Player-Location Proximity

Game rules that depend on players being physically close to places.

While many games make the position of players' tokens and characters in the game worlds into important part of the gameplay, few make the actual position of the players themselves part of the game. The main exception to this is traditional sports. Those that make physical location has specific gameplay meaning when players approach or enter them make use of a Player-Location Proximity relation.

Examples

While many Sports inherently make use of Player-Location Proximity, Orienteering explicitly sets goals for players to position themselves at specific locations.

Human PacMan, Geocaching, Pirates!, and SCVNGR rely on player movement and use technology to let people report in their locations to the game systems. Backseat Gaming also uses technology to locate players but is built to work for the passengers of a car rather than the driver. Uncle Roy All Around You also depends on players' location in the physical world, but let the players report their locations freely regardless of where they actually are.

Consequences

Game World Exploration

Relations

Can Instantiate

Activity Blending, Encouraged Return Visits, Gameplay Changes Perception of Real World Phenomena, Pervasive Gameplay, Physical Navigation, Races, Real World Knowledge Advantages, Strategic Locations, Traverse

Can Modulate

Real World Gameplay Spaces

Can Be Instantiated By

-

Can Be Modulated By

Self-Reported Positioning

Possible Closure Effects

-

Potentially Conflicting With

Decontextability

History

Updated version of the pattern Player-Location Proximity first described in the report Game Design Patterns for Mobile Games.

Acknowledgements

Johan Peitz