Difference between revisions of "Player Augmentations"

Revision as of 10:21, 3 July 2015

Support mechanism that boost players abilities to perform gameplay activities.

An important part of many games is to let players have a chance of influencing gameplay or the overall outcome of a game. Player Augmentations are improvements to players' abilities to perform that are not part of gameplay progression.

Examples

Using the pattern

Creating Player Augmentations primarily consist of determining what types of actions to affect and how to affect them. What possibilities exist for creating Player Augmentations depend on what medium supports the gameplay. Auto-Aim, Automated Responses, and Mules in computer-based games while Game Masters can support Player Augmentations in most games through either specific rules or through improvisation (e.g. Feigned Die Rolls).

Consequences

As Player Augmentations affect the Agents that players represent in the game, the pattern can be used to modulate Agents and they cause Enforced Agent Behavior. This often extends to also causing Player/Character Skill Composites or Player/System Action Composites. They do not create Improved Abilities events since these are gameplay events and Player Augmentations provide help outside the structure of gameplay events in a game instance. Since they actually make players' skills and efforts less meaningful, they work against Game Mastery and Value of Effort.

While Player Augmentations is not a Subjective Pattern, many consequences of it flip-flop between supporting a pattern and working against it depending on if players perceive the augmentation as increasing their ability to influence gameplay or not. Player Agency is the prime examples of this but also Exaggerated Perception of Influence and Player Balance (the latter is also dependent on which players are given augmentation and to what degree).

Relations

Can Instantiate

Enforced Agent Behavior, Exaggerated Perception of Influence, Player Agency, Player Balance, Player/Character Skill Composites, Player/System Action Composites

Can Modulate

Agents

Can Be Instantiated By

Auto-Aim, Automated Responses, Game Masters, Mules

Can Be Modulated By

-

Possible Closure Effects

-

Potentially Conflicting With

Exaggerated Perception of Influence, Game Mastery, Player Agency, Player Balance, Value of Effort

History

New pattern created in this wiki.

References

-

Acknowledgements

-