Performance Uncertainty

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

This pattern is a still a stub.

Note: player performance that depends on finding a solution of actions that guarantee success is covered under Solution Uncertainty.

Examples

All Sports, e.g. Figure Skating, Marathons, and Soccer, depend on how well the participants perform. Chess and Go are early examples of games that pitch players against each other and winning depends on their mental abilities. Computer Games allowed more control over which type of performance players have to do, and when they had to do it. first-person shooters, e.g. the Quake, Left 4 Dead, and Crysis series put emphasis on skillful movement and shooting but this can arguably be found already in Asteroids. Other, e.g. PaRappa the Rapper and Donkey Konga, put more focus on requiring that players can keep steady rhythms; the Rock Band series does this also in requiring players to handle replicas of musical instruments while the Dance Dance Revolution series make players dance or perform dance-like movement.

Roleplaying or enacting characters in Tabletop Roleplaying Games or LARPs also depend on player performances, but here what is at stake is not winning but rather providing enjoyment for all players by giving good and interesting portrayals of characters.

Using the pattern

Performance Uncertainty can be added to games in many ways which most often can be described as some form of Enactment. Two main categories are those related to physical activities and mental activities, although the latter can border over to activities covered in Solution Uncertainty. Physical Enactment relates to designing Performance Uncertainty regarding physical activities with Aim & Shoot, Player Physical Prowess, and Rhythm-Based Actions as more specific patterns. Memorizing and Tactical Planning are examples of mental activities where it is clear that failure or success may rely on the quality of players' gameplay performance rather than correctly applying the often algorithmic procedures that can handle Solution Uncertainty (but applying algorithmic procedures can require some skill and this causes a blurred line between the patterns).

Roleplaying

Negotiation Bluffing

Can Be Instantiated By

Exaggerated Perception of Influence, Challenging Gameplay,

Can Be Modulated By

AI Players, No Direct Player Influence, Player/Character Skill Composites, Player/System Action Composites, Strategic Knowledge Spectators Extra-Game Broadcasting Replays

Consequences

The main consequence of having Performance Uncertainty in a game is that it increases the Uncertainty of Outcome and Tension in that game and thereby also making it more difficult to have a Predictable Winner in a game that one can win. Since the patterns also requires some form of performance, it opens up for Context Dependent Reactions in that the performance can be affected by the local game state, other players, or Spectators.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Context Dependent Reactions, Tension, Uncertainty of Outcome

Can Modulate

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Can Be Instantiated By

Aim & Shoot, Challenging Gameplay, Enactment, Exaggerated Perception of Influence, Memorizing, Player Physical Prowess, Physical Enactment, Rhythm-Based Actions, Roleplaying, Tactical Planning

Can Be Modulated By

AI Players, Extra-Game Broadcasting, No Direct Player Influence, Player/Character Skill Composites, Player/System Action Composites, Spectators, Strategic Knowledge, Replays

Possible Closure Effects

-

Potentially Conflicting With

Predictable Winner

History

New pattern created in this wiki. However, the pattern is based on the concept of performance uncertainty described in Costikyan's book Uncertainty in Games.

Acknowledgements

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