Dedicated Game Facilitators - Revision history

Staffan Björk: /* Using the pattern */

2021-08-23T09:30:22Z

‎Using the pattern

Staffan Björk at 08:25, 8 August 2015

2015-08-08T08:25:25Z

Staffan Björk at 16:45, 2 August 2015

2015-08-02T16:45:20Z

Staffan Björk at 08:57, 17 July 2015

2015-07-17T08:57:16Z

Staffan Björk at 18:10, 29 January 2015

2015-01-29T18:10:50Z

Staffan Björk at 09:11, 26 January 2015

2015-01-26T09:11:43Z

Staffan Björk at 15:01, 11 January 2015

2015-01-11T15:01:53Z

Staffan Björk at 15:35, 7 September 2014

2014-09-07T15:35:15Z

Staffan Björk at 07:25, 6 September 2014

2014-09-06T07:25:45Z

Staffan Björk at 20:56, 17 July 2014

2014-07-17T20:56:14Z

@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 Controlling [[Enemies]] and [[Non-Player Characters]] to provide opponents in [[Conflicts]] or [[Combat]] situations is another frequent task for [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]], especially in [[Single-Player Games]]. Although from a technical perspective this may be the case (as for example in the [[Need for Speed series]] and the [[Left 4 Dead series]]), game designers may wish to design the [[Enemies]] and [[NPCs]] so that they appear to be independent [[Agents]].
-As a non-player, [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] are in the position of being trusted third parties. This allows them to function as safe sources to store resources involved in [[Betting]],w ithout bias apply [[Enforced Agent Behavior]], and be impartial when generating results using [[Randomness]] (as is typically the case for [[Roulette]]). The last requires the the action is done publicly however, otherwise players may perceive results as effects of cheating rather than [[Randomness]].
+As a non-player, [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] are in the position of being trusted third parties. This allows them to function as safe sources to store resources involved in [[Betting]], without bias apply [[Enforced Agent Behavior]], and be impartial when generating results using [[Randomness]] (as is typically the case for [[Roulette]]). The last requires the the action is done publicly however, otherwise players may perceive results as effects of cheating rather than [[Randomness]].
 The possibility to be trustworthy keepers of [[Gameplay Statistics]] also allows them to provide services between game instances, e.g. statistics to inform how to use [[Handicap Systems]] or keeping track of [[Achievements]], [[High-Score Lists]], and [[Speedruns]].

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 Another common task for [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] is to handle as much [[Excise]] as possible, in the sense of removing if from players. For some games this might simply be practical, but it may be necessary for [[Massively Multiplayer Online Games]] and other games which need to do excessive amount of updates regularly as well as keep track of very large game states.  This may be all the updates that need to be made as a new turn, phase, or round begins in [[Turn-Based Games]], but it may also be keeping track of when those update should be made as is needed in [[Real-Time Games]] and [[Tick-Based Games]] and thereby ensuring that [[The Show Must Go On]]. Related to this is the storing of planned player actions; keeping track of these are necessary for [[Asynchronous Gameplay]] and [[Tick-Based Games]] and typically require the use of [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]]. [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] may also be necessary for [[Synchronous Gameplay]], especially those mediated over computer networks. Resolving evaluation functions are another form of [[Excise]] that [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] can perform. This can be to let players not have to be aware of all rules through making some of them into [[Hidden Rules]], but it may also, for computer-based facilitators, be to avoid [[Downtime]] when making complicated or numerous calculations (examples include [[Combat]] resolutions in [[Turn-Based Games]] such as the [[Hearts of Iron series]] or the update of physic engines in the [[Half-Life series|Half-Life]] or [[Deus Ex series]]).
-Controlling [[Enemies]] and [[Non-Player Characters]] to provide opponents in [[Conflict]] or [[Combat]] situations is another frequent task for [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]], especially in [[Single-Player Games]]. Although from a technical perspective this may be the case (as for example in the [[Need for Speed series]] and the [[Left 4 Dead series]]), game designers may wish to design the [[Enemies]] and [[NPCs]] so that they appear to be independent [[Agents]].
+Controlling [[Enemies]] and [[Non-Player Characters]] to provide opponents in [[Conflicts]] or [[Combat]] situations is another frequent task for [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]], especially in [[Single-Player Games]]. Although from a technical perspective this may be the case (as for example in the [[Need for Speed series]] and the [[Left 4 Dead series]]), game designers may wish to design the [[Enemies]] and [[NPCs]] so that they appear to be independent [[Agents]].
 As a non-player, [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] are in the position of being trusted third parties. This allows them to function as safe sources to store resources involved in [[Betting]],w ithout bias apply [[Enforced Agent Behavior]], and be impartial when generating results using [[Randomness]] (as is typically the case for [[Roulette]]). The last requires the the action is done publicly however, otherwise players may perceive results as effects of cheating rather than [[Randomness]].
@@ Line 109: / Line 109: @@
 === Can Modulate ===
-[[Betting]], [[Combat]], [[Conflict]], [[Game Element Insertion]], [[Handicap Systems]],
+[[Betting]], [[Combat]], [[Conflicts]], [[Game Element Insertion]], [[Handicap Systems]],
 [[Memorizing]],
 [[Narration Structures]],

@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 The possibility to be trustworthy keepers of [[Gameplay Statistics]] also allows them to provide services between game instances, e.g. statistics to inform how to use [[Handicap Systems]] or keeping track of [[Achievements]], [[High-Score Lists]], and [[Speedruns]].
-One high-level aspect of [[Enforced Agent Behavior]] is to control when or how players can perform actions. While this may simply being to force player's to have [[Downtime]] (e.g. having to wait after dying in the [[Counter-Strike series]] rather than [[Spawning|Respawning]]) but for [[Multiplayer Games|Multiplayer]] [[Turn-Based Games]] this can also include hindering players to act out of turn, thereby guaranteeing [[Turn Taking]] is done according to design.
+One high-level aspect of [[Enforced Agent Behavior]] is to control when or how players can perform actions. While this may simply being to force player's to have [[Downtime]] (e.g. having to wait after dying in the [[Counter-Strike series]] rather than [[Spawning|Respawning]]) or [[Lull Periods]], but for [[Multiplayer Games|Multiplayer]] [[Turn-Based Games]] this can also include hindering players to act out of turn, thereby guaranteeing [[Turn Taking]] is done according to design.
 Both [[Game Servers]] and humans can used as [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]]. Additionally, the workload can be shared between many [[Game Servers]] (as for example in online games such as the [[Quake series]] and [[World of Warcraft]]), many humans (most common for [[Live Action Roleplaying]] games such as [[Prosopopeia]]), or a combination (as for [[Ultima Online]] or [[World of Warcraft]]). While [[Game Servers]] can easily handle large data amounts and complex calculations, the use of humans can allow [[Events Timed to the Real World]], [[Evolving Rule Sets]], [[Fudged Results]], improvised [[Storytelling]] and [[Never Ending Stories]]. Human game facilitators are also a way of providing [[Creative Control]] to people who are not players. While humans can both create new things to apply [[Game Element Insertion]] on and determine when they should be inserted, [[Game Servers]] can handle the execution of the insertion.
@@ Line 79: / Line 79: @@
 [[God Views]],
 [[Hidden Rules]], [[High-Score Lists]], [[Imperfect Information]],
-[[Irreversible Events]], [[Late Arriving Players]], [[Limited Communication Abilities]], [[Massively Multiplayer Online Games]],
+[[Irreversible Events]], [[Late Arriving Players]], [[Limited Communication Abilities]],
 [[Mediated Gameplay]],
 [[Meta Games]],

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 They can also use this to measure how well players are progressing, applying [[Balancing Effects]] to support [[Player Balance]] or [[Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment]] to help provide [[Smooth Learning Curves]] or [[Challenging Gameplay]]. On a more extreme level they have to be able to handle changes in the number of players, e.g. for supporting [[Late Arriving Players]] or [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] gameplay, which may require [[Balancing Effects]] or the activation/de-activation of [[AI Players]]. By taking care of the game components and resources, [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] can uphold [[Meta Games]] even if the players change, and for games with [[Time Limited Game Instances]] this offers a concrete design solution for [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] gameplay.
-Another common task for [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] is to handle as much [[Excise]] as possible, in the sense of removing if from players. For some games this might simply be practical, but it may be necessary for [[Massively Multiplayer Online Games]] and other games which need to do excessive amount of updates regularly as well as keep track of very large game states.  This may be all the updates that need to be made as a new turn, phase, or round begins in [[Turn-Based Games]], but it may also be keeping track of when those update should be made as is needed in [[Real-Time Games]] and [[Tick-Based Games]] and thereby ensuring that [[The Show Must Go On]]. Related to this is the storing of planned player actions; keeping track of these are necessary for [[Asynchronous Gameplay]] and [[Tick-Based Games]] and typically require the use of [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]]. Resolving evaluation functions are another form of [[Excise]] that [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] can perform. This can be to let players not have to be aware of all rules through making some of them into [[Hidden Rules]], but it may also, for computer-based facilitators, be to avoid [[Downtime]] when making complicated or numerous calculations (examples include [[Combat]] resolutions in [[Turn-Based Games]] such as the [[Hearts of Iron series]] or the update of physic engines in the [[Half-Life series|Half-Life]] or [[Deus Ex series]]).
+Another common task for [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] is to handle as much [[Excise]] as possible, in the sense of removing if from players. For some games this might simply be practical, but it may be necessary for [[Massively Multiplayer Online Games]] and other games which need to do excessive amount of updates regularly as well as keep track of very large game states.  This may be all the updates that need to be made as a new turn, phase, or round begins in [[Turn-Based Games]], but it may also be keeping track of when those update should be made as is needed in [[Real-Time Games]] and [[Tick-Based Games]] and thereby ensuring that [[The Show Must Go On]]. Related to this is the storing of planned player actions; keeping track of these are necessary for [[Asynchronous Gameplay]] and [[Tick-Based Games]] and typically require the use of [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]]. [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] may also be necessary for [[Synchronous Gameplay]], especially those mediated over computer networks. Resolving evaluation functions are another form of [[Excise]] that [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] can perform. This can be to let players not have to be aware of all rules through making some of them into [[Hidden Rules]], but it may also, for computer-based facilitators, be to avoid [[Downtime]] when making complicated or numerous calculations (examples include [[Combat]] resolutions in [[Turn-Based Games]] such as the [[Hearts of Iron series]] or the update of physic engines in the [[Half-Life series|Half-Life]] or [[Deus Ex series]]).
 Controlling [[Enemies]] and [[Non-Player Characters]] to provide opponents in [[Conflict]] or [[Combat]] situations is another frequent task for [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]], especially in [[Single-Player Games]]. Although from a technical perspective this may be the case (as for example in the [[Need for Speed series]] and the [[Left 4 Dead series]]), game designers may wish to design the [[Enemies]] and [[NPCs]] so that they appear to be independent [[Agents]].
@@ Line 58: / Line 58: @@
 === Can Instantiate ===
 [[Anonymous Actions]],
-[[Achievements]], [[Agents]], [[Asynchronous Gameplay]], [[Balancing Effects]], [[Betrayal]],
+[[Achievements]], [[Agents]],
 [[Cameras]],
 [[Challenging Gameplay]],
@@ Line 88: / Line 89: @@
 [[Replays]],
 [[Role Fulfillment]],
-[[Save-Load Cycles]], [[Secret Goals]], [[Smooth Learning Curves]], [[Storytelling]], [[Surprises]], [[Tick-Based Games]],
+[[Save-Load Cycles]], [[Secret Goals]], [[Smooth Learning Curves]], [[Storytelling]], [[Surprises]],
 [[Temporal Consistency]],
 [[Tension]],

@@ Line 47: / Line 47: @@
 == Consequences ==
 [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] serve an important role in the games that make use of them, and through this they may provide [[Role Fulfillment]] in the cases when people have this role. Although they do not direct cause it by their mere presence, they often are vital to creating [[Tension]]. They can allow for [[Complex Gameplay]] without making it necessary for players to update complex game states, interpret complex rule sets, or to a certain extent even know the actual rules to play.
@@ Line 52: / Line 54: @@
 Since having them is a requirement for being able to play, [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] work against [[Ubiquitous Gameplay]]. This can also work against [[Social Adaptability]] but [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] can work against that pattern in other ways also. Most commonly, [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] ensure that rules are followed and this makes it difficult for players to bend or ignore rules for reasons other than wanting to cheat - examples include modifying the gameplay due to unexpected outside factors, wanting to set up examples, and allowing novice players to reconsider actions that have just been taken.
 == Relations ==
@@ Line 94: / Line 94: @@
 [[Thematic Consistency]],
 [[Third-Person Views]],
-[[Turn Taking]], [[Ultra-Powerful Events]], [[Unknown Goals]], [[Zero-Player Games]]
+[[Turn Taking]],
 ==== with [[Meta Games]] and [[Time Limited Game Instances]] ====

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 == Using the pattern ==
-The primary choices when designing [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] is what functionality these should facilitate and whom should be the facilitators.
+The primary choices when designing [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] is what functionality these should facilitate and whom should be the facilitators. From a purely economical perspective, [[Pay to Play]] may be require to support [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] that are neither voluntary nor maintenance free.
 Since [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] can [[Mediated Gameplay]], one very common task for them concerns how players are presented with information about the gameplay. This can be keeping track of all information of the game state simply so players' can have [[Imperfect Information]] (e.g. through [[First-Person Views]]) but it can also be keeping track of [[Secret Goals|Secret]] or [[Unknown Goals]]. Controlling that [[Game Element Insertion]] is done properly is another possible such task. For games whose gameplay is spread over many, not necessarily overlapping play sessions, [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] can be responsible for storing and restoring game state to provide [[Save-Load Cycles]] or to make sure [[Persistent Game Worlds]] exist. Further, the information handling can be to provide the [[Storytelling]] necessary (possibly through the use of [[Cutscenes]]) to unfold [[Narration Structures]] as planned so [[Surprises]] and [[Betrayal|Betrayals]] other wanted effects occur. For games where players don't have [[Unmediated Social Interaction]] or should have [[Limited Communication Abilities]], [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] can supply the proper [[Communication Channels]] (e.g. [[Chat Channels]]). A 'dumb' example of this can be found in the static used sometimes in [[Space Alert]] to hinder player communication.
@@ Line 108: / Line 108: @@
 === Can Be Instantiated By ===
 [[Game Servers]],
-[[Game Masters]]
+[[Game Masters]],
 === Can Be Modulated By ===

@@ Line 47: / Line 47: @@
 == Consequences ==
-[[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] serve an important role in the games that make use of them, and through this they may provide [[Role Fulfillment]] in the cases when people have this role. Although they do not direct cause it by their mere presence, they often are vital to creating [[Tension]].
+[[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] serve an important role in the games that make use of them, and through this they may provide [[Role Fulfillment]] in the cases when people have this role. Although they do not direct cause it by their mere presence, they often are vital to creating [[Tension]]. They can allow for [[Complex Gameplay]] without making it necessary for players to update complex game states, interpret complex rule sets, or to a certain extent even know the actual rules to play.
 By definition, [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] are difficult to combine with [[Self-Facilitated Games]]. While mechanical and computer-based game varieties of the pattern can objectively ensure [[Irreversible Events]] they do not naturally provide [[Free Game Element Manipulation]] - this has to explicitly be supported through intentional design. Besides upholding [[Persistent Game Worlds]] and making [[Save-Load Cycles]] possible, they can also support [[Reconfigurable Game Worlds]] and [[Expansions]]. As soon as [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] make players actions more difficult they are part of creating [[PvE]] gameplay, although this is most obvious when they are controlling [[Enemies]] in [[Combat]] situations.
@@ Line 62: / Line 62: @@
 [[Challenging Gameplay]],
 [[Chat Channels]],
-[[Communication Channels]], [[Creative Control]],
+[[Communication Channels]],
 [[Cutscenes]],
 [[Diegetic Consistency]], [[Thematically Consistent Dialogues]], [[Diegetically Outstanding Features]], [[Downtime]], [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]],

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 As a non-player, [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] are in the position of being trusted third parties. This allows them to function as safe sources to store resources involved in [[Betting]],w ithout bias apply [[Enforced Agent Behavior]], and be impartial when generating results using [[Randomness]] (as is typically the case for [[Roulette]]). The last requires the the action is done publicly however, otherwise players may perceive results as effects of cheating rather than [[Randomness]].
-The possibility to be trustworthy keepers of [[Gameplay Statistics]] also allows them to provide services between game instances, e.g. statistics to inform how to use [[Handicap Systems]] or keeping track of [[Achievements]], [[High-Score Lists]], and [[Speed Runs]].
+The possibility to be trustworthy keepers of [[Gameplay Statistics]] also allows them to provide services between game instances, e.g. statistics to inform how to use [[Handicap Systems]] or keeping track of [[Achievements]], [[High-Score Lists]], and [[Speedruns]].
 One high-level aspect of [[Enforced Agent Behavior]] is to control when or how players can perform actions. While this may simply being to force player's to have [[Downtime]] (e.g. having to wait after dying in the [[Counter-Strike series]] rather than [[Spawning|Respawning]]) but for [[Multiplayer Games|Multiplayer]] [[Turn-Based Games]] this can also include hindering players to act out of turn, thereby guaranteeing [[Turn Taking]] is done according to design.
@@ Line 97: / Line 97: @@
 [[Narration Structures]],
 [[Predetermined Story Structures]],
-[[Randomness]], [[Roleplaying]], [[Single-Player Games]], [[Speed Runs]], [[Turn-Based Games]]
+[[Randomness]], [[Roleplaying]], [[Single-Player Games]], [[Speedruns]], [[Turn-Based Games]]
 === Can Be Instantiated By ===