High Score Lists

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The one-sentence "definition" that should be in italics.

Short paragraph giving the description of the pattern while not referring to any other patterns.

Examples

Some examples, preferably from different genres and with links to wiki pages of the games.

Using the pattern

Text about what to think about when putting the pattern into a design, i.e. possible options. Have links to other patterns mentioned.

The sub headings below should be added if feasible.

Diegetic Aspects

Text about how the pattern relates to diegetic elements of the presentation of the game; primarily useful in mechanical patterns

Interface Aspects

Text about how the pattern relates to interface elements of the game; primarily useful in dynamic patterns

Narrative Aspects

Text about how the pattern relates to diegetic elements; primarily useful in dynamic and maybe aesthetical patterns

Consequences

What effects a patterns has on a design.

Relations

Instantiates

Player Defined Goals, Meta Games, Replayability, Trans-Game Information, Social Statuses, Tied Results

Modulated By

Tiebreakers, Single-Player Games

Potentially Conflicting With

High Score lists give players the chance to rank themselves against other players who have previously played the game.

Example: The first arcade game to have High Score Lists was Asteroids. The player who achieves a high enough score compared to the other players of the same machine is allowed to enter his initials to be displayed in the High Score List.

Using the pattern

The use of High Score Lists is fairly standardized, with the main design choices being the number of Scores saved in the High Score List and how Handles are supported. Most High Score Lists make use of Handles so that the players can identify their own scores and know that other players can recognize them. Since High Score Lists typically are ordered, they need Tiebreakers or have to be explicitly designed to allow several players with Tied Results to be displayed as completely equal.

The use of Ghosts can be seen as a form of High Score List that allows players to judge their progress against other performances, as well as their own individual performances, in previous game sessions while playing the game.

Consequences

High Score Lists create a Meta Game out of the game by using Trans-Game Information, allowing players to have Player Defined Goals such as to rank themselves against previous achievements, and thereby encouraging Game Mastery. Doing so adds Replayability to the game, as the players have the additional goal of simply performing slightly better than in the previous game sessions. High Score Lists are also a simple way to introduce Competition to otherwise Single-Player Games and are also a way for players to compare and display their Social Statuses.

History

An rewrite of the original pattern named High Score Lists in the book 'Patterns in Game Design' (Björk & Holopainen, 2004).

References

Björk, S. & Holopainen, J. (2004) Patterns in Game Design. Charles River Media. ISBN1-58450-354-8.