View source for Value of Effort

[[Category:Aesthetic Patterns]]
[[Category:Subjective Patterns]]
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''The gameplay experience of that one's efforts during gameplay have value.''

Practically all games make players perform action during (and/or before) game instances. However, not all require or allow for actions where players can put meaningful effort into these actions. Those that do try to give players the sense that they provide players with a [[Value of Effort]]. 

=== Examples ===
[[Chess]] and [[Stratego]] offers one player the possibility of have a [[Value of Effort]] through eliminating the other player and winning, while of course denying the other player of this sensation. [[Go]] is similar except that both players in nearly all instances have created groups that survive until the end. However, both players in all these games can also feel a [[Value of Effort]] in developing, testing, and succeeding with strategies and tactics which let them perceive their developing skills in the games. 

Arcade games using high score lists, e.g. [[Pac-Man]] and [[Space Invaders]], provide players with a [[Value of Effort]] for especially good gameplay in that other players can see the scores these results in. While also true for the previous games, games with distinctly different levels, e.g. the [[Super Mario Series]] or the earlier instances in the [[Quake series]] let players feel a [[Value of Effort]] for each level completed. Another common way to provide [[Value of Effort]] is to divide gameplay challenges into quests, like [[:Category:Roleplaying Games|Roleplaying Games]] such as the [[Elder Scrolls series]] and the [[Baldur's Gate series]] for example do. 

The prevalence of achievement systems in many computer and console games show another way in which players can be offered a [[Value of Effort]] experience based on what they do in games.

== Using the pattern ==
Supporting players in being able to feel a [[Value of Effort]] is typically related to providing them means of performing actions and ways of providing feedback that show that these actions had meaning. 

Letting players set up goals allow them to feel a sense of satisfaction when they goals are met. On a general level this means that [[Pottering]] can support [[Value of Effort]] but more narrow or controlled ways include [[Abstract Player Construct Development]] or [[Character Development]]. The former can take the form of allowing [[Construction]] which has a level of permanence through being [[Irreversible Events]] or taking place in [[Persistent Game Worlds]], while the latter can take the form of letting players create [[Characters]] with  [[Player-Planned Development]]. [[Persistent Game Worlds]] also work for making the consequences related to [[Character Development]] or [[Player-Planned Development]] more permanent, so this pattern is useful in many ways for supporting [[Value of Effort]]. In contrast, games with [[Further Player Improvement Potential]] allow players to experience a [[Value of Effort]] in getting better at playing the game, and one example of this (which ties into the section on making efforts visible to others below) occurs in games which allow or encourage [[Extra-Game Broadcasting]] of [[Speedruns]]. 

While letting players met goals can support [[Value of Effort]], strengthening the effects of those efforts can also support the pattern. [[Persistent Game World Changes]] is a general way of doing this by making the consequences of player actions at least not automatically disappear. Another way is to make efforts feed back on themselves through [[Geometric Progression]] of the consequences of [[Extended Actions]] or by letting players set up [[Positive Feedback Loops]] building on these progressions. In contrast, [[Arithmetic Progression]] does not so much in itself create [[Value of Effort]] but makes any such value created by other actions more predictable and less dependent on earlier actions. [[Exaggerated Perception of Influence]] can also work for strengthening the effects of player efforts, but in these case typically by tricking players. Providing extra effects of efforts, for example through [[Unlocking]] new content or new abilities, is another way of increasing [[Value of Effort]] in a game design.

One way to provide extra value to the effort players have shown is to make this visible to others. This can be more or less automatic in [[Massively Multiplayer Online Games]] but in general [[Public Player Statistics]] (such as [[High Score Lists]]) can be used for this purpose. Like [[Speedruns]] can give [[Value of Effort]] when presented to others through [[Extra-Game Broadcasting]], so can [[Construction]] (for example through showing what one has built in [[Minecraft]]). 

[[Achievements]] are something that typically can be added to a game design after the core and main gameplay is in place. Not all types of [[Achievements]] support [[Value of Effort]] &mdash; for example [[Testing Achievements]] is more related to making players explore the possibilities of the game &mdash; but [[Goal Achievements]], [[Grind Achievements]], and [[Handicap Achievements]] add value to completing certain goals, showing endurance, and taking on extra difficulties respectively. 

Designing for [[Value of Effort]] in a game is not only about making players effort feel meaningful for them, it is considering how player actions and game events can diminish or destroy those efforts. Therefor, giving players the possibility of feeling a [[Value of Effort]] can often require much thought about what other patterns to avoid or at least use carefully. A prime example is [[Setback Penalties]] which quite clearly can remove player effort. Others, for example [[Luck]] and [[Randomness]] can put in question if making an effort is worthwhile. [[Balancing Effects]], [[Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment]], and [[Fudged Results]] can do this also to a lesser degree and may not disturb [[Value of Effort]] if done skillfully. [[Non-Player Help]], [[Player Augmentations]], and [[Player/Character Skill Composites]] all remove so of the skill needed by players to complete goals or overcome challenges which can reduce the [[Value of Effort]] of doing so; [[Grinding]] and [[Purchasable Game Advantages]] can likewise do so by replacing a need for skill with endurance or money. [[Backtracking Levels]] lessens the value of having reached the turnaround point of the [[Levels|Level]] but otherwise does not have to critically affect the [[Value of Effort]] in a game. In contrast, reaching [[Unwinnable Game States]] can make players realize or feel that all their previous efforts have been in vain. 

[[Multiplayer Games]] can both remove [[Value of Effort]] for individual players by having other players do the necessary work (typically in games with [[Cooperation]]) or by allowing players to perform actions that goes counter to other players efforts; in the latter case this is especially likely if actions are [[Interruptible Actions]]. [[Multiplayer Games]] that are designed to support [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] gameplay or [[Late Arriving Players]] typically also have issues with [[Value of Effort]] since the design goal described by those patterns typically require solutions that affect how stable or necessary players' efforts are. Finally regarding [[Multiplayer Games]], those that allow [[Predictable Winner]] can completely remove the [[Value of Effort]] for other players (except maybe through encouraging [[Kingmaker]] actions).

Besides being a [[:Category:Subjective Patterns|Subjective Pattern]], [[Value of Effort]] is fickle since players may feel that a game rewards their efforts at one moment but the next feel they don't due to some event or action by another player sabotaging those efforts. [[Irreversible Events]] can avoid this by making players action cause such events, but this often needs to be balanced with letting players influence each others gameplay and providing [[Tension]]. [[Discontinuous Progression]] can be used as an alternative. By having efforts that can be interrupted or sabotaged be translated into safe effort at certain points, a game design can provide [[Tension]] and possibilities of players influencing each other until enough effort has been put into some action or goal and then translate that to something which players can safely feel a [[Value of Effort]] about. Related to the fickleness of [[Value of Effort]], [[Player Elimination]] can ruin the [[Value of Effort]] of eliminate players but the threat of it can also strengthen that [[Value of Effort]] which has been obtained. An even stronger case of this is found in games using [[Winning by Elimination]].

== Consequences ==
Players can feel [[Tension]] when they perceive that [[Value of Effort]] can be achieved in a game since this makes their actions more valuable and therefore more important to succeed with.

== Relations ==
[[Kingmaker]]
[[Quests]]
[[Closure Points]]
[[Gameplay Mastery]]

[[Kingmaker]]
[[Quests]]
[[Closure Points]]
[[Gameplay Mastery]]

[[Value of Effort]]

=== Can Instantiate ===
[[Tension]]

=== Can Modulate ===
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=== Can Be Instantiated By ===
[[Abstract Player Construct Development]], 
[[Achievements]], 
[[Character Development]], 
[[Discontinuous Progression]], [[Exaggerated Perception of Influence]], 
[[Further Player Improvement Potential]], 
[[Goal Achievements]], 
[[Grind Achievements]], 
[[Handicap Achievements]], 
[[Irreversible Events]], 
[[Massively Multiplayer Online Games]], 
[[Persistent Game World Changes]], 
[[Pottering]], 
[[Public Player Statistics]], 
[[Strategic Planning]], 
[[Tactical Planning]], 
[[Unlocking]], 
[[Winning by Elimination]]

[[Characters]] together with [[Player-Planned Development]]

[[Construction]] together with [[Extra-Game Broadcasting]], [[Irreversible Events]], or [[Persistent Game Worlds]]

[[Geometric Progression]] together with [[Extended Actions]] or [[Positive Feedback Loops]]

[[Persistent Game Worlds]] together with [[Character Development]] or [[Player-Planned Development]]

[[Speedruns]] together with [[Extra-Game Broadcasting]]

=== Can Be Modulated By ===
[[Arithmetic Progression]], 
[[Player Elimination]]

=== Possible Closure Effects ===
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=== Potentially Conflicting With ===
[[Backtracking Levels]], 
[[Balancing Effects]], 
[[Drop-In/Drop-Out]], 
[[Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment]], 
[[Fudged Results]], 
[[Grinding]], 
[[Interruptible Actions]], 
[[Late Arriving Players]], 
[[Luck]], 
[[Multiplayer Games]], 
[[Non-Player Help]], 
[[Player Augmentations]], 
[[Player Elimination]], 
[[Player/Character Skill Composites]], 
[[Predictable Winner]], 
[[Purchasable Game Advantages]], 
[[Randomness]], 
[[Setback Penalties]], 
[[Unwinnable Game States]], 
[[Winning by Elimination]]

== History ==
New pattern created in this wiki.

== References ==
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== Acknowledgements ==
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