Difference between revisions of "Player Killing"

Revision as of 07:52, 6 July 2011

The intentionally, or unintentionally, removal of players from active gameplay.

This pattern is a still a stub.

Games in which the players control only one Avatar each make the death of these very influential for players' experiences and success in the game. As players easily identify with their Avatars, killing them is usually referred to as Player Killing even though it is actually Avatar killing.

Examples

Early Ultima Online was notorious for more experienced players killing other players' characters for looting their items or just for fun. The players who were killed lost the items they were carrying unless they were able to come back to the spot before the player killers looted them.

Deathmatch first-person shooters, such as Quake III, have Player Killing as one of the main goals for the game. The more other players the player manages to take out, the more points or frags he is rewarded. The players who are killed usually lose their gained special items and abilities and are transferred back to a spawn point.

Counter-Strike

Frag

Using the pattern

Having or not having Player Killing is always an explicit design choice. Player Killing is, in effect, Player Elimination with the Spawning of the players' Avatars allowed. Designing Player Killing in the game obviously involves deciding the details of Spawning and Penalties involved for being killed. Usually they are mainly Individual Penalties even in games with Team Play, and players receive Decreased Abilities, Ability Losses, and they might lose Ownership of Tools and other items they possess at the time of killing. Other possibilities include forced Downtime or limitations to the number of times a player can respawn due to the use of Lives.

Player Killing can be used as a method of keeping Score in both games with Team Play, as in games with Team Elimination, and without Team Play. Games with Team Play sometimes allow the players to Eliminate their team members, and this can be called unintentional Player Killing. On the other hand, some team-oriented games break Consistent Reality Logic by not having the possibility of Player Killing within the same team in order to avoid internal fighting and possibilities for saboteurs.

Can Be Instantiated By

Ability Losses, Lives

Can Be Modulated By

Permadeath Penalties, Rewards Safe Havens, Spawning

Diegetic Aspects

Interface Aspects

Narrative Aspects

Consequences

Since Player Killing removes players from gameplay it gives them Downtime but can also lead to Player Elimination if combine with Permadeath or the loss of one's last Life. The possibility of Player Killing naturally gives rise to Tension to players, although how intensely this is experienced depends on the actual Penalties involved in dying and the Rewards given for killing. The Tension is usually not as drastic if the Player Killing does not lead to Player Elimination.

In Multiplayer Games, the possibility of Player Killing leads to reciprocal Risk/Reward situations for the players since they are potential or real threats to each other.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Penalties, Tension

with Lives or Permadeath

Player Elimination

with Multiplayer Games

Risk/Reward

Can Modulate

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Can Be Instantiated By

Ability Losses, Lives

Can Be Modulated By

Permadeath, Penalties, Rewards, Safe Havens, Spawning

Possible Closure Effects

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Potentially Conflicting With

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History

An updated version of the pattern Player Killing 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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