given trade off even for score hunters. For example, getting a talent point or two is a great bargain even if you're aiming for the top, because those 30k score or whatever means very little by the time you reach Temple of Seasons.

Maybe there are clever ways to get around that... and then my dream of having continues could see a more palatable introduction through resurrection fairies for $5,000,000 a pop!!

 

[Own]

My concern is scenarios such as this: if the bonus is gained early on, but is useful later, the cost will be trivial and a given trade off even for score hunters.

Wouldn't that make weighing the cost/reward of various score items a factor into getting high scores? People would adapt.

Though the easiest way to fix that would be to make it so all future score items cost +10% more score for each score item you buy, dissuading people from buying a ton of cheap score items.

Ideally the only thing I'd use a system like this for is racking up a ton of score, then spending it all on some floors I was struggling with to try and get that double S-Rank item.