Difference between revisions of "Construction"

Revision as of 17:19, 19 February 2011

The action of introducing or rearranging game elements to create structures in game worlds.

Building is a common activity possible in games; this may be actual constructions or simply actions that are diegetically presented as constructing something but other possibilities exist. One is that players may construct their own set of game elements to bring to a game, which may include actually building or creating them also. Another is

The introduction of game elements in the game can be the cause of players' actions. When the game elements introduced are perceived as something requiring organizing the environment (in technical terms, countering entropy) this can be framed as Construction.

Examples

Players of Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40K need to construct the armies which they intended to play with using ones they have purchased. The Category:Collectible Card Games:Collectible Card Games Magic: the Gathering and Pokémon Trading Card Game work in a similar fashion. For those participating in Live Action Roleplaying Games such as 1942 – Noen å stole på and Dragonbane need to create not only some items with narrative importance but also everyday utensils and clothing.

In Puerto Rico and Race for the Galaxy players win or lose by how they build their colonies and empires respectively, and an important part of mastering the game is knowing how to construct efficient combinations.

Minecraft

Slaves to Armok II: Dwarf Fortress

Incredible Machine game series

the 'engineer' class in the Team Fortress series

'field ops', 'engineer', 'constructor', and 'technician'

Monopoly

Amun-Re

[Stimulated Planning]]

Sim City series

Sims series

Dungeons & Dragons

A World without Oil ?

Probots

C-Robots

Example: Pontifex by ChronicLogic allows players to build bridges that are tested by a physics engine that sends a train over the bridges.

Example: The Sims allows players to construct homes for their Sims, redecorating and rebuilding the houses as the needs and living conditions of the Sims change.

Example: The board game The Settlers of Catan allows players to build villages and towns at the intersections of hexes in the game, and roads between them.

Example: Massively multiplayer online roleplaying games usually allow players to construct houses by buying them and construct items through actions. Text-based multiplayer dungeons take this further by letting high-level players create new areas in the Game World and program the functionality of areas and game elements.

Spore

Ultima Online

Kingdoms

DragonMud

Using the pattern

Pottering

One use of Construction is to make players consider different Combos, as for example Puerto Rico and Race for the Galaxy requires.

Player Created Game Elements Player-Created Characters

The game elements used from Construction can come from a number of different source. One is from outside the game as Game Element Insertion, while another is that they are created by the game system and a third is that they are simply rearranged within the Game Worlds through Movement.

or within the game but 

Narration Structures

Investments

Casual Gameplay Private Game Spaces Freedom of Choice Heterogeneous Game Element Ownership Multiplayer Games Zero-Player Games Single-Player Games Persistent Game Worlds

The main design choices for supporting Construction include the design of the new game elements that are the product of the action, what Resources are needed, the possibility of succeeding, and the variations in designs that the players can create. Requiring scarce Resources for construction to occur can give rise to Exploration or Gain Ownership as well as Trading. Linking the chance of success to a Skill encourages Construction as a Competence Area. Allowing a large variation in the possible Constructions give players a Freedom of Choice and the Creative Control to Experiment and select Player Defined Goals. The possibility of failed Constructions leading to alternative Constructions also encourages Experimenting.

The amount of Construction in a game can easily be limited by making it a Privileged Ability.

Freedom of Choice

Emergent Gameplay

Persistent Game Worlds

Spectators

An obvious way to affect the Game World in this fashion is through Tile-Laying.

Game Masters

Diegetic Aspects

Interface Aspects

Narrative Aspects

Consequences

Game Mastery Combos

The introduction of game elements through Construction is functionally similar to the effect of Producers but does not need to use Spawning. As such, Construction can more easily be given representations that allow the introduction of Game Elements in Game Worlds without breaking Diegetic Consistency.

Construction actions typically represent Investments and are perceived as Constructive Play. With enough possible permutations in what and how to construct things, the pattern gives Freedom of Choice and Creative Control which in turn can lead to Surprises, both for themselves and others. When players can create game elements that affect the Game Worlds, especially in Persistent Game Worlds, Construction can enable Player Constructed Worlds.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Freedom of Choice, Constructive Play, Creative Control, Investments, Player Constructed Worlds, Producers

with Creative Control

Surprises

Can Modulate

Can Be Instantiated By

Game Element Insertion, Movement

Can Be Modulated By

Combos

Possible Closure Effects

Potentially Conflicting With

History

An updated version of the pattern Construction 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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