Reconfigurable Game Worlds

Game worlds whose fundamental structures can change during gameplay or between game instances.

While many games have game worlds only some of them allow changes to their structures. These changes can be between game instances to provide players with new gameplay experiences or occur during gameplay as the effect of player actions. Games that have either of these two types of changes - or both - have Reconfigurable Game Worlds.

Note: this pattern describes changes in Game Worlds related to gameplay functionality rather than those related to narratives (for this see Narration Structures). Further, although their difference can sometimes be blurry, this pattern looks at changes to Game Worlds rather that the contents in them. For pattern more dealing with changes in the contents of Game Worlds, see patterns such as Avatars, Controllers, Destructible Objects, Environmental Effects, and Obstacles.

Examples

The Board Game Space Hulk contains a number of corridors and rooms that are set up in different configurations before gameplay begins to allow a number of different scenarios to be played. Likewise, the Computer Games Minecraft, NetHack, and Slaves to Armok II: Dwarf Fortress randomize new game worlds each time a new game instance is started.

Settlers of Catan have a balanced scheme for placing the resources tiles used in it, but it is commonly played by randomizing the tiles to provide more variation for experienced players.

Portal 2 has a Reconfigurable Game World both in how the players' current nemesis can remodel the environment and in how players by their actions can activate machinery that lowers barriers, creates bridges and stairs, or otherwise changes the environment.

Using the pattern

Reconfigurable Game Worlds quite naturally require the presence of a Game World to configure. Beyond this, the primary design choice for using the pattern is to decide whether the Game World will be reconfigurable between or within game instances, or in a combination of both.

Reconfiguration of the Game World itself is often done by having it consist of Tiles, and then either use Randomness to create the world (as in e.g. NetHack and Settlers of Catan) or by letting players do Tile-Laying as part of their actions (as in e.g. Carcarssonne or Dominant Species). Variations of this include having Moveable Tiles (which can represent the changeable environment in Portal 2) or Shrinking Game Worlds (as in Hey! Where's My Fish!).

The changes in the laws of nature within the game may be universal or applied to only certain game elements, e. g., those under the control of the players or of a particular player. This can be used as a player-decided Balancing Effect to create Player Balance or Right Level of Difficulty. For example, changing the difficulty level in a flight simulator can change the flight characteristics of the planes drastically. Changing the relative strengths and weaknesses of different Units of the game, such as modifying attack and defense strengths in strategy games, is another common way to allow Reconfigurable Game Worlds.

Expansions

Diegetic Aspects

As a Level Design Pattern, Reconfigurable Game Worlds have inherent effects on the diegesis of a game. If this breaks the Diegetic Consistency however depends if the changes take during gameplay or not, and if they do so without a sensible thematic explanation.

Consequences

Reconfigurable Game Worlds allow changes to Game Worlds during gameplay or between game instances. By doing so, they can provide Varied Gameplay and Replayability - especially so if players do the reconfiguration, e.g. through Tile-Laying. This can however come with the cost of making Narrative Engrossment more difficult since players are likely to act both within and outside any Diegetic Consistency - it can also break the Diegetic Consistency if it takes places during gameplay. Games with Reconfigurable Game Worlds that also have Fog of War support Memorizing beyond that of keeping track of where Avatars and Units can be.

While changing the layout of Game Worlds between game instances supports Game World Exploration, it can cause problems with having Player Balance since players may have Asymmetric Starting Conditions.

When players can reconfigure the Game Worlds and these events are Irreversible Events, this makes Persistent Game World Changes present in that game.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Asymmetric Starting Conditions, Game World Exploration, Persistent Game World Changes, Replayability, Varied Gameplay

with Fog of War

Memorizing

with Irreversible Events

Persistent Game World Changes

Can Modulate

Game Worlds

Can Be Instantiated By

Expansions, Moveable Tiles, Shrinking Game Worlds, Tiles, Tile-Laying

Can Be Modulated By

Irreversible Events, Randomness

Possible Closure Effects

-

Potentially Conflicting With

Diegetic Consistency, Narrative Engrossment, Player Balance

History

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

Acknowledgements

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