Handles

Identifiers to recognize players or their efforts in games.

This pattern is a still a stub.

The players are identified in the game instance, and sometimes between game instances, by short names or other at least somewhat unique identifiers. The players are often free to choose their own Handles, unless there already are similar Handles in the game. The requirement of a unique identifier within a game instance is usually quite strict, even if the game system itself does not guarantee the uniqueness of the Handle. The same applies to more persistent Handles between game instances.

Examples

Example: Asteroids and many, if not most, other arcade games have highscore lists where the players can leave their short nick-names if they perform well enough in the game. The players can enter any Handle in the highscore list, but it is often considered quite impolite to use the same Handle as someone else.

Example: online multiplayer first-person shooters let the players enter names for their avatars. These Handles are used to measure and compare the performance of the individual players and in team-oriented games also to identify the other team-members. The Handles are not necessarily persistent from the game system point of view, but often there are sometimes severe penalties for players who try to pose as other players.

Left 4 Dead series

World of Warcraft

Battlefield series

FarmVille

CityVille

Using the pattern

The Handles in many cases are just short free-form pieces of text but can be linked not only to players but to whole Characters. The classic limit of three characters per Handle is sometimes still used in current arcade games. Games with predefined roles for the players can let the players select their Handles from a predefined list. In these cases the Handle is also used to identify the players' different roles and abilities in the game. Online games for children, such as ToonTown, let the players compose their Handles from predefined list of words to avoid the possibility of obscene Handles. Handles can carry also extra information about the players, for example, their Social Status or if they belong to a Social Organizations such as clans or guilds.

Can Be Modulated By

Geospatial Game Widgets, Naming

Consequences

Handles are used to identify different players in cases where differentiation would otherwise be impossible or difficult, e.g in Asynchronous Games or Mediated Gameplay. For people playing together this can support Cooperation and Coordination in Teams or Parties, partly by providing different identifies but even more so by making it possible to assume future actions.

in this way, players are often willing to identify themselves in order

to compare and show off their Game Mastery to other players and Spectators in games with quantifiable measurements of performance, such as Score, in order to accrue Social Status. Highscore Lists are a prime example of this use of Handles, allowing players to compare the outcomes of their game instances with other players. These kinds of persistent Handles are used to carry Trans-Game Information between game instances.

Another reason for persistent Handles is that the players can form more stable Social Organizations where the players may have different roles and responsibilities. Persistent Game Worlds almost have to have some methods of identifying the other players and Handles is the simplest one of these. Handles provide simple means for Identification within the game for the players and heightens the Emotional Immersion.

Letting players choose or create their Handles gives them a limited form of a Freedom of Choice, but may make Enforced Player Anonymity impossible. However, Handles in games with only Mediated Gameplay can allow for a Possibility of Anonymity.

Having an unique identify is a core feature of being a Character, so showing Handles through Geospatial Game Widgets or HUD Interfaces can be the starting point for having the Characters pattern in a game design.

Can Instantiate

Game State Indicators, High Score Lists, Identification

with Geospatial Game Widgets or HUD Interfaces

Characters

Can Modulate

Avatars, Game Lobbies, Multiplayer Games, Public Player Statistics, User Accounts

Relations

Can Instantiate

Freedom of Choice, Game State Indicators, High Score Lists, Identification

with Mediated Gameplay

Possibility of Anonymity

with Geospatial Game Widgets or HUD Interfaces

Characters

Can Modulate

Asynchronous Games, Avatars, Cooperation, Coordination, Game Lobbies, Mediated Gameplay, Multiplayer Games, Parties, Public Player Statistics, Teams, User Accounts

Can Be Instantiated By

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Can Be Modulated By

Geospatial Game Widgets, Naming

Possible Closure Effects

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Potentially Conflicting With

Enforced Player Anonymity

History

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

Acknowledgements

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