Destructible Objects
Game Items that can be destroyed.
Destroying things are a common activity in games, especially in computer games. This may because they pose a threat, that block access to a reward, or simply because they are there but in all cases there needs to exist Destructible Objects in the games for the activity to be possible. Not all destruction of object in games need to be due to intentional action, "natural" effects such as erosion, wear and tear, weathering, and explosive reactions can all cause destruction as well.
Note: this pattern doesn't discuss the "destruction" of game elements that are Agents, e.g. Avatars, Units, and Characters. See those specific patterns for details about this.
Contents
Examples
Through wear and tear, equipment in Minecraft and the Fallout series slowly deteriorate to the point were they are functionally destroyed.
It is a genre feature to include explosive barrels in First-Person Shooters like the Battlefield, Bioshock, Crysis, Doom, and Halo series, as well as Borderlands. Torchlight and the Diablo series also have exploding barrels. See the Giant Bomb site for an article[1] with a list of 180+ games with exploding barrels.
The vehicles and installations that players can make use of in the Battlefield series can be targeted and destroyed by other players, only to later respawn to ensure that there is a constant availability of both vehicles and installations in the game. Crysis also contain destructible vehicles and allows for the destruction of forests and some types of buildings, while the Red Faction series goes further in this by having all buildings (and in earlier version all terrain) destructible as well; NetHack and Minecraft allow destruction of their game worlds in an even more fundamental level. The buildings in Greed Corp cannot be destroyed by using "harvesters" erode the tiles that gameplay occurs on, making the game world smaller as gameplay progresses.
Using the pattern
Destructible Objects are with few exceptions Game Items that can by some means be destroyed. Any type of Game Items may be the source, although Weapons and Armor are common (through Deterioration as for example in Minecraft or the Fallout series) as is Vehicles and Installations in games which these occur in (e.g. the Battlefield series). Obstacles are another option - letting these be Destructible Objects lets players choose between going around them or using some effort to destroy them.
Deciding on the allowed causes for destruction is part of creating Destructible Objects. Action tied to Combat, e.g. Aim & Shoot, are obvious possibilities but the Deterioration from wear and tear opens up for adding Resource Management or Maintainance as part of game designs. Conceivably, Penalties can also be the causes.
Mirroring the previous decision is deciding why players should be motivated to destroy the Destructible Objects. Making them into Eliminate goals is a trivial solution, but making Loot appear when destruction occurs (as for example is done in Torchlight) invite players to choose to have the goal. For Destructible Objects that are Traps, destroying them may be a way of eliminating the threat they represent but this also allows Tactical Planning to use them against Enemies (which is a common use in for example the Doom and Half-Life series).
The pattern of Parallel Lives is created by connecting one player's Lives to a set of Destructible Objects that all are at risk simultaneously.
A special case of Destructible Objects are possible in games created from Tiles. In these the Tiles can be Destructible Objects, see for example Forbidden Island, Greed Corp, and Hey! That's My Fish!, and this can lead to Shrinking Game Worlds.
Diegetic Aspects
That game elements are Destructible Objects is one way to have Game Element Removal while maintaining Diegetic Consistency. However, the remains from the Game Items are typically dispense of in a not-to-realistic animation fading these away - this does however not disturb Narrative Engrossment since these are Props which players learn to not notice.
Consequences
Destructible Objects change how players have to relate to Game Items and through this how they have to relate to Game Worlds. The latter may be more obvious for Game Items that can be destroyed in Game Worlds rather that when in players' Inventories but the destruction of worn or wielded items are due to interaction with, or effects of, the Game Worlds.
The destruction of Destructible Objects leads to Game Element Removal, with the possible appearance of Loot. This makes Destructible Objects natural targets for Eliminate goals.
Relations
Can Instantiate
with Lives
with Tiles
with Traps
Can Modulate
Armor, Game Items, Game Worlds, Obstacles, Tiles, Traps, Weapons
Can Be Instantiated By
Aim & Shoot, Combat, Deterioration, Penalties
Can Be Modulated By
-
Possible Closure Effects
Game Element Removal, Loot, Props
Potentially Conflicting With
-
History
New pattern created in this wiki.
References
Acknowledgements
-
