Difference between revisions of "Setback Penalties"

Revision as of 13:33, 26 August 2015

The one-sentence "definition" that should be in italics.

This pattern is a still a stub.

Examples

Snakes and Ladders

Monopoly

Failing to make jumps in either the Super Mario series or the Tomb Raider series doesn't necessarily kill players' characters but can instead forced them to have to navigate certain parts of the game worlds again.

Using the pattern

Setback Penalties are Penalties that undo progress players have made. This is in contrast with Energy Penalties and Life Penalties which can lead to Game Termination Penalties and Player Elimination, so Setback Penalties can be used when Penalties are wanted but without the risk of removing players from gameplay before game instances are ended.

Can Modulate

Character levels, Levels, Movement

Diegetic and Narration Aspects

Setback Penalties can break Diegetic Consistency since players may end up repeating certain actions or routes unreasonable amounts of time. If the setbacks aren't properly explained diegetically and the game's narration ignores the Setback Penalties (typically by assuming all challenges were succeeded on the first try), the pattern also breaks Temporal Consistency.

Consequences

While Setback Penalties can provide Penalties while still avoiding Player Elimination, they instead can ruin players' Value of Effort. Setback Penalties can provide Tension, and more the greater the setback, but typically less so than other types of penalty categories, e.g. Energy Penalties.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Penalties, Tension

Can Modulate

Character levels, Levels, Movement

Can Be Instantiated By

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Can Be Modulated By

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Possible Closure Effects

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Potentially Conflicting With

Diegetic Consistency, Temporal Consistency, Value of Effort

History

New pattern created in this wiki. However it is based on the concept "Setback punishment" introduced by Juul^[1].

References

1. ↑ Juul, J. (2009). Fear of Failing? The Many Meanings of Difficulty in Video Games. In Perron, B. & Wolf, M.J.P. (eds.): The Video Game Theory Reader 2, 2009.

Acknowledgements

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