Difference between revisions of "Game World Exploration"

Revision as of 13:01, 5 September 2011

The goal of learning the layout of a game world, or locating specific parts or objects within it.

This pattern is a still a stub.

In games where the whole Game World is not know at the beginning of the game, it is often advantageous to try and acquire this knowledge during gameplay. Typically examples of this use of Exploration can be found in real-time strategy games, first-person shooters, and roleplaying games.

Examples

Example: Games in the Civilization series start with the players knowing very little about the Game World. A prerequisite for being able to plan on a higher level against the other players or how to expand one's civilization depends on completing as much Exploration of the world as possible.

Left 4 Dead series Assassin's Creed series

Grand Theft Auto series

Minecraft

Elder Scrolls series

Just Cause series

Using the pattern

A prerequisite for needing to engage in game World Exploration is that something needs to be found (or surveyed) in a Game World and that this is non-trivial to do.

The definition of an Exploration goal is by its nature fuzzy. The player is given the task that there is something important to find in an unknown territory in the Game World, either specific game elements or Strategic Locations, but the exact locations of the Goal Points are not known. However, the exact nature of what is to be found does not have to be explicitly known either, giving game designers two different options for Surprises. Exploration often makes use of Supporting Goals that provide partial information of how to find the main goal of the search.

For Exploration to be used, games need to provide a form of Movement in the game space that in non-linear, so that a player has to decide in which direction to explore. That said, the area to be explored may be predetermined or be created using Randomness or a game board constructed by another player. The latter supports Replayability while the former can more easily provide a Narrative Structure or Surprises.

Resources, Outstanding Features, Obstacles,Traces, and Clues are typically used in designing the Game World to support Exploration and give points of reference. Enemies and Deadly Traps are also commonly used to provide Optional Goals or increase the Tension at certain points. Easter Eggs are special cases that provide extra-game rewardsfor Exploration. The design of the area in which the Exploration goal is situated can be postponed by using Tile-Laying to create the Game World as it is being explored.

Common reasons for Exploration besides explicitly given goals are the known existences of Secret Resources, for example, Resources needed to perform Construction actions. When these Resources are also Shared Resources, they put players in Races against each other. The use of Levels guarantees a form of Exploration goal, since the unvisited Levels are unexplored areas. The knowledge that Resource Generators exist is a motivation for Exploration in real-time strategy games.

Illusionary Rewards of finding aesthetically pleasing Diegetically Outstanding Features

Can Be Instantiated By

Avatars, Detective Structures, , Grind Achievements, Levels, Movement Pick-Ups, Procedurally Generated Game Worlds, Props, Fog of War Reconfigurable Game Worlds, Secret Areas, Strategic Locations, Tile-Laying

Persistent Game Worlds together with Evolving Rule Sets or Expansions

Can Be Modulated By

Clues, Diegetically Outstanding Features, Enemies, Fog of War Landmarks, Props, Traces

Mini-maps

The pattern can be seen as a special case of combining the goals of Traverse and Gain Information, and - like the latter of these - requires either Imperfect Information or Uncertainty of Information. Game World Exploration differs from Reconnaissance in that the places, areas, and area boundaries are not known and the player has to get more information about them when there is Fog of War.

Diegetic Aspects

Interface Aspects

Narrative Aspects

Consequences

Game World Exploration is in essence the aim of finding game elements or charting Game Worlds. While this is typically done through Movement, the actual traversal done while doing this is not so important as the exploratory action this provides (see Linderoth 2010^[1] for a discussion on performatory and exploratory actions in games). The activity requires Game World Navigation and Memorizing of the layout unless some Game State Overviews, e.g. Mini-maps, shows the already-explored areas. The use of Mini-maps can through this modulate Game World Exploration but when they show the layout of parts of Game Worlds that have not yet been visited it instead works against the purpose of having exploration goals.

As Game World Exploration relies upon the environment being unknown to players, the presence of goals related to this ensure that players have Limited Foresight and may experience Surprises. The possibility of Surprises and the feeling of discovering new places - including the Illusionary Rewards of finding aesthetically pleasing Diegetically Outstanding Features - can give players Spatial Engrossment while undertaking Game World Exploration. One special case relate to this is Easter Eggs - although these need to exist independently of goals of exploring Game Worlds, providing goals of Game World Exploration can be said to instantiate them since players would otherwise be very unlikely to ever encounter them.

The Uncertainty of Information or Limited Foresight required of Game World Exploration can be linked to the development of players' skills at playing a game. By coupling the search for Strategic Locations with their introduction into gameplay, a game can provide Smooth Learning Curves to novice players.

Game World Exploration has a dual relation to Quests. While some Quests can require players to engage in exploration, others that have known locations that should be visited can instead discourage players from engaging in exploration since this is unnecessary from an local efficiency perspective.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Easter Eggs, Game World Navigation, Limited Foresight, Memorizing, Spatial Engrossment, Surprises, Quests

with Strategic Locations

Smooth Learning Curves

Can Modulate

Game Worlds

Can Be Instantiated By

Avatars, Detective Structures, Fog of War, Game Worlds, Grind Achievements, Imperfect Information, Levels, Movement, Pick-Ups, Procedurally Generated Game Worlds, Props, Reconfigurable Game Worlds, Secret Areas, Strategic Locations, Tile-Laying, Uncertainty of Information

Gain Information together with Traverse

Persistent Game Worlds together with Evolving Rule Sets or Expansions

Can Be Modulated By

Clues, Diegetically Outstanding Features, Enemies, Fog of War, Game State Overviews, Landmarks, Mini-maps, Props, Traces

Possible Closure Effects

-

Potentially Conflicting With

Mini-maps, Quests

History

An updated version of the pattern Exploration that was part of the original collection in the book Patterns in Game Design^[2].

References

1. ↑ Linderoth, J. (2010). Why gamers donʼt learn more - An ecological approach to games as learning environment, in Nordic DiGRA 2010.
2. ↑ Björk, S. & Holopainen, J. (2004) Patterns in Game Design. Charles River Media. ISBN1-58450-354-8.

Acknowledgements

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