Difference between revisions of "Minigames"

Revision as of 18:37, 12 January 2011

A small game played through another game.

Many games simulate a part of reality and one possibility of this is to simulate other games. Another possibility for games is to have the result of other games be the primary input for what happens in the main game. Since in both these cases the inner games are smaller than the game containing them, or at least are subordinate to the outer game for the outcome of the activity, they inner games are referred to as Minigames.

Examples

Games that try to enact whole worlds in great detail, like tabletop roleplaying such as Hârnmaster and GURPS as well as lice-action roleplaying games, can easily end up in situations where games are played. Typically these are small gambling game similar or exact instances of existing games, such as Poker or Craps.

Computer games make it quite easy to contain other games in themselves. The graphical adventure game Day of the Tentacle included its prequel, Maniac Mansion, as a playable Minigame on a computer inside the game. In Fallout: New Vegas the Collectible Card Game Caravan and several traditional gambling games (e.g. Roulette and Blackjack are implemented as Minigames.

Some games mainly consist of smaller games. Examples of this includes the Mario Party series and the whimsical WarioWare series.

Using the pattern

Diegetic Aspects

Interface Aspects

Narrative Aspects

Consequences

Relations

The use of Minigames in a design makes the main game a Meta Game of sorts.

Can Instantiate

Meta Games

with ...

Can Modulate

Can Be Instantiated By

Can Be Modulated By

Possible Closure Effects

Potentially Conflicting With

History

New pattern created in this wiki.

References

-