Drop-In/Drop-Out - Revision history

Staffan Björk at 08:24, 8 August 2015

2015-08-08T08:24:58Z

Staffan Björk at 15:00, 18 July 2015

2015-07-18T15:00:12Z

Staffan Björk at 19:36, 2 July 2015

2015-07-02T19:36:35Z

Staffan Björk at 18:22, 29 January 2015

2015-01-29T18:22:29Z

Staffan Björk at 20:40, 16 January 2015

2015-01-16T20:40:39Z

Staffan Björk at 15:14, 16 January 2015

2015-01-16T15:14:11Z

Staffan Björk at 23:13, 15 January 2015

2015-01-15T23:13:22Z

Staffan Björk at 09:37, 21 June 2014

2014-06-21T09:37:41Z

Staffan Björk at 09:37, 21 June 2014

2014-06-21T09:37:11Z

Staffan Björk: /* Can Be Instantiated By */

2014-06-21T09:36:33Z

‎Can Be Instantiated By

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 The use of [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] it typically discussed for [[Multiplayer Games]], and when it is used in [[Single-Player Games]] to allow additional players this issues become the same as for [[Multiplayer Games]]. It is however rather uncomplicated to have in [[Single-Player Games]] - one can simply use [[Game Pauses]]. Another simply design solution to provide [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] is to have [[Meta Games]] with [[Time Limited Game Instances]] that are being run by [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] (removing the [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] creates [[Negotiable Game Instance Duration]], which although it which lets players control how low game sessions are also requires that this is done in agreement with other players). [[Tick-Based Games]] offer a form of [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] where the freedom of choosing when to play is modulated by how long the ticks are (although too long ticks can also cause [[Downtime]]).
-For most [[Multiplayer Games]], allowing [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] gameplay requires the ability for the game to support [[Early Leaving Players]] and [[Late Arriving Players]], although [[Surrendering]] or a [[Possibility of Graceful Surrender]] can replace [[Early leaving Players]]. The basic mechanics of supporting [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] are however typically not the main challenge with using the pattern (but [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] such as [[Game Masters]] can avoid [[Excise]]), rather it is to maintain [[Challenging Gameplay]], [[Value of Effort]], and [[Team Balance]] for games with [[Teams]]. How this can be done typically depends on if the game is based on [[Cooperation]] between the players or not. When games revolve around [[Competition]] or [[Conflict]] rather than [[Cooperation]] leaving them can be seen as accepting defeat (indeed, many of them use [[Player Elimination]], e.g. [[Counter-Strike]]) and does not need to unbalance gameplay for other players (but see diegetic aspects). Entering the game, i.e. supporting [[Late Arriving Players]], can be more problematic. New or returning players may not need [[Player Balance]] in relation to the old players, but at least need [[Empowerment]] or [[Exaggerated Perception of Influence]]. The former can be achieved by giving them [[Temporary Abilities]] or having [[Balancing Effects]] but this risks that existing players feel that their [[Value of Effort]] is lost. This can be avoided by instead having games built around [[Tournaments]] but this centers the entry and exit points to the beginning and end of specific game sessions. The use of [[Private Game Spaces]] can for games based upon [[Competition]] but not [[Conflict]] address issues of [[Challenging Gameplay]] but less readily [[Value of Effort]].
+For most [[Multiplayer Games]], allowing [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] gameplay requires the ability for the game to support [[Early Leaving Players]] and [[Late Arriving Players]], although [[Surrendering]] or a [[Possibility of Graceful Surrender]] can replace [[Early leaving Players]]. The basic mechanics of supporting [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] are however typically not the main challenge with using the pattern (but [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] such as [[Game Masters]] can avoid [[Excise]]), rather it is to maintain [[Challenging Gameplay]], [[Value of Effort]], and [[Team Balance]] for games with [[Teams]]. How this can be done typically depends on if the game is based on [[Cooperation]] between the players or not. When games revolve around [[Competition]] or [[Conflicts]] rather than [[Cooperation]] leaving them can be seen as accepting defeat (indeed, many of them use [[Player Elimination]], e.g. [[Counter-Strike]]) and does not need to unbalance gameplay for other players (but see diegetic aspects). Entering the game, i.e. supporting [[Late Arriving Players]], can be more problematic. New or returning players may not need [[Player Balance]] in relation to the old players, but at least need [[Empowerment]] or [[Exaggerated Perception of Influence]]. The former can be achieved by giving them [[Temporary Abilities]] or having [[Balancing Effects]] but this risks that existing players feel that their [[Value of Effort]] is lost. This can be avoided by instead having games built around [[Tournaments]] but this centers the entry and exit points to the beginning and end of specific game sessions. The use of [[Private Game Spaces]] can for games based upon [[Competition]] but not [[Conflicts]] address issues of [[Challenging Gameplay]] but less readily [[Value of Effort]].
 For games built on [[Cooperation]], e.g. those using [[Parties]], the issue of [[Player Balance]] may also be dealt with through [[Balancing Effects]]. However, the risk of old players feeling a loss of [[Value of Effort]] is lessened since the players typically have [[Mutual Goals]]. An alternative is to not actually reduce the number of players, either through replacing them with existing or newly-created [[AI Players]] (as for e.g. in the [[Left 4 Dead series]]), [[Game Masters]] (appropriate for [[Roleplaying]] games with [[Player Characters]]), or other players taking on extra roles (Theoretically, any type of [[Agents|Agent]] could be introduced but have a stable source of new humans willing to take over for leaving players can be difficult to achieve in a design - use of [[Spectators]] seems to be a possible starting point). The latter is easy to do in [[Self-Facilitated Games]] (e.g. in roleplaying systems such as [[Dungeons & Dragons]] or [[GURPS]]) but require additional account handling in computer-mediated games. The reason these solutions cannot be used for non-cooperative games is than the competition usual is against the other human players and not the other characters so replacing the human with another human or an [[Agents|Agent]] changes the conflict. The use of [[Invites]] (present in [[FarmVille]] to add new players and in the [[Left 4 Dead series]] to replace [[AI Players]]) gives people some control over the flow of players in the game.

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 == Using the pattern ==
-The use of [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] it typically discussed for [[Multiplayer Games]], and when it is used in [[Single-Player Games]] to allow additional players this issues become the same as for [[Multiplayer Games]]. It is however rather uncomplicated to have in [[Single-Player Games]] - one can simply use [[Game Pauses]]. Another simply design solution to provide [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] is to have [[Meta Games]] with [[Time Limited Game Instances]] that are being run by [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] (removing the [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] creates [[Negotiable Game Instance Duration]], which although it which lets players control how low game sessions are also requires that this is done in agreement with other players).
+The use of [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] it typically discussed for [[Multiplayer Games]], and when it is used in [[Single-Player Games]] to allow additional players this issues become the same as for [[Multiplayer Games]]. It is however rather uncomplicated to have in [[Single-Player Games]] - one can simply use [[Game Pauses]]. Another simply design solution to provide [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] is to have [[Meta Games]] with [[Time Limited Game Instances]] that are being run by [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] (removing the [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] creates [[Negotiable Game Instance Duration]], which although it which lets players control how low game sessions are also requires that this is done in agreement with other players). [[Tick-Based Games]] offer a form of [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] where the freedom of choosing when to play is modulated by how long the ticks are (although too long ticks can also cause [[Downtime]]).
 For most [[Multiplayer Games]], allowing [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] gameplay requires the ability for the game to support [[Early Leaving Players]] and [[Late Arriving Players]], although [[Surrendering]] or a [[Possibility of Graceful Surrender]] can replace [[Early leaving Players]]. The basic mechanics of supporting [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] are however typically not the main challenge with using the pattern (but [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] such as [[Game Masters]] can avoid [[Excise]]), rather it is to maintain [[Challenging Gameplay]], [[Value of Effort]], and [[Team Balance]] for games with [[Teams]]. How this can be done typically depends on if the game is based on [[Cooperation]] between the players or not. When games revolve around [[Competition]] or [[Conflict]] rather than [[Cooperation]] leaving them can be seen as accepting defeat (indeed, many of them use [[Player Elimination]], e.g. [[Counter-Strike]]) and does not need to unbalance gameplay for other players (but see diegetic aspects). Entering the game, i.e. supporting [[Late Arriving Players]], can be more problematic. New or returning players may not need [[Player Balance]] in relation to the old players, but at least need [[Empowerment]] or [[Exaggerated Perception of Influence]]. The former can be achieved by giving them [[Temporary Abilities]] or having [[Balancing Effects]] but this risks that existing players feel that their [[Value of Effort]] is lost. This can be avoided by instead having games built around [[Tournaments]] but this centers the entry and exit points to the beginning and end of specific game sessions. The use of [[Private Game Spaces]] can for games based upon [[Competition]] but not [[Conflict]] address issues of [[Challenging Gameplay]] but less readily [[Value of Effort]].
@@ Line 83: / Line 83: @@
 === Can Be Instantiated By ===
-[[AI Players]], [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]], [[Game Masters]], [[Self-Facilitated Games]], [[Tournaments]]
+[[AI Players]], [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]], [[Game Masters]], [[Self-Facilitated Games]],
 [[Early Leaving Players]], [[Possibility of Graceful Surrender]] or [[Surrendering]] together with [[Late Arriving Players]]

@@ Line 38: / Line 38: @@
 == Consequences ==
-[[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] allows players of [[Multiplayer Games]] to have [[Unsynchronized Game Sessions]] and thereby [[Negotiable Play Sessions]] and [[Negotiable Game Sessions]] in that they do not need to adjust their own play sessions to other players sessions. Besides being able to choose how long time they wish to play, [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] gives the game [[Interruptibility]] and [[Social Adaptability]] since players can use the functionality to define the breaks in game sessions rather than define play sessions, but may cause breaks in a game's [[Diegetic Consistency]]. For those games where people can be [[Backseat Gamers]], the existence of [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] gameplay makes it possible for these people to have [[Tiered Participation]] in the game since they can move between these states and playing and back again. For games with [[Pervasive Gameplay]], this can let players smoothly handle transitions between playing and not playing to avoid problematic social encounters. In games where [[Predictable Winner]] may be perceived, [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] can let players leave gracefully if not wishing to engage any longer in the interaction due to this situation.
+[[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] allows players of [[Multiplayer Games]] to have [[Unsynchronized Game Sessions]] and thereby [[Negotiable Play Sessions]] and [[Negotiable Game Sessions]] in that they do not need to adjust their own play sessions to other players sessions. It also frees players from playing at the same time, so the pattern supports [[Asynchronous Gameplay]]. Besides being able to choose how long time they wish to play, [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] gives the game [[Interruptibility]] and [[Social Adaptability]] since players can use the functionality to define the breaks in game sessions rather than define play sessions, but may cause breaks in a game's [[Diegetic Consistency]]. For those games where people can be [[Backseat Gamers]], the existence of [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] gameplay makes it possible for these people to have [[Tiered Participation]] in the game since they can move between these states and playing and back again. For games with [[Pervasive Gameplay]], this can let players smoothly handle transitions between playing and not playing to avoid problematic social encounters. In games where [[Predictable Winner]] may be perceived, [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] can let players leave gracefully if not wishing to engage any longer in the interaction due to this situation.
 When the addition or removal of players requires game elements to likewise be added or removed, this makes [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] require [[Game Element Insertion]] and [[Game Element Removal]] respectively. In games with [[Altruistic Actions]], [[Delayed Effects]], [[Development Time]], or [[Delayed Reciprocity]], [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] may provide [[Encouraged Return Visits]].
@@ Line 50: / Line 50: @@
 == Relations ==
 === Can Instantiate ===
 [[Game Element Insertion]],
 [[Game Element Removal]],

@@ Line 38: / Line 38: @@
 == Consequences ==
-[[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] allows players of [[Multiplayer Games]] to have [[Negotiable Play Sessions]] and [[Negotiable Game Sessions]] in that they do not need to adjust their own play sessions to other players sessions. Besides being able to choose how long time they wish to play, [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] gives the game [[Interruptibility]] and [[Social Adaptability]] since players can use the functionality to define the breaks in game sessions rather than define play sessions, but may cause breaks in a game's [[Diegetic Consistency]]. For those games where people can be [[Backseat Gamers]], the existence of [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] gameplay makes it possible for these people to have [[Tiered Participation]] in the game since they can move between these states and playing and back again. For games with [[Pervasive Gameplay]], this can let players smoothly handle transitions between playing and not playing to avoid problematic social encounters. In games where [[Predictable Winner]] may be perceived, [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] can let players leave gracefully if not wishing to engage any longer in the interaction due to this situation.
+[[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] allows players of [[Multiplayer Games]] to have [[Unsynchronized Game Sessions]] and thereby [[Negotiable Play Sessions]] and [[Negotiable Game Sessions]] in that they do not need to adjust their own play sessions to other players sessions. Besides being able to choose how long time they wish to play, [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] gives the game [[Interruptibility]] and [[Social Adaptability]] since players can use the functionality to define the breaks in game sessions rather than define play sessions, but may cause breaks in a game's [[Diegetic Consistency]]. For those games where people can be [[Backseat Gamers]], the existence of [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] gameplay makes it possible for these people to have [[Tiered Participation]] in the game since they can move between these states and playing and back again. For games with [[Pervasive Gameplay]], this can let players smoothly handle transitions between playing and not playing to avoid problematic social encounters. In games where [[Predictable Winner]] may be perceived, [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] can let players leave gracefully if not wishing to engage any longer in the interaction due to this situation.
 When the addition or removal of players requires game elements to likewise be added or removed, this makes [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] require [[Game Element Insertion]] and [[Game Element Removal]] respectively. In games with [[Altruistic Actions]], [[Delayed Effects]], [[Development Time]], or [[Delayed Reciprocity]], [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] may provide [[Encouraged Return Visits]].
@@ Line 57: / Line 57: @@
 [[Social Adaptability]],
 [[Tiered Participation]],
-[[Ubiquitous Gameplay]]
+[[Ubiquitous Gameplay]],
 ==== with [[Backseat Gamers]] ====

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 The use of [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] it typically discussed for [[Multiplayer Games]], and when it is used in [[Single-Player Games]] to allow additional players this issues become the same as for [[Multiplayer Games]]. It is however rather uncomplicated to have in [[Single-Player Games]] - one can simply use [[Game Pauses]]. Another simply design solution to provide [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] is to have [[Meta Games]] with [[Time Limited Game Instances]] that are being run by [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] (removing the [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] creates [[Negotiable Game Instance Duration]], which although it which lets players control how low game sessions are also requires that this is done in agreement with other players).
-For most [[Multiplayer Games]], allowing [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] gameplay requires the ability for the game to support [[Early Leaving Players]] and [[Late Arriving Players]], although [[Surrendering]] can replace [[Early leaving Players]]. The basic mechanics of supporting [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] are however typically not the main challenge with using the pattern (but [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] such as [[Game Masters]] can avoid [[Excise]]), rather it is to maintain [[Challenging Gameplay]], [[Value of Effort]], and [[Team Balance]] for games with [[Teams]]. How this can be done typically depends on if the game is based on [[Cooperation]] between the players or not. When games revolve around [[Competition]] or [[Conflict]] rather than [[Cooperation]] leaving them can be seen as accepting defeat (indeed, many of them use [[Player Elimination]], e.g. [[Counter-Strike]]) and does not need to unbalance gameplay for other players (but see diegetic aspects). Entering the game, i.e. supporting [[Late Arriving Players]], can be more problematic. New or returning players may not need [[Player Balance]] in relation to the old players, but at least need [[Empowerment]] or [[Exaggerated Perception of Influence]]. The former can be achieved by giving them [[Temporary Abilities]] or having [[Balancing Effects]] but this risks that existing players feel that their [[Value of Effort]] is lost. This can be avoided by instead having games built around [[Tournaments]] but this centers the entry and exit points to the beginning and end of specific game sessions. The use of [[Private Game Spaces]] can for games based upon [[Competition]] but not [[Conflict]] address issues of [[Challenging Gameplay]] but less readily [[Value of Effort]].
+For most [[Multiplayer Games]], allowing [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] gameplay requires the ability for the game to support [[Early Leaving Players]] and [[Late Arriving Players]], although [[Surrendering]] or a [[Possibility of Graceful Surrender]] can replace [[Early leaving Players]]. The basic mechanics of supporting [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] are however typically not the main challenge with using the pattern (but [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] such as [[Game Masters]] can avoid [[Excise]]), rather it is to maintain [[Challenging Gameplay]], [[Value of Effort]], and [[Team Balance]] for games with [[Teams]]. How this can be done typically depends on if the game is based on [[Cooperation]] between the players or not. When games revolve around [[Competition]] or [[Conflict]] rather than [[Cooperation]] leaving them can be seen as accepting defeat (indeed, many of them use [[Player Elimination]], e.g. [[Counter-Strike]]) and does not need to unbalance gameplay for other players (but see diegetic aspects). Entering the game, i.e. supporting [[Late Arriving Players]], can be more problematic. New or returning players may not need [[Player Balance]] in relation to the old players, but at least need [[Empowerment]] or [[Exaggerated Perception of Influence]]. The former can be achieved by giving them [[Temporary Abilities]] or having [[Balancing Effects]] but this risks that existing players feel that their [[Value of Effort]] is lost. This can be avoided by instead having games built around [[Tournaments]] but this centers the entry and exit points to the beginning and end of specific game sessions. The use of [[Private Game Spaces]] can for games based upon [[Competition]] but not [[Conflict]] address issues of [[Challenging Gameplay]] but less readily [[Value of Effort]].
 For games built on [[Cooperation]], e.g. those using [[Parties]], the issue of [[Player Balance]] may also be dealt with through [[Balancing Effects]]. However, the risk of old players feeling a loss of [[Value of Effort]] is lessened since the players typically have [[Mutual Goals]]. An alternative is to not actually reduce the number of players, either through replacing them with existing or newly-created [[AI Players]] (as for e.g. in the [[Left 4 Dead series]]), [[Game Masters]] (appropriate for [[Roleplaying]] games with [[Player Characters]]), or other players taking on extra roles (Theoretically, any type of [[Agents|Agent]] could be introduced but have a stable source of new humans willing to take over for leaving players can be difficult to achieve in a design - use of [[Spectators]] seems to be a possible starting point). The latter is easy to do in [[Self-Facilitated Games]] (e.g. in roleplaying systems such as [[Dungeons & Dragons]] or [[GURPS]]) but require additional account handling in computer-mediated games. The reason these solutions cannot be used for non-cooperative games is than the competition usual is against the other human players and not the other characters so replacing the human with another human or an [[Agents|Agent]] changes the conflict. The use of [[Invites]] (present in [[FarmVille]] to add new players and in the [[Left 4 Dead series]] to replace [[AI Players]]) gives people some control over the flow of players in the game.
@@ Line 83: / Line 83: @@
 [[AI Players]], [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]], [[Game Masters]], [[Self-Facilitated Games]], [[Tournaments]]
-[[Early Leaving Players]] or [[Surrendering]] together with [[Late Arriving Players]]
+[[Early Leaving Players]], [[Possibility of Graceful Surrender]] or [[Surrendering]] together with [[Late Arriving Players]]
 [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] together with [[Meta Games]] and [[Time Limited Game Instances]]

@@ Line 46: / Line 46: @@
 For games that are supposed to have [[Split-Screen Views]], the presence of [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] gameplay requires designers to consider how these views should change - if at all - when the number of players change.
-Since [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] allows players to have game sessions that do not overlap much or at all, it can work against the possibility that they gain a sense of [[Togetherness]] by gaming.
+Since [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] allows players to have game sessions that do not overlap much or at all, it can work against the possibility that they gain a sense of [[Togetherness]] by gaming. However, it also makes [[Ragequitting]] have very little effect on the gameplay for other players.
 == Relations ==
@@ Line 75: / Line 75: @@
 [[Pervasive Gameplay]],
 [[Predictable Winner]],
 [[Single-Player Games]],
 [[Split-Screen Views]],

@@ Line 82: / Line 82: @@
 [[AI Players]], [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]], [[Game Masters]], [[Self-Facilitated Games]], [[Tournaments]]
-[[Early-leaving Players]] together with [[Late Arriving Players]]
+[[Early-Leaving Players]] together with [[Late Arriving Players]]
 [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] together with [[Meta Games]] and [[Time Limited Game Instances]]