Difference between revisions of "God Views"

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[[Category:Platform Patterns]]
 
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''Presentations of game worlds free of specific relations to entities within these game worlds.''
  
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''Players are given a view of the game independent of game elements.''
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Many games that intrinsically tie gameplay to specific game elements also tie the presentation of their game worlds to these game elements. In contrast, games that do not focus on specific game elements - or let players switch between several specific game elements - can instead use [[God Views]] to give players an unrestricted view of the worlds that can be changed interdependently of what is contained within them.
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This pattern is a still a stub.
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Some games do not associate the user's focus of attention in a game with any particular game element. In these games the view the user has of the game is likewise independent of game elements, similar to the omniscience of a God Views.
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=== Examples ===
 
=== Examples ===
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Example: SimCity allows players to move around the city without having to consider the locations of any individual game element such as cars or pedestrians.
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By their definition, [[:Category:Perfect Information Games|Perfect Information Games]] such as [[Chess]], [[Go]], and [[Hex]] have [[God Views]] although over rather limited game worlds. The various types of strategy games, e.g. the [[Civilization (video game) series|Civilization]], [[Europa Universalis series|Europa Universalis]], and the [[Starcraft series]] all also make use of [[God Views]] but often hide the presences of faraway units with a fog of war. [[Populous]], as an example of a god game, unsurprisingly provides players with a [[God Views|God View]].
  
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Example: Populous, as an example of a god game unsurprisingly provides players with God Views.
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Early [[:Category:Arcade Games|Arcade Games]] such as [[Asteroids]], [[Centipede]], and [[Pac-Man]] provided players with entire levels at a time where all areas were visible simultaneously. This is still common in computer-based [[:Category:Puzzle Games|Puzzle Games]] such as [[Peggle]] and [[Sokoban]]; [[Cogs]] and [[Continuity]] do at time not show the entire levels to players but have [[God Views]] since players can freely navigate to any part of a puzzle.
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[[Europa Universalis series]]
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[[Hearts of Iron series]]
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[[Starcraft series]]
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[[Warcraft series]]
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nearly
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[[Asteroids]], [[Centipede]], [[Pac-Man]]
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[[Sokoban]]
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The [[SimCity series]] allows players to move around the city without having to consider the locations of any individual game element such as cars or pedestrians. The [[Sims series]] does likewise but players can let their viewpoint be looked on particular Sims in third-person views so they do not have to move their viewpoints to watch the Sims as they move about in the game environment.
  
 
== Using the pattern ==
 
== Using the pattern ==
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Similar to Third-Person Views, games with God Views that require Imperfect Information about the terrain in the Game World must either use Fog of War or divide the game area into sections. The use of God Views does not have to be omnipotent; the view of a Game World can easily be restricted by restricting the movement and direction of the Camera use to provide the God View.
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The two main components of providing [[God Views]] in games is [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] that can create presentations of [[Game Worlds]] and [[Cameras]] that allow players to change their view point of those [[Game Worlds]]. When [[Game Masters]] are the [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] the [[Cameras]] are implicitly present, and when [[God Views]] are part of [[Cutscenes]] the [[Cameras]] may also be absent since the "camera" movement can be completely predetermined. [[First-Person Views]] and [[Third-Person Views]] are not directly compatible with [[God Views]]. However, in games where players switch between different [[Focus Loci]], [[Third-Person Views]] can replace [[God Views]] when [[Focus Loci]] have been selected to make it easier to perceive which [[Focus Loci]] is used as gameplay unfolds. [[Vision Modes]] are not as commonly used for [[God Views]] as other types of views but can serve a purpose in avoiding information overload in complex games with [[God Views]] (e.g. the [[Europa Universalis series]]) by separating all the information available into several different views. [[Point of Interest Indicators]] can more easily be used with [[God Views]] than other views without breaking [[Diegetic Consistency]].
  
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does not necessarily mean omniscience
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Having a [[God Views|God View]] in a game does not necessarily infer that one is omniscience (i.e. have [[Perfect Information]]); [[Fog of War]] is quite often used to make it possible for players to experience [[Surprises]] even if they have [[God Views]]. Other ways to achieve this is to provide opponents with secret [[Hands]] (as [[Memoir '44]]) does but this is not actually modifying the presentation of the [[Game Worlds|Game World]].
  
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[[Fog of War]]
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[[God Views]] can be used to create [[Public Information]] that provides [[Spectators]] with more information about the gameplay than players have.
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[[Third-Person Views]] are not directly compatible with [[God Views]] and [[First-Person Views]], although [[Third-Person Views]] may occur occasionally through reflections and recordings in games with [[First-Person Views]] (e.g. through mirror or surveillance devices). However, as long as gameplay balance or [[Surprises]] are not disrupted, it is quite common for games to allow players to switch between [[First-Person Views]] and [[Third-Person Views]]; examples of games that allow this include the [[Need for Speed series]] and the [[Elder Scroll series]]. [[Third-Person Views]] can also be used to help position players by locking onto selected [[Focus Loci]] in games; this is done in games with [[God Views]] where players have choices exist on which [[Focus Loci]] to use. Some games that mainly use [[Third-Person Views]] replace this with [[First-Person Views]] for certain [[Aim & Shoot]] actions. Examples of games that do this include [[The Legend of Zelda series]] and the [[Grand Theft Auto series]]. In contrast, games with [[First-Person Views]] may introduce [[Third-Person Views]] when showing [[Killcams]] or [[Cutscenes]].
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=== Can Be Instantiated By ===
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[[Cutscenes]],
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[[Dedicated Game Facilitators]]
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=== Can Be Modulated By ===
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[[God Fingers]],
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[[Third-Person Views]]
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=== Diegetic Aspects ===
 
=== Diegetic Aspects ===
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[[God Views]] is an [[:Category:Diegetic Patterns|Diegetic Pattern]].
  
 
=== Interface Aspects ===
 
=== Interface Aspects ===
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[[God Views]] is an [[:Category:Interface Patterns|Interface Pattern]]. As their names suggest, [[God Fingers]] are natural choices for [[Focus Loci]] in games with [[God Views]]. They can make some goals, e.g. [[Reconnaissance]] trivial, unless modulated by [[Fog of War]] or other ways of hiding information.
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=== Narrative Aspects ===
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== Consequences ==
 
== Consequences ==
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[[God Views]] provide [[Game State Overviews]] over [[Game Worlds]] and allow these overviews to be easily and quickly moved, making them ideal for [[Attention Swapping]] but hindering [[Spatial Engrossment]] and making [[Aim & Shoot]] actions difficult. They do not easily work with [[Avatars]] as the link between player attention and the [[Avatars]] is weak, but in games with [[Third-Person Views]] it is possible to use [[God Views]] without this issue to do general navigation and support the movement between [[Focus Loci]] that are to be controlled.
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[[God Views]] provide [[Game State Overviews]] over [[Game Worlds]] and allow these overviews to be easily and quickly moved, making them ideal for [[Attention Swapping]] but hindering [[Spatial Engrossment]]. These types of views also make [[Aim & Shoot]] actions difficult and  can make [[Game World Navigation]] trivial. They do not easily work with [[Avatars]] as the link between player attention and the [[Avatars]] is weak, but it is possible in games with [[Third-Person Views]] to use [[God Views]] without this issue to do general navigation and support the movement between [[Focus Loci]] that are to be controlled.
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. Sometimes Public Information uses God Views to provide the Spectators with more information than is given to the players.
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[[God Views]] can influence the [[Freedom of Choice]] players have both by allowing them to vary their view on the gameplay and by making it easier to spot the actual possible actions they have.
 
[[God Views]] can influence the [[Freedom of Choice]] players have both by allowing them to vary their view on the gameplay and by making it easier to spot the actual possible actions they have.
  
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== Relations ==
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Games with [[God Views]] and [[Player Characters]] cannot easily enforce that players only can perceive what the [[Player Characters]] do, and therefore make it difficult to have [[Player/Character Awareness Consistency]]. An exception would be omniscience [[Player Characters]] but these would strain the concept of [[Characters]].
  
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== Relations ==
 
=== Can Instantiate ===
 
=== Can Instantiate ===
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[[Game State Overviews]]
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[[Game State Overviews]],
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[[Public Information]]
  
 
=== Can Modulate ===
 
=== Can Modulate ===
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=== Can Be Instantiated By ===
 
=== Can Be Instantiated By ===
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[[Cameras]],
 
[[Cutscenes]],  
 
[[Cutscenes]],  
 
[[Dedicated Game Facilitators]]
 
[[Dedicated Game Facilitators]]
  
 
=== Can Be Modulated By ===
 
=== Can Be Modulated By ===
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[[Fog of War]],
 
[[God Fingers]],  
 
[[God Fingers]],  
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[[Point of Interest Indicators]],
 
[[Third-Person Views]]
 
[[Third-Person Views]]
  
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[[Aim & Shoot]],  
 
[[Aim & Shoot]],  
 
[[Avatars]],  
 
[[Avatars]],  
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[[Game World Navigation]],
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[[Player/Character Awareness Consistency]],
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[[Reconnaissance]],
 
[[Spatial Engrossment]]
 
[[Spatial Engrossment]]
  

Latest revision as of 07:34, 8 April 2022

Presentations of game worlds free of specific relations to entities within these game worlds.

Many games that intrinsically tie gameplay to specific game elements also tie the presentation of their game worlds to these game elements. In contrast, games that do not focus on specific game elements - or let players switch between several specific game elements - can instead use God Views to give players an unrestricted view of the worlds that can be changed interdependently of what is contained within them.

Examples

By their definition, Perfect Information Games such as Chess, Go, and Hex have God Views although over rather limited game worlds. The various types of strategy games, e.g. the Civilization, Europa Universalis, and the Starcraft series all also make use of God Views but often hide the presences of faraway units with a fog of war. Populous, as an example of a god game, unsurprisingly provides players with a God View.

Early Arcade Games such as Asteroids, Centipede, and Pac-Man provided players with entire levels at a time where all areas were visible simultaneously. This is still common in computer-based Puzzle Games such as Peggle and Sokoban; Cogs and Continuity do at time not show the entire levels to players but have God Views since players can freely navigate to any part of a puzzle.

The SimCity series allows players to move around the city without having to consider the locations of any individual game element such as cars or pedestrians. The Sims series does likewise but players can let their viewpoint be looked on particular Sims in third-person views so they do not have to move their viewpoints to watch the Sims as they move about in the game environment.

Using the pattern

The two main components of providing God Views in games is Dedicated Game Facilitators that can create presentations of Game Worlds and Cameras that allow players to change their view point of those Game Worlds. When Game Masters are the Dedicated Game Facilitators the Cameras are implicitly present, and when God Views are part of Cutscenes the Cameras may also be absent since the "camera" movement can be completely predetermined. First-Person Views and Third-Person Views are not directly compatible with God Views. However, in games where players switch between different Focus Loci, Third-Person Views can replace God Views when Focus Loci have been selected to make it easier to perceive which Focus Loci is used as gameplay unfolds. Vision Modes are not as commonly used for God Views as other types of views but can serve a purpose in avoiding information overload in complex games with God Views (e.g. the Europa Universalis series) by separating all the information available into several different views. Point of Interest Indicators can more easily be used with God Views than other views without breaking Diegetic Consistency.

Having a God View in a game does not necessarily infer that one is omniscience (i.e. have Perfect Information); Fog of War is quite often used to make it possible for players to experience Surprises even if they have God Views. Other ways to achieve this is to provide opponents with secret Hands (as Memoir '44) does but this is not actually modifying the presentation of the Game World.

God Views can be used to create Public Information that provides Spectators with more information about the gameplay than players have.

Diegetic Aspects

God Views is an Diegetic Pattern.

Interface Aspects

God Views is an Interface Pattern. As their names suggest, God Fingers are natural choices for Focus Loci in games with God Views. They can make some goals, e.g. Reconnaissance trivial, unless modulated by Fog of War or other ways of hiding information.

Consequences

God Views provide Game State Overviews over Game Worlds and allow these overviews to be easily and quickly moved, making them ideal for Attention Swapping but hindering Spatial Engrossment. These types of views also make Aim & Shoot actions difficult and can make Game World Navigation trivial. They do not easily work with Avatars as the link between player attention and the Avatars is weak, but it is possible in games with Third-Person Views to use God Views without this issue to do general navigation and support the movement between Focus Loci that are to be controlled.

God Views can influence the Freedom of Choice players have both by allowing them to vary their view on the gameplay and by making it easier to spot the actual possible actions they have.

Games with God Views and Player Characters cannot easily enforce that players only can perceive what the Player Characters do, and therefore make it difficult to have Player/Character Awareness Consistency. An exception would be omniscience Player Characters but these would strain the concept of Characters.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Game State Overviews, Public Information

Can Modulate

Attention Swapping, Freedom of Choice, Game Worlds

with Third-Person Views

Focus Loci

Can Be Instantiated By

Cameras, Cutscenes, Dedicated Game Facilitators

Can Be Modulated By

Fog of War, God Fingers, Point of Interest Indicators, Third-Person Views

Possible Closure Effects

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Potentially Conflicting With

Aim & Shoot, Avatars, Game World Navigation, Player/Character Awareness Consistency, Reconnaissance, Spatial Engrossment

History

An updated version of the pattern God Views that was part of the original collection in the book Patterns in Game Design[1].

References

  1. ↑ Björk, S. & Holopainen, J. (2004) Patterns in Game Design. Charles River Media. ISBN1-58450-354-8.

Acknowledgements

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Retrieved from "http://virt10.itu.chalmers.se/index.php?title=God_Views&oldid=27143"