Detective Structures

Information available to a player is limited to the information available to one single character.

The player experiences the game event aligned with a single character. This means that all surprises and revelations occur at the same time for the players and their characters although they may make different conclusions.

Examples

The Detective Structure is a typical pattern used in many First-Person Shooters, e.g. Half-Life Series and Deus Ex Series. This come pretty natural for the genre since it is defined by how one perceives the game world from the view of one character.

However, games using third-person views can also make use of the pattern, with the Silent Hill Series as one example. Although this may allow players to perceive things their characters do not (or vice versa) due to looking in different directions, this only concerns what happens in the very proximity of the characters and does not have to affect narrative structures.

Using the pattern

Creating a game with a Detective Structure at a minimum requires the design of an Avatar for a player to which that players' availability of information is tied. Given that a Detective Structure limits game designs to provide mainly information through the Game World, the range of possibilities to do this is limited compared to other games. Diegetically Outstanding Features such as Clues and Traces is one alternative, while NPCs with potentially accompanying Character Dialogues provides another one.

The information provided through the Game World can be complimented with those related to the players' Characters. This includes diegetic interpretations of events by the Characters, including Game Prophecies, but can also be internal cognitive processes such dream, hallucinations, and Character Memories.

Although a Detective Structure does not by itself create Surprises, the wish to provide players with Surprises is one of the main reason to make use of the structure.

Diegetic Aspects

Although limiting information of players to that of specific Characters may seem to imply that the information presented should be that perceivable by those Characters, this does not need to be the case. For instance, when a player makes his or her Character look at a certain object in the Game World additional Non-Diegetic Elements may be shown (e.g. floating Handles) which the Character cannot detect. Thus, the presence of a Detective Structure in a game does not need to imply Diegetic Consistency.

Interface Aspects

Detective Structure can use First-Person Views or Third-Person Views.

Consequences

The use of Detective Structure Narrative Structures

A Detective Structure provides Imperfect Information since it limits the player’s information to a certain point-of-view at any given point in time; the player does not need to have unlimited access to what the character knows, feels, and perceives. This provides an Uncertainty of Information at the beginning of gameplay which can be maintained through updating the Game World through Unobserved Game Events. If these additional pattern is not used the Imperfect Information will gradually turn into Perfect Information] as players can merge the different set of information into one complete view.

Through providing Imperfect Information and the possibilities of Surprises, a Detective Structure can cause Tension. This is especially true when players' have been given Clues that certain events may occur. It is also likely that players will adopt Gain Information goals, either related to Narrative Structures or simply related to Exploration of Game Worlds (that may be possible to solve simply by Movement).

Relations

——Instantiates: Imperfect Information, Uncertainty of Information ——Modulates: Narrative Structure, Tension, Surprises ——Modulated by: Clues, Gain Information, First-Person Views, Third-Person Views ——Potentially conflicting with: Perfect Information, Melodramatic Structure

Can Be Modulated By

Surprises Diegetically Outstanding Features Clues Traces

History

An updated version of the pattern Detective Structure, first introduced in Lankoski 2010.