Abstract
Problem: What design lessons can be drawn from everyday social experiences?
Approach: Tim Cain reads an essay he wrote in 2002 at Troika Games during the development of The Temple of Elemental Evil, drawing parallels between the studio's annual Christmas gift exchange and CRPG design principles.
Findings: The gift exchange ritual maps surprisingly well onto game design truths — borrowing good ideas is natural, turn-based gameplay remains satisfying, time spent on a feature doesn't correlate with its quality, designing for personal taste is risky, and ideas without execution are worthless.
Key insight: You can't predict what will be fun until people actually play it. Time invested doesn't equal quality — be willing to accept criticism and cut features that don't work, even ones you love.
1. Context
Tim Cain recorded this video on Christmas Day, reading aloud an essay he wrote in 2002 while working at Troika Games on The Temple of Elemental Evil. The essay uses Troika's annual holiday gift exchange as an extended analogy for CRPG design.
2. The Gift Exchange Rules
Every year at Troika, staff would buy a gift (usually around $20), wrap it, and place it under the office Christmas tree. On the last day before the holidays, they'd draw lots for picking order. The twist: instead of taking an unwrapped gift from the tree, you could steal an already-opened gift from someone else. The victim could then steal from another person (who hadn't been robbed that turn) or take a new gift from the tree. A turn only ends when someone takes an unwrapped gift.
3. Lesson 1: Always Steal the Best Things
Every CRPG designer borrows heavily from past works, especially features that have become popular and expected. Cain points to auto-mapping as an example of a feature that wasn't always standard but became one. Designers should expect their good ideas to eventually appear in competitors' games — imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
4. Lesson 2: Turn-Based Games Are Still Fun
Despite the trend toward real-time games, there's still deep satisfaction in turn-based play. Cain questions why anyone would make a real-time D&D game, which requires ignoring or changing all the rules tied to D&D's inherently turn-based nature. He jokes about "Extreme Chess" — a real-time chess game — and notes someone actually made one.
5. Lesson 3: Time Spent Doesn't Equal Quality
Some people spend months picking the perfect gift; others grab something at lunch the day of the party. There's no correlation between time spent choosing and how popular the gift turns out to be. The same applies to game features — truly awful ideas can be developed over months, while wonderful ideas can be implemented in five minutes. You can't always predict what will be fun. You try your best and have to be willing to accept criticism.
6. Lesson 4: Don't Design Only for Yourself
People often buy gifts they'd personally want, assuming friends share their taste — or cynically ensuring there's at least one gift worth stealing. Designers do the same: adding features they personally enjoy with the justification that similar people will like it too. But just because you like a feature doesn't mean it should stay. If playtesters find it confusing, tedious, or worthless — change it or throw it out.
7. Lesson 5: Ideas Are a Dime a Dozen
There's always someone who brings a strange gift and claims they had a dozen great ideas but couldn't find any at the mall. For CRPGs: it's easy to have an idea, harder to implement it, and even harder to accept criticism and improve it — especially when there's a temptation to ship because "it's done and bug-free." But if the game isn't fun, it's not done.
8. The Most Popular Gift
For the record, the most popular gift at a Troika gift exchange was an alligator cookie jar that, when opened, would say in a Cajun accent: "Mm, them sure is some tasty cookies."
As Cain concludes: there's no accounting for taste — in gifts or game design.
9. References
- Tim Cain. YouTube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WlWKSlAyrg