Multiplayer Games - Revision history

Staffan Björk at 13:39, 1 April 2022

2022-04-01T13:39:12Z

Staffan Björk: /* Potentially Conflicting With */

2018-03-21T15:24:11Z

‎Potentially Conflicting With

Staffan Björk: /* Using the pattern */

2018-03-18T21:34:32Z

‎Using the pattern

Staffan Björk: /* Potentially Conflicting With */

2018-03-18T21:30:53Z

‎Potentially Conflicting With

Staffan Björk at 14:00, 26 July 2016

2016-07-26T14:00:35Z

Staffan Björk: /* Can Instantiate */

2016-07-16T10:19:03Z

‎Can Instantiate

Staffan Björk at 10:18, 16 July 2016

2016-07-16T10:18:20Z

Staffan Björk at 09:34, 14 July 2016

2016-07-14T09:34:46Z

Staffan Björk at 13:24, 28 October 2015

2015-10-28T13:24:56Z

Staffan Björk at 14:00, 11 August 2015

2015-08-11T14:00:53Z

@@ Line 46: / Line 46: @@
 === Interface Aspects ===
-Most [[Multiplayer Games]] need additional interfaces to provide the [[Communication Channels]] needed for [[Coordination]] or [[Social Interaction]], e.g. voice chats to give near [[Unmediated Social Interaction]] or quick message systems of [[Game-Defined Vocabulary]] to control what information is passed. An exception to this is games that use [[Split-Screen Views]] or [[Hotseating]], which either enable multiplayer gaming or allow players alternatives to how to play the games together.
+Most [[Multiplayer Games]] need additional interfaces to provide the [[Communication Channels]] needed for [[Coordination]], [[Social Interaction]], or [[Reflective Communication]], e.g. voice chats to give near [[Unmediated Social Interaction]] or quick message systems of [[Game-Defined Vocabulary]] to control what information is passed. An exception to this is games that use [[Split-Screen Views]] or [[Hotseating]], which either enable multiplayer gaming or allow players alternatives to how to play the games together.
 [[Save-Load Cycles]] are more cumbersome to use in [[Multiplayer Games]], since players must negotiate when to load previous game states.
@@ Line 215: / Line 215: @@
 [[Private Game Spaces]],
 [[Races]],
 [[Sabotage]],
 [[Sanctioned Cheating]],

@@ Line 258: / Line 258: @@
 [[Save Points]] unless the [[Multiplayer Games|Multiplayer Game]] has [[Cooperation]] between all players
-==== with [[Gameplay Mastery]], [[Skills]], [[Tools]], or [[Vehicles]] ====
+==== with [[Gameplay Mastery]], [[Skills]], [[Tools]], [Vehicles]], or [[Weapons]] ====
 [[Player Balance]]

@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 In games with large [[Game Worlds]], players may not encounter each other unless the design of the [[Game Worlds]] promotes this. Examples of features that can be used to herd players together are [[Arenas]], [[Choke Points]], and (quite naturally) [[Check Points]].
-Many design choices are unique to [[Multiplayer Games]] or are significantly modified by the presence of other players: [[Smooth Learning Curves]] and providing [[Player Balance]] can be more difficult to achieve, especially when [[Gameplay Mastery]] is possible, although [[Balancing Effects]] (for example through [[Game State Overviews]] and either [[Player Decided Results]] or [[Player-Decided Distributions]]) and systems for [[Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment]] can help. These issues, and in general having [[Challenging Gameplay]], can be achieved also through [[Handicap Systems]] such as [[Asymmetric Resource Distribution]] and differences in [[Skills]], [[Vehicles]], and [[Tools]] (although these can also be the original source of the imbalances). [[Game Masters]] and to a lesser degree [[Entitled Players]] can be used for this and can allow the other players greater [[Freedom of Choice]] and [[Exaggerated Perception of Influence]]. An oddity for [[Multiplayer Games]] is that [[Sanctioned Cheating]] does not have to be for personal gains, players may engage in it also to maintain [[Player Balance]].
+Many design choices are unique to [[Multiplayer Games]] or are significantly modified by the presence of other players: [[Smooth Learning Curves]] and providing [[Player Balance]] can be more difficult to achieve, especially when [[Gameplay Mastery]] is possible, although [[Balancing Effects]] (for example through [[Game State Overviews]] and either [[Player Decided Results]] or [[Player-Decided Distributions]]) and systems for [[Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment]] can help. Issues which can make [[Player Balance]] in [[Multiplayer Games]] with [[Persistent Game Worlds]]
 [[Multiplayer Games]] have the possibility of using [[Heterogeneous Game Element Ownership]], as for example done by [[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]] or [[Magic: The Gathering]]. This is typically combined with [[Construction]] to allow [[Strategic Planning]] and setting up for [[Combos]], and leads to [[Game Element Trading]] and that players share [[Strategic Knowledge]] as a form of [[Trans-Game Information]].

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:30, 18 March 2018
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	==== with [[Gameplay Mastery]], [[Skills]], [[Tools]], or [[Vehicles]] ====		==== with [[Gameplay Mastery]], [[Skills]], [[Tools]], or [[Vehicles]] ====
		+	[[Player Balance]]
		+
		+	==== with [[Abstract Player Construct Development]], [[Character Development]], or [[Crafting]] in [[Persistent Game Worlds]] ====
	[[Player Balance]]		[[Player Balance]]

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 Given that [[Asymmetric Starting Conditions]] may more or less be impossible to avoid (especially if [[Late Arriving Players]] are allowed), designers of [[Multiplayer Games]] need to consider how much this should be allowed to affect the overall gameplay, and how to achieve the wanted level of asymmetry.
-A basic decision regarding [[Multiplayer Games]] is if the primary gameplay resolves around [[PvE]] (Players vs. Environments) as in [[Space Alert]] and [[Left 4 Dead series]] or [[PvP]] (Players vs. Players) as in [[Chess]], [[Go]], and [[Quake series]]. [[PvP]] gameplay is typically design around [[Conflicts]] between the players or [[Races]]; the use of [[Scores]] is a common way of achieving the latter and [[Secret Scoring Mechanisms]] can be used to cause uncertainty of who is leading in these cases. [[Secret Goals]] can in general achieve the same effects as [[Secret Scoring Mechanisms]]. [[PvP]] games can make use of [[Teams]], as in [[Battlefield 1942]] and [[Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory]], which can be combined with [[PvE]] gameplay as in the [[Defense of the Ancients series]] or [[World of Warcraft]]. [[Alliances]], [[Guilds]], and [[Parties]] can also be used to support [[PvP]] gameplay but can equally well support [[PvE]]. In both cases, they support [[Coordination]] and [[Cooperation]] and by that also [[Stimulated Planning]]. To encourage [[Cooperation]] further in these types of games, [[Asymmetric Abilities]] and [[Privileged Abilities]] can either suggest or require [[Functional Roles]] through a use of [[Orthogonal Differentiation]] of abilities to enable [[Team Combos]]; [[Crossmedia Gameplay]] can effectively be used for these purposes since it can create [[Functional Roles]] in [[Multiplayer Games]]. These solutions may be of a more permanent nature through the use of [[Characters]] (possibly influenced over time through [[Character Development]]) or more context-dependent. A specific example of the latter is [[Asymmetric Roles]] in [[Vehicles]], e.g. the division between driving vehicles and manning the weapons mounted on them in the [[Battlefield series]]. [[Teams]] may also allow for [[Gameplay Mastery]] by allowing [[Team Development]] as well as individual [[Competence Areas]] to develop over time. When the games also have [[Meta Games]] such as [[Tournaments]] or [[Massively Multiplayer Online Games]] with [[Persistent Game Worlds]], [[Community Functionality]] supports [[Strategic Planning]] and [[Group Belonging]]. [[Friendly Fire]], [[Inherent Mistrust]], and the possibility of [[Sabotage]] can be used when making games where one wishes to limit the amount of [[Cooperation]] or make it more difficult within [[Teams]]. Any [[Multiplayer Games|Multiplayer Game]] with [[Eliminate]] goals or having events leading to the destruction of players' [[Avatars]] or other types of [[Player Killing]] needs to consider if [[Early Elimination]] is wanted or how this should be avoided by inserting players' [[Avatars]] again through [[Spawning]]. Similar issues need to be regarding in [[Unwinnable Games]] since these will result in [[Early Leaving Players]] (and designers might want to consider this for all types of [[Multiplayer Games]] to counter the effects of [[Early Leaving Players]] in general). One reason why [[Early Elimination]], which can be both in the form of [[Player Elimination]] and [[Team Elimination]], can be wanted is that one wants to use the [[Last Man Standing]] goal so that the last player(s) having [[Lives]] left wins. [[Races]] in [[Multiplayer Games]] is probably the most classic way of achieving [[Competitions]] rather than [[Conflicts]] in [[PvP]] games, and this does so by creating [[Symmetric Goals]] for them. The use of [[Private Game Spaces]] offers another design possibility regarding this.
+A basic decision regarding [[Multiplayer Games]] is if the primary gameplay resolves around [[PvE]] (Players vs. Environments) as in [[Space Alert]] and [[Left 4 Dead series]] or [[PvP]] (Players vs. Players) as in [[Chess]], [[Go]], and [[Quake series]]. [[PvP]] gameplay is typically design around [[Conflicts]] between the players or [[Races]]; the use of [[Scores]] is a common way of achieving the latter and [[Secret Scoring Mechanisms]] can be used to cause uncertainty of who is leading in these cases. [[Secret Goals]] can in general achieve the same effects as [[Secret Scoring Mechanisms]]. [[PvP]] games can make use of [[Teams]], as in [[Battlefield 1942]] and [[Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory]], which can be combined with [[PvE]] gameplay as in the [[Defense of the Ancients series]] or [[World of Warcraft]]. [[Alliances]], [[Guilds]], and [[Parties]] can also be used to support [[PvP]] gameplay but can equally well support [[PvE]]. In both cases, they support [[Coordination]] and [[Cooperation]] and by that also [[Stimulated Planning]]. To encourage [[Cooperation]] further in these types of games, [[Asymmetric Abilities]] and [[Privileged Abilities]] can either suggest or require [[Functional Roles]] through a use of [[Orthogonal Differentiation]] of abilities to enable [[Team Combos]]; [[Crossmedia Gameplay]] can effectively be used for these purposes since it can create [[Functional Roles]] in [[Multiplayer Games]]. These solutions may be of a more permanent nature through the use of [[Characters]] (possibly influenced over time through [[Character Development]]) or more context-dependent. A specific example of the latter is [[Asymmetric Roles]] in [[Vehicles]], e.g. the division between driving vehicles and manning the weapons mounted on them in the [[Battlefield series]]. [[Teams]] may also allow for [[Gameplay Mastery]] by allowing [[Team Development]] as well as individual [[Competence Areas]] to develop over time. When the games also have [[Meta Games]] such as [[Tournaments]] or [[Massively Multiplayer Online Games]] with [[Persistent Game Worlds]], [[Community Functionality]] supports [[Strategic Planning]] and [[Group Belonging]]. [[Friendly Fire]], [[Inherent Mistrust]], and the possibility of [[Sabotage]] can be used when making games where one wishes to limit the amount of [[Cooperation]] or make it more difficult within [[Teams]]. Any [[Multiplayer Games|Multiplayer Game]] with [[Eliminate]] goals or having events leading to the destruction of players' [[Avatars]] or other types of [[Player Killing]] needs to consider if [[Early Elimination]] is wanted or how this should be avoided by inserting players' [[Avatars]] again through [[Spawning]]. Similar issues need to be regarding in [[Unwinnable Games]] or those where players can perceive [[Unwinnable Game States]] (true or not) since these will result in [[Early Leaving Players]] (and designers might want to consider this for all types of [[Multiplayer Games]] to counter the effects of [[Early Leaving Players]] in general). One reason why [[Early Elimination]], which can be both in the form of [[Player Elimination]] and [[Team Elimination]], can be wanted is that one wants to use the [[Last Man Standing]] goal so that the last player(s) having [[Lives]] left wins. [[Races]] in [[Multiplayer Games]] is probably the most classic way of achieving [[Competitions]] rather than [[Conflicts]] in [[PvP]] games, and this does so by creating [[Symmetric Goals]] for them. The use of [[Private Game Spaces]] offers another design possibility regarding this.
 Unless a [[Possibility of Anonymity]] is aimed for, it is important for [[Multiplayer Games]] to help players identify each other, e.g. making [[Avatars]] unique through attaching [[Handles]] or allowing [[Avatar Personalization]]. One reason for this is that players typically need to engage in [[Extra-Game Actions]] such as [[Coordination]] in [[Multiplayer Games]] with [[Teams]] or other types of [[Cooperation]], and [[Bragging]], [[Negotiation]], and [[Trading]] even in those where there is no [[Cooperation]]. While games played with the players located in immediate proximity of each other can make use of [[Unmediated Social Interaction]], online games typically achieved this through providing the possibility of different types of [[Communication Channels]], e.g. [[Game-Defined Vocabulary]]. [[Game State Overviews]] makes [[Coordination]] easier regardless of players' actual location, and can be achieved either through [[Mini-maps]] found in games such as the [[Civilization (video game) series|Civilization series]] or [[World of Warcraft]]. [[Virtual Co-Presences]] also supports this, and can be encouraged by [[Geospatial Game Widgets]] to locate each other (as done in the [[Left 4 Dead series]]). Having [[Diegetically Outstanding Features]] in [[Game Worlds]] can help provide common points of reference to help [[Coordination]], point out potential rewards of [[Team Combos]], and the risks of [[Helplessness]]. In contrast, the [[ESP Game]] relies on players not being able to directly communicate with each other so it takes precautions to not match players together with network addresses which may indicate close proximity to each other.
@@ Line 147: / Line 147: @@
 [[Analysis Paralysis]], [[Downtime]]
-==== with [[Unwinnable Games]] ====
+==== with [[Unwinnable Game States]] or [[Unwinnable Games]] ====
 [[Early Leaving Players]]

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 ==== with [[Game Over]] ====
 [[Unsynchronized Game Sessions]]
 ==== with [[Lives]] ====

@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
 [[Multiplayer Games]] opens up the possibility for [[Bidding]], [[Delayed Reciprocity]], [[Negotiation]], [[Trading]], and [[Trick Taking]], and some of these can include game rules related to [[Player-Decided Distributions]] and [[Player Decided Results]]. This can easily led to [[Social Dilemmas]] in games with [[Teams]] but some [[PvE]] games intentionally introduce this, e.g. [[The Republic of Rome]] that pit players individual goals against that of the group or [[Intrigue]] and [[So Long Sucker]] which more or less force players to betray each other. In [[Multiplayer Games]] with [[Helplessness]], similar effects can arise if players have the possibility of rescuing each other.
-In games with large [[Game Worlds]], players may not encounter each other unless the design of the [[Game Worlds]] promotes this. Examples of features that can be used to herd players together are [[Arenas]], [[Choke Points]], and (quite naturally) [[Goal Points]].
+In games with large [[Game Worlds]], players may not encounter each other unless the design of the [[Game Worlds]] promotes this. Examples of features that can be used to herd players together are [[Arenas]], [[Choke Points]], and (quite naturally) [[Check Points]].
 Many design choices are unique to [[Multiplayer Games]] or are significantly modified by the presence of other players: [[Smooth Learning Curves]] and providing [[Player Balance]] can be more difficult to achieve, especially when [[Gameplay Mastery]] is possible, although [[Balancing Effects]] and systems for [[Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment]] can help. These issues, and in general having [[Challenging Gameplay]], can be achieved also through [[Handicap Systems]] such as [[Asymmetric Resource Distribution]] and differences in [[Skills]], [[Vehicles]], and [[Tools]] (although these can also be the original source of the imbalances). [[Game Masters]] and to a lesser degree [[Entitled Players]] can be used for this and can allow the other players greater [[Freedom of Choice]] and [[Exaggerated Perception of Influence]]. An oddity for [[Multiplayer Games]] is that [[Sanctioned Cheating]] does not have to be for personal gains, players may engage in it also to maintain [[Player Balance]].
@@ Line 176: / Line 176: @@
 [[Arenas]],
 [[Asymmetric Abilities]], [[Asymmetric Roles]], [[Asymmetric Starting Conditions]], [[Avatar Personalization]],
-[[Bidding]], [[Characters]],
+[[Bidding]],
 [[Choke Points]],
 [[Communication Channels]], [[Community Functionality]],
@@ Line 189: / Line 191: @@
 [[Friend Lists]],
 [[Functional Roles]], [[Game-Defined Vocabulary]], [[Game Masters]], [[Game State Overviews]],
 [[Guilds]],
 [[Handicap Systems]], [[Handles]], [[Heterogeneous Game Element Ownership]],

@@ Line 70: / Line 70: @@
 While all [[Multiplayer Games]] can result in [[Early Leaving Players]], those that are [[Unwinnable Games]] are more or less guaranteed to have this pattern emerge.
 == Relations ==
@@ Line 248: / Line 250: @@
 [[Freedom of Choice]] when [[Multiplayer Games]] are also [[Turn-Based Games]] or have [[Predetermined Story Structures]]
 ==== with [[Gameplay Mastery]], [[Skills]], [[Tools]], or [[Vehicles]] ====

@@ Line 61: / Line 61: @@
 Viewing other players as [[Enemies]] is also likely in those games that have [[Ephemeral Goals]] since these allow [[Preventing Goals]] to emerge for the other players when they themselves appear.
-The gameplay in [[Multiplayer Games]] naturally provide [[Mutual Experiences]] as long as the players have some direct interaction with each other, and often make individual [[Enemies]] into [[Mutual Enemies]]. [[Team Accomplishments]], [[Mutual FUBAR Enjoyment]], or simply [[Team Strategy Identification]] follows for [[Multiplayer Games]] with [[Guilds]], [[Parties]], [[PvE]], or [[Teams]] (and [[FUBAR Enjoyment]] in the case of [[Mutual FUBAR Enjoyment]]). [[Helplessness]] and [[Rescue]] goals where one player can [[Rescue]] another can create [[Mutual FUBAR Enjoyment]] from [[FUBAR Enjoyment]] in [[Multiplayer]] games without any actual requirements of the players cooperating. [[Group Belonging]] is also likely to be experienced, and this may sometimes occur anyway since all players of a game instance can be seen as a group. When some players of [[Multiplayer Games]] misbehave or simply the players cannot find common ground on how the games should be played, the use of [[Player Kicking]] can let the activity continue after removing some players. All of these effects of [[Multiplayer Games]] also work towards making watching gameplay more interesting for [[Spectators]]. In contrast, [[Multiplayer Games]] can easily have problems with supporting [[Interruptibility]] for individual players; [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] gameplay is one way to overcome this.
+The gameplay in [[Multiplayer Games]] naturally provide [[Mutual Experiences]] as long as the players have some direct interaction with each other, and often make individual [[Enemies]] into [[Mutual Enemies]]. [[Team Accomplishments]], [[Mutual FUBAR Enjoyment]], or simply [[Team Strategy Identification]] follows for [[Multiplayer Games]] with [[Guilds]], [[Parties]], [[PvE]], or [[Teams]] (and [[FUBAR Enjoyment]] in the case of [[Mutual FUBAR Enjoyment]]). [[Helplessness]], [[Mutual Goals]], and [[Rescue]] goals where one player can [[Rescue]] another can create [[Mutual FUBAR Enjoyment]] from [[FUBAR Enjoyment]] in [[Multiplayer]] games without any actual requirements of the players cooperating. [[Group Belonging]] is also likely to be experienced, and this may sometimes occur anyway since all players of a game instance can be seen as a group. When some players of [[Multiplayer Games]] misbehave or simply the players cannot find common ground on how the games should be played, the use of [[Player Kicking]] can let the activity continue after removing some players. All of these effects of [[Multiplayer Games]] also work towards making watching gameplay more interesting for [[Spectators]]. In contrast, [[Multiplayer Games]] can easily have problems with supporting [[Interruptibility]] for individual players; [[Drop-In/Drop-Out]] gameplay is one way to overcome this.
 It can be difficult to have [[Extra Chances]] in [[Multiplayer Games]] since letting one player undo an effect in a game easily disrupts the other players gameplay experience and may ruin their [[Value of Effort]]. Similarly, [[Negotiable Play Sessions]] and [[Negotiable Game Sessions]] are not inherently compatible with [[Multiplayer Games]] since one player leaving a game instance may unbalance or ruin the gameplay for the remaining players. Supporting [[Social Adaptability]] can be problematic for [[Multiplayer Games]] for the same reason, and in addition questions may appear about which rules to use or to change.
@@ Line 115: / Line 115: @@
 [[Varied Gameplay]]
-==== with [[FUBAR Enjoyment]] and [[Helplessness]], [[Parties]], [[PvE]], [[Rescue]], or [[Teams]] ====
+==== with [[FUBAR Enjoyment]] and [[Helplessness]], [[Mutual Goals]], [[Parties]], [[PvE]], [[Rescue]], or [[Teams]] ====
 [[Mutual FUBAR Enjoyment]]