How much randomness is too much in modern game design?
The more games I play lately, the more I feel like randomness is becoming the main mechanic instead of something that just adds excitement. A few days ago I was reading this article about volatility and risk systems in entertainment design: https://www.supportmeindia.com/field-placement-psychology-how-captains-force-mistakes/ and it honestly reminded me of modern multiplayer games. My friends and I were grinding ranked matches all evening, but the outcomes mostly depended on random events, loot chances, and weird matchmaking swings instead of actual strategy. I don’t mind unpredictability when it keeps things fresh, but lately some games feel almost impossible to read or improve at consistently. At what point does randomness stop making a game exciting and start making it frustrating?