Supporting Goals

Goals whose primary effect is to help players achieve other goals of a game.

This pattern is a still a stub.

Examples

Example: In the case of Chess, the subgoals of capturing the opponent's pieces can be seen as Supporting Goals for the higher level goal of checkmating the king. They are not necessary to achieve the checkmate but make it easier to complete.

Example: Getting the power pill in Pac-Man can be seen as a Supporting Goal for the goal of taking all the pills as the ghosts cannot capture Pac-Man during the time he is affected by the power pill.

Example: Real-time strategy games, such as Age of Empires, have many Supporting Goals, from identifying and collecting resources to building defenses and scouting enemy territory, all of which support the goal of defeating the opponents. Much of the skill in those games lies in balancing the struggle towards the different Supporting Goals so that the chances of succeeding with the overarching goal are maximized given the particular circumstances of a specific game instance.

Left 4 Dead series

Using the pattern

Goals that commonly work as Supporting Goals include Area Control, Evade, Gain Information, and Sidequests. Other common Supporting Goals are those that provide players with Resources (for example through Pick-Ups) and those that let players have New or Improved Abilities. The general goal class of Races can provide any of these and these goals are therefore often Supporting Goals when they are not the primary goals in a game. The role of Factions in games is often to provide players access to Abilities and Resources and in therefore also typical to provide players with Supporting Goals in the form of goals to join them or goals given by them that give such Abilities or Resources as Rewards.

Any goals that do help players have more agency in a game, as the ones providing New or Improved Abilities or more Resources, can work as Supporting Goals towards other goals that rely on these Abilities or Resources. This means that often Optional Goals tend to be Supporting Goals as well although in an indirect fashion. Supporting Goals that are not optional instead help create Goal Hierarchies.

Goals based around Red Herrings are the opposite of Supporting Goals since they misled players. The exception is when the Rewards for these goals provide improvements in Abilities or Resources as this may make them indirectly Supporting Goals in the same way other goals with these types of Resources are.

Consequences

Can Instantiate

Goal Hierarchies, Progress Indicators, Varied Gameplay

with Algorithmic Agents

Companions

with Non-Player Characters

Casual Gameplay, Cooperation, Team Combos

Can Modulate

Challenging Gameplay, Game World Exploration, Gameplay Engines, Player Balance, Risk/Reward , Trade-Offs, Traverse

Relations

Can Instantiate

Goal Hierarchies, Progress Indicators, Varied Gameplay

with Algorithmic Agents

Companions

with Non-Player Characters

Casual Gameplay, Cooperation, Team Combos

Can Modulate

Challenging Gameplay, Game World Exploration, Gameplay Engines, Player Balance, Risk/Reward , Trade-Offs, Traverse

Can Be Instantiated By

Area Control, Evade, Factions, Gain Information, Improved Abilities, New Abilities, Optional Goals, Pick-Ups, Sidequests, Races

Can Be Modulated By

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Possible Closure Effects

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Potentially Conflicting With

Conflicts, Red Herrings

History

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

Acknowledgements

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