# Design Philosophy Antares has several key points that it tries to stick to: - Player interaction and intrigue is what drives the game and creates memorable rounds. "Complex" contrived game mechanics are not what makes SS13 special. - Smaller groups of people are able to roleplay significantly better together, as they have deeper connections. lowpop /vg/station is a good example of this. - Rounds should be as random and dynamic as possible, especially at roundstart. No round should feel the same as any other, and there should rarely be any one deterministic way to do something. - "Singleplayer" jobs (that rarely if ever interact with other people) like xenobiologist or geneticist should be reworked significantly or removed. - If players go off-station (or away from the crew at large), they should always go in small groups and rarely alone to still allow for player-created intrigue. - Every game mechanic or feature added to the game should be tightly integrated and have a defined purpose. People shouldn't get invested in a mechanic only to find out that it is largely useless or unmaintained. Variety isn't always a good thing. - Focus on "simpler" game systems that have chaotic behavior through interactions with other game systems, not through artifically created depth. A good example of this in SS13 is the Janitor, a bad example of this is Chemistry. - Antagonists shouldn't be the only driving force of a round. When they are, this leads to excessive validhunting and self-antagging. The station and the crew should have a gameplay purpose beyond 'just survive'. - Tedium isn't always a bad thing. Not everything should be as easy as possible, and not everything should be available at roundstart. Sometimes things should take effort to acquire, even if it's a little annoying, as it makes it more satisfying.