Gain Information

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

This pattern is a still a stub.

The goal of performing actions in the game in order to be able to receive information or make deductions. The Gain Information goal is simply the task of gaining more knowledge about something in the game. This can be discovering where a certain game element is in the game space, knowing what values game elements have, what abilities other players have access to, or what goals exist. The completion of the goal can either be verified by a game state change that does not require the player to actually understand the information or by requiring the player to perform some activity or complete a goal that indicates that the information has been interpreted by the player. In the first case, this can be by the player gaining an object, e. g., picking up a book, or choosing an action that presents the information to the player, e. g., looking at a sign. In the second case, this can be by observing that the player has done an action that was unlikely to have been performed otherwise, e. g., selecting the right five-digit combination to a safe.

Examples

Example: Gain Information is the typical goal used in mystery games to drive the unfolding of the story, e. g., the Gabriel Knight series.

Example: Hide & Seek, the traditional children's game, is the archetypical example of direct use of this pattern. In the game, one of the players is the seeker whose task is to find out the other players who have had a certain amount of time to hide themselves.

Anti-Examples

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Relations

Experimenting Tactical Planning Predetermined Story Structures Clues Strategic Knowledge Invulnerabilities Achilles' Heels Game World Exploration Traverse Committed Goals Dynamic Goal Characteristics Symmetric Goals

Can Instantiate

Conceal, Puzzle Solving, Quests, Supporting Goals, System Exploration

Can Modulate

Player-Artifact Proximity, Rescue

Can Be Instantiated By

Asymmetric Information, Detective Structures, Enemies, Factions, Fog of War, Gain Ownership, Hands, Helpers, Imperfect Information, Information Passing, Limited Foresight, Memorizing, Puzzle Solving, Reconnaissance, Secret Goals, Secret Resources, Stimulated Planning, Strategic Locations Uncertainty of Information, Unknown Goals, Vulnerabilities

Can Be Modulated By

Indirect Information, Internal Rivalry, Perfect Information, Red Herrings

Possible Closure Effects

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Potentially Conflicting With

Perfect Information

History

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

Acknowledgements

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