Concept

Trade-off structure

You might say: what I give up to get this

A trade-off makes desirable outcomes compete: getting more of one costs something else. Reloading gains future ammunition but gives up the ability to fire during the reload.

What it does

Makes the best action depend on priorities and circumstances rather than a universally superior button.

Ask

What valuable thing does choosing each alternative sacrifice?

Parts

• Opportunity cost: Opportunity cost is the valuable alternative forgone by committing time, resources or attention to an action.
• Risk and stakes: Risk concerns uncertain outcomes; stakes are the magnitude of the gain or loss.

Catalogue: Trade-off pattern

• Now versus later: Keep firing now or spend time reloading for the next engagement. Change the horizon; the same scarcity remains. It counts when an immediate action competes with a future benefit, not because the action is firing or reloading.
• Safety versus progress: Stay in cover or expose yourself to take an objective or retrieve a better weapon. It counts when safety competes with progress, not because cover or an objective is present.
• Attention allocation: Manage the current fight or inspect an economy that may be falling behind. Attention itself is the scarce resource.

Connections

• See also: Cost curves
• See also: Investment and capacity

Sources

1. Tynan Sylvester, Decision-Based Gameplay Design, Difficult DecisionsAt all times, the player must decide what his spending priorities are, where to focus his attention, how many resources to put into scouting, defense, offense, economic development, and so on.

Use it on your project

teardown-apply: hold "Trade-off structure" (choice-tradeoffs) from the teardown at https://teardownatlas.com/game-design/ against my project

Paste it into a coding agent that has the teardown skills.

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