Closure Points

Events during gameplay where pieces of the game state is, or can be, removed.

This pattern is a still a stub.

Note: This pattern describes closure points that can objectively be identifying through how they affect game states.

Examples

Games that provide levels also provide Closure Points. A few examples of the many games that does this include Candy Crush Saga, Doom, Staries, Pac-Man, and Tetris.

Using the pattern

A very common way of using Closure Points is to remove part of the game state to replace it with another. This can be done more specifically through Levels (and Finale Levels), Irreversible Events, Quests, and Tournaments.

Can Be Instantiated By

Excluding Goals,

Narration Structures, Save Points, Transfer of Control

Levels with Irreversible Events

Can Be Modulated By

Committed Goals, Downtime, Predictable Consequences

Narration Aspects

Since Closure Points tend to be manually designed, they are difficult to combine with Never Ending Stories.

Consequences

Closure Points is the prime means of ensuring that games can have Higher-Level Closures as Gameplay Progresses. It also lets players have clear gameplay points where they can have a chance to experience Value of Effort. They can also create Limited Foresight since these points often reduces the size of game states and creates new ones.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Higher-Level Closures as Gameplay Progresses, Limited Foresight, Value of Effort

Can Modulate

-

Can Be Instantiated By

Excluding Goals, Finale Levels, Irreversible Events, Levels, Narration Structures, Quests, Save Points, Tournaments, Transfer of Control

Levels with Irreversible Events

Can Be Modulated By

Committed Goals, Downtime, Predictable Consequences

Possible Closure Effects

-

Potentially Conflicting With

Never Ending Stories

History

An updated version of the pattern Closure Points that was part of the original collection in the book Patterns in Game Design.

Acknowledgements

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