skill ceiling

English edit

Noun edit

skill ceiling (plural skill ceilings)

(chiefly video games) The amount of skill required to master some activity (especially a game or character); the maximum possible skill.
Coordinate term: skill floor

Chess has an extremely high skill ceiling⁠. Even the best chess-playing programs are constantly being improved.

A fighting game with a low skill ceiling will quickly get boring after one masters its mechanics.
- 1984, Peter K. Smith, editor, Play in Animals and Humans, Oxford, Oxfordshire, New York, NY: Basil Blackwell, →ISBN, page 284:
  Among 10 and 11-year-old children, boys' games have a higher 'skill ceiling', and are more competitive and longer-lasting than those of girls.
- 2009, Steve Swink, Game Feel: A Game Designer's Guide to Virtual Sensation, Boca Raton, F.L.: CRC Press, →ISBN, page 302:
  There's an old game design maxim: good games take minutes to learn but a lifetime to master. Another way to say this is "low skill floor, high skill ceiling."
- 2010 August 18, Markgm, “game theory and design”, in alt.math.recreational‎^[1] (Usenet):
  The really fantastic thing about this "visible suits" idea is that it would have a negligible effect upon the skill floor – the additional information would not have to be used, whereas its effect on the skill ceiling would be considerable.
- 2017 May 9, Toby Newman, “Free Rocket League for the weekend & sale on steam”, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action‎^[2] (Usenet):
  I think the appeal is the high skill ceiling mixed with ample opportunities for fun lucky shots.
- 2018 December 26, Max Thielmeyer, “Brand New To 'Rocket League'? Here's How To Get Good Quick”, in Forbes‎^[3], New York, N.Y.: Forbes Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2020-11-08:
  However, the beauty of Rocket League as a competitive game and esport is that the skill ceiling is limitless. Take a look at the best goals from last season's World Championship and you'll see what I mean.
- 2019 June 13, Game Design Snacks: Easily Digestible Game Design Wisdom, Pittsburgh, P.A.: ETC Press, →ISBN, page 111:
  Designing a game with a high skill ceiling (where players must invest significant time and effort to achieve maximum skill) often results in a game with a relatively high skill floor as well.
- 2020 January 22, Alan Bernal, “Apex Legends' Ace explains why controller players have higher skill floor”, in Dexerto‎^[4], archived from the original on 2022-05-17:
  NRG Apex Legends pro player Brandon 'Ace' Winn explained the inherent pitfalls that come with using a keyboard and mouse as well as a controller, comparing the skill ceilings and floors that the peripherals provide for players.
- 2021 January 5, Alice O'Connor, “Cyberpunk 2077 bunnyhopping is a bug I hope they don't fix”, in Rock Paper Shotgun‎^[5], archived from the original on 2022-09-07:
  I'm a huge fan of movement glitches (strafe-jumping and ramp-jumping made Quake 2 for me) so I hope CDPR don't patch this out, especially as it's a singleplayer game. It raises the skill ceiling without causing harm, other than perhaps to immersion - but that's already shattered by bugs like pedestrians disappearing when you turn around or, as seen in this video, cars which appear on the horizon then vanish as you draw near.
- 2021 June 28, Jordan Oloman, “'Mario Golf Super Rush' review: Another delightfully different Nintendo Switch sports game”, in NME‎^[6], archived from the original on 2023-01-05:
  This is another heavy hitter from Nintendo with a sound gameplay loop and a decent skill ceiling.
- 2022 May 22, Malindy Hetfeld, “Few games obsessed me like SSX Tricky”, in Eurogamer‎^[7], archived from the original on 2022-07-07:
  […] SSX Tricky is the kind of game that makes you feel cool in a number of ways which are all equally important. There's the low skill ceiling - you get to feel cool with very little, and you can invest in your skill and become really good at the game, a feeling I didn't really get to experience in other sports games until then.