Meta Games - Revision history

Staffan Björk at 07:55, 4 August 2022

2022-08-04T07:55:00Z

Staffan Björk: /* Can Be Instantiated By */

2022-08-04T07:52:33Z

‎Can Be Instantiated By

Staffan Björk at 10:06, 4 April 2018

2018-04-04T10:06:29Z

Staffan Björk at 11:30, 21 March 2018

2018-03-21T11:30:21Z

Staffan Björk at 13:48, 12 January 2018

2018-01-12T13:48:24Z

Staffan Björk: /* Consequences */

2017-03-21T15:21:00Z

‎Consequences

Staffan Björk: /* Can Instantiate */

2017-03-21T15:19:58Z

‎Can Instantiate

Staffan Björk at 08:07, 8 August 2015

2015-08-08T08:07:41Z

Staffan Björk at 12:59, 2 August 2015

2015-08-02T12:59:33Z

Staffan Björk at 09:46, 31 January 2015

2015-01-31T09:46:23Z

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 [[Meta Games]] can be created through requiring games to be played several times. [[Tournaments]] are classic examples of using [[Minigames]] together with [[Trans-Game Information]] to create [[Meta Games]]. Related to this is [[Team Development]] in games where the [[Teams]] are maintained between game instances (rather than all team matches being within the same game instance). A second group of examples are games with short [[Levels]] solved through [[Puzzle Solving]] where each level can be seen as its own game. A third group of examples use [[Back-to-Back Game Sessions]], which typically are used in games with [[Asymmetric Starting Conditions]] (e.g. [[Chess]] and [[Memoir '44]]).
-There are several types of [[Meta Games]] that can be used to let players compete against themselves or have additional challenges from a game. Both these may require several game instances to be played, but this differs from the previous cases by not specifying how many game instances are needed or if more than one is needed and if the games have [[Time Limited Game Instances]] players can have good control over how long time the [[Meta Games]] should take. [[High Score Lists]] and [[Speedruns]] allow players to try at have better gameplay performance that previous players while [[Easter Eggs]] can give purpose to carefully exploring [[Game Worlds]]. [[Open Destiny]] encourage players to replay games to see what variations in outcomes are possible for [[Player Characters]] or [[Non-Player Characters]]. [[Achievements]] of all types (i.e. [[Goal Achievements|Goal]], [[Grind Achievements|Grind]], [[Handicap Achievements|Handicap]], and [[Testing Achievements|Testing]]) can be used to let players have explicit [[Meta Games]] in wanting to collect them. More generally, the presence of [[Optional Goals]] in any game allows players to create [[Meta Games]] depending on completing these [[Optional Goals]].
+There are several types of [[Meta Games]] that can be used to let players compete against themselves or have additional challenges from a game. Both these may require several game instances to be played, but this differs from the previous cases by not specifying how many game instances are needed or if more than one is needed and if the games have [[Time Limited Game Instances]] players can have good control over how long time the [[Meta Games]] should take. [[High Score Lists]] and [[Speedruns]] allow players to try at have better gameplay performance that previous players while [[Easter Eggs]] can give purpose to carefully exploring [[Game Worlds]]. [[Open Destiny]] encourage players to replay games to see what variations in outcomes are possible for [[Player Characters]] or [[Non-Player Characters]]. [[Achievements]] of all types (i.e. [[Goal Achievements|Goal]], [[Grind Achievements|Grind]], [[Handicap Achievements|Handicap]], and [[Testing Achievements|Testing]]) can be used to let players have explicit [[Meta Games]] in wanting to collect them. Collecting all [[Achievements]] comes as naturally as another type of [[Meta Game|Meta Games]] from this (i.e., the combination of [[Achievements]] and[[Collections]] for another [[Meta Game|Meta Games]]) - and this can be systemized by having [[Achievements]] for various [[Collections]] of [[Achievements]]. More generally, the presence of [[Optional Goals]] in any game allows players to create [[Meta Games]] depending on completing these [[Optional Goals]].
 The above suggestions for creating [[Meta Games]] can work for individual game consoles. However, by automating the transferal of [[Trans-Game Information]] players can be offered [[Meta Games]] involving many more players up to all players that have ever played the game. Examples of patterns that support these types of [[Meta Games]] include [[Global High Score Lists]], [[Handicap Systems]], and [[Public Player Statistics]]. [[Massively Single-Player Online Games]] also do this although less directly; here the other players' game instances do affect each other but not necessarily out of either [[Competition]] or [[Cooperation]]. Most of these solutions require [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] to keep track of gameplay statistics or handle resources. When the games these types of [[Meta Games]] are built upon have [[Time Limited Game Instances]], the effect is to provide players with [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] gameplay.

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:52, 4 August 2022
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	[[Meta Servers]] together with [[Game Servers]]		[[Meta Servers]] together with [[Game Servers]]
		+
		+	[[Achievements]] together with [[Collections]]

	=== Can Be Modulated By ===		=== Can Be Modulated By ===

@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
 A less common type of [[Meta Games]] are created by not letting people be players of a game, i.e. be [[Zero-Player Games]], but challenges them to create the [[AI Players]] that are to play the game. [[Action Programming]] is the simplest form of this, since the [[Agents]] do not need to be able to react to the environment; creating [[Algorithmic Agents]] is more complex since these do have to be able to react. Creating [[Mules]] provides a similar type of [[Meta Games]] but here the purpose is for players to to avoid having to do repetitious tasks themselves. However, as [[4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness]] shows, the pattern [[Zero-Player Games]] can be enough in itself to create [[Meta Games]].
-While game designers can create [[Meta Games]] for players, players can often easily do so themselves if they are inclined to create [[Self-Facilitated Games]]. The simplest examples of this is [[Betting]] on the outcome of a game. Related to this are games with [[Heterogeneous Game Element Ownership]]; here [[Game Element Trading]] creates [[Meta Games]] of getting specific sets of game elements but players can also in these cases easily create [[Meta Games]] using [[Betting]] with the game elements themselves as the prizes. [[Marble Games]] and [[Magic: The Gathering]] are examples of games where this kind of [[Betting]] occurs. Related to this is [[Card Building]] and [[Deck Building]]; these patterns allow for players to modify individual [[Cards]] or the [[Cards]] in [[Decks]] and when these modification span game instances they spawn [[Meta Games]]. Note that the actions that allow these types of [[Meta Games]] do not have to have actions in common with the inner games; players can engage in [[Deck Building]] in [[Magic: The Gathering]] purely through buying and trading [[Cards]] as [[Extra-Game Actions]] (i.e. without any [[Betting]]).
+While game designers can create [[Meta Games]] for players, players can often easily do so themselves if they are inclined to create [[Self-Facilitated Games]]. The simplest examples of this is [[Betting]] on the outcome of a game. Related to this are games with [[Heterogeneous Game Element Ownership]]; here [[Game Element Trading]] creates [[Meta Games]] of getting specific sets of game elements but players can also in these cases easily create [[Meta Games]] using [[Betting]] with the game elements themselves as the prizes. [[Marble Games]] and [[Magic: The Gathering]] are examples of games where this kind of [[Betting]] occurs. Related to this is [[Card Building]] and [[Deck Building]]; these patterns allow for players to modify individual [[Cards]] or the [[Cards]] in [[Decks]] and when these modification span game instances they spawn [[Meta Games]]. Note that the actions that allow these types of [[Meta Games]] do not have to have actions in common with the inner games; players can engage in [[Deck Building]] in [[Magic: The Gathering]] purely through buying and trading [[Cards]] as [[Extra-Game Actions]] (i.e. without any [[Betting]]). [[Legacy Games]], which can be created through [[Card Building]] or [[Deck Building]] between game instances, is another form of [[Meta Games]] formed by the events that happen in one game instance affecting later game instances in a designed series of game instances.
 While the time between the individual games can be handled by players for non-mediated games, some support for this is needed for [[Mediated Gameplay]]. For large games, this may be done through [[Meta Servers]] storing and communicating [[Trans-Game Information]] to [[Game Servers]] but in many cases [[Game Servers]] are sufficient to handle both levels. However, [[Game Lobbies]] are typically provided in both cases so that the players can socially interact between (or during) games.
@@ Line 86: / Line 86: @@
 [[Heterogeneous Game Element Ownership]],
 [[High Score Lists]],
 [[Massively Single-Player Online Games]],
 [[Mules]],

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 The above suggestions for creating [[Meta Games]] can work for individual game consoles. However, by automating the transferal of [[Trans-Game Information]] players can be offered [[Meta Games]] involving many more players up to all players that have ever played the game. Examples of patterns that support these types of [[Meta Games]] include [[Global High Score Lists]], [[Handicap Systems]], and [[Public Player Statistics]]. [[Massively Single-Player Online Games]] also do this although less directly; here the other players' game instances do affect each other but not necessarily out of either [[Competition]] or [[Cooperation]]. Most of these solutions require [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] to keep track of gameplay statistics or handle resources. When the games these types of [[Meta Games]] are built upon have [[Time Limited Game Instances]], the effect is to provide players with [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] gameplay.
-A less common type of [[Meta Games]] are created by not letting people be players of a game, i.e. be [[Zero-Player Games]], but challenges them to create the [[AI Players]] that are to play the game. [[Action Programming]] is the simplest form of this, since the [[Agents]] do not need to be able to react to the environment; creating [[Algorithmic Agents]] is more complex since these do have to be able to react.
+A less common type of [[Meta Games]] are created by not letting people be players of a game, i.e. be [[Zero-Player Games]], but challenges them to create the [[AI Players]] that are to play the game. [[Action Programming]] is the simplest form of this, since the [[Agents]] do not need to be able to react to the environment; creating [[Algorithmic Agents]] is more complex since these do have to be able to react. Creating [[Mules]] provides a similar type of [[Meta Games]] but here the purpose is for players to to avoid having to do repetitious tasks themselves. However, as [[4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness]] shows, the pattern [[Zero-Player Games]] can be enough in itself to create [[Meta Games]].
 Creating [[Mules]] provides a similar type of [[Meta Games]] but here the purpose is for players to to avoid having to do repetitious tasks themselves. However, as [[4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness]] shows, the pattern [[Zero-Player Games]] can be enough in itself to create [[Meta Games]].
-While game designers can create [[Meta Games]] for players, players can often easily do so themselves if they are inclined to create [[Self-Facilitated Games]]. The simplest examples of this is [[Betting]] on the outcome of a game. Related to this are games with [[Heterogeneous Game Element Ownership]]; here [[Game Element Trading]] creates [[Meta Games]] of getting specific sets of game elements but players can also in these cases easily create [[Meta Games]] using [[Betting]] with the game elements themselves as the prizes. [[Marble Games]] and [[Magic: The Gathering]] are examples of games where this kind of [[Betting]] occurs.
+While game designers can create [[Meta Games]] for players, players can often easily do so themselves if they are inclined to create [[Self-Facilitated Games]]. The simplest examples of this is [[Betting]] on the outcome of a game. Related to this are games with [[Heterogeneous Game Element Ownership]]; here [[Game Element Trading]] creates [[Meta Games]] of getting specific sets of game elements but players can also in these cases easily create [[Meta Games]] using [[Betting]] with the game elements themselves as the prizes. [[Marble Games]] and [[Magic: The Gathering]] are examples of games where this kind of [[Betting]] occurs. Related to this is [[Card Building]] and [[Deck Building]]; these patterns allow for players to modify individual [[Cards]] or the [[Cards]] in [[Decks]] and when these modification span game instances they spawn [[Meta Games]]. Note that the actions that allow these types of [[Meta Games]] do not have to have actions in common with the inner games; players can engage in [[Deck Building]] in [[Magic: The Gathering]] purely through buying and trading [[Cards]] as [[Extra-Game Actions]] (i.e. without any [[Betting]]).
 While the time between the individual games can be handled by players for non-mediated games, some support for this is needed for [[Mediated Gameplay]]. For large games, this may be done through [[Meta Servers]] storing and communicating [[Trans-Game Information]] to [[Game Servers]] but in many cases [[Game Servers]] are sufficient to handle both levels. However, [[Game Lobbies]] are typically provided in both cases so that the players can socially interact between (or during) games.
@@ Line 74: / Line 73: @@
 [[Algorithmic Agents]],
 [[Back-to-Back Game Sessions]],
 [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]],
 [[Easter Eggs]],

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 [[Meta Games]] can be created through requiring games to be played several times. [[Tournaments]] are classic examples of using [[Minigames]] together with [[Trans-Game Information]] to create [[Meta Games]]. Related to this is [[Team Development]] in games where the [[Teams]] are maintained between game instances (rather than all team matches being within the same game instance). A second group of examples are games with short [[Levels]] solved through [[Puzzle Solving]] where each level can be seen as its own game. A third group of examples use [[Back-to-Back Game Sessions]], which typically are used in games with [[Asymmetric Starting Conditions]] (e.g. [[Chess]] and [[Memoir '44]]).
-There are several types of [[Meta Games]] that can be used to let players compete against themselves or have additional challenges from a game. Both these may require several game instances to be played, but this differs from the previous cases by not specifying how many game instances are needed or if more than one is needed and if the games have [[Time Limited Game Instances]] players can have good control over how long time the [[Meta Games]] should take. [[High Score Lists]] and [[Speedruns]] allow players to try at have better gameplay performance that previous players while [[Easter Eggs]] can give purpose to carefully exploring [[Game Worlds]]. [[Open Destiny]] encourage players to replay games to see what variations in outcomes are possible for [[Player Characters]] or [[Non-Player Characters]]. [[Achievements]] of all types (i.e. [[Goal Achievements|Goal]], [[Grind Achievements|Grind]], [[Handicap Achievements|Handicap]], and [[Testing Achievements|Testing]]) can be used to let players have explicit [[Meta Games]] in wanting to collect them.
+There are several types of [[Meta Games]] that can be used to let players compete against themselves or have additional challenges from a game. Both these may require several game instances to be played, but this differs from the previous cases by not specifying how many game instances are needed or if more than one is needed and if the games have [[Time Limited Game Instances]] players can have good control over how long time the [[Meta Games]] should take. [[High Score Lists]] and [[Speedruns]] allow players to try at have better gameplay performance that previous players while [[Easter Eggs]] can give purpose to carefully exploring [[Game Worlds]]. [[Open Destiny]] encourage players to replay games to see what variations in outcomes are possible for [[Player Characters]] or [[Non-Player Characters]]. [[Achievements]] of all types (i.e. [[Goal Achievements|Goal]], [[Grind Achievements|Grind]], [[Handicap Achievements|Handicap]], and [[Testing Achievements|Testing]]) can be used to let players have explicit [[Meta Games]] in wanting to collect them. More generally, the presence of [[Optional Goals]] in any game allows players to create [[Meta Games]] depending on completing these [[Optional Goals]].
 The above suggestions for creating [[Meta Games]] can work for individual game consoles. However, by automating the transferal of [[Trans-Game Information]] players can be offered [[Meta Games]] involving many more players up to all players that have ever played the game. Examples of patterns that support these types of [[Meta Games]] include [[Global High Score Lists]], [[Handicap Systems]], and [[Public Player Statistics]]. [[Massively Single-Player Online Games]] also do this although less directly; here the other players' game instances do affect each other but not necessarily out of either [[Competition]] or [[Cooperation]]. Most of these solutions require [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] to keep track of gameplay statistics or handle resources. When the games these types of [[Meta Games]] are built upon have [[Time Limited Game Instances]], the effect is to provide players with [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] gameplay.
@@ Line 88: / Line 88: @@
 [[Mules]],
 [[Open Destiny]],
 [[Public Player Statistics]],
 [[Speedruns]],

@@ Line 28: / Line 28: @@
 == Consequences ==
-[[Meta Games]] make their underlying games have [[Extra-Game Consequences]] that affect the [[Meta Games]] through [[Trans-Game Information]]. This can modify players' [[Risk/Reward]] choices in the underlying game and allow [[Spectators]] of one game to be players in another game where they can make use of this [[Trans-Game Information]]. This can also make [[Single-Player Games]] have [[Multiplayer Games]] built on top of them simply because players can compare their game sessions. As people can create [[Meta Games]] based on any game design, avoiding the presence of the pattern is beyond game designers' control. This however shows how [[Meta Games]] allow players to create their own [[Player Defined Goals]].
+[[Meta Games]] make their underlying games have [[Extra-Game Consequences]] that affect the [[Meta Games]] through [[Trans-Game Information]], or from the perspective of the underlying games create [[Extra-Game Actions]] in relation to those games. This can modify players' [[Risk/Reward]] choices in the underlying game and allow [[Spectators]] of one game to be players in another game where they can make use of this [[Trans-Game Information]]. This can also make [[Single-Player Games]] have [[Multiplayer Games]] built on top of them simply because players can compare their game sessions. As people can create [[Meta Games]] based on any game design, avoiding the presence of the pattern is beyond game designers' control. This however shows how [[Meta Games]] allow players to create their own [[Player Defined Goals]].
 [[Meta Games]] built on having inner games with [[Time Limited Game Instances]], e.g. [[Poker]], make it easy for players of [[Self-Facilitated Games]] to have [[Negotiable Game Instance Duration]] for the [[Meta Games]] since players can after each finished game instance make a decision on continuing to play or not. However, it can also cause [[Downtime]] to players that have to wait for other players' game sessions to end due to [[Unsynchronized Game Sessions]].

@@ Line 38: / Line 38: @@
 == Relations ==
 === Can Instantiate ===
 [[Extra-Game Consequences]],
 [[Perceivable Margins]],

@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 [[Meta Games]] built on having inner games with [[Time Limited Game Instances]], e.g. [[Poker]], make it easy for players of [[Self-Facilitated Games]] to have [[Negotiable Game Instance Duration]] for the [[Meta Games]] since players can after each finished game instance make a decision on continuing to play or not. However, it can also cause [[Downtime]] to players that have to wait for other players' game sessions to end due to [[Unsynchronized Game Sessions]].
-Since [[Meta Games]] can create [[Perceivable Margins]] regarding player skills, they do modulate [[Game Mastery]] through making it easier to notice those who are experts in a game. One way this can materialize is through the use of persistent [[Handicap Systems]] that rate player skills, something found for example in [[Go]] and [[Golf]], and these ratings in effect become a form of "meta" [[Scores|Score]]. For [[Unwinnable Games]], having [[Meta Games]] on top of them can provide goals and motivations on trying to progress further than one otherwise might care to do. All [[Meta Games]] that require players to engage in several game instances of a game give this game [[Replayability]].
+Since [[Meta Games]] can create [[Perceivable Margins]] regarding player skills, they do modulate [[Gameplay Mastery]] through making it easier to notice those who are experts in a game. One way this can materialize is through the use of persistent [[Handicap Systems]] that rate player skills, something found for example in [[Go]] and [[Golf]], and these ratings in effect become a form of "meta" [[Scores|Score]]. For [[Unwinnable Games]], having [[Meta Games]] on top of them can provide goals and motivations on trying to progress further than one otherwise might care to do. All [[Meta Games]] that require players to engage in several game instances of a game give this game [[Replayability]].
 [[Meta Games]] based on players having [[Creative Control]] on how to construction [[Algorithmic Agents]], e.g. [[Crobots]], can give rise to games with [[No Direct Player Influence]].
@@ Line 63: / Line 63: @@
 === Can Modulate ===
-[[Game Mastery]],
+[[Gameplay Mastery]],
 [[Risk/Reward]],
 [[Spectators]],