Rescue

The goal of freeing someone or something that is guarded.'

A common plot in games is that an opponent has captured or imprisoned a character that players' characters know or care about. This gives players Rescue goals, which may consist of finding the location of the kidnapped character as well as overcoming or avoiding the obstacles and enemies on the way there. Games using Rescue as the main goal often have the opponent as the final enemy that has to be defeated before completing the goal.

Examples

Donkey Kong and the games in the Super Mario series has goals for Mario to Rescue a kidnapped girl, princess peach in the case of the Super Mario series.

Some missions in Counter-Strike are Rescue missions for the counter-terrorist teams (the terrorists need to guard them for a certain amount of time).

Characters killed in the Left 4 Dead series respawn, but can only actually re-enter the game if other players rescue them from the closet and other small areas they appear in. Active characters can also need rescuing - those that have fallen of ledges or pounced on by "hunters" cannot get out of their trouble on their own.

Using the pattern

A Rescue goal can be designed as either explicit goals to Overcome some Guards or to use Stealth to avoid being detected, or a combination of both, possibly allowing players the Freedom of Choice between the two. In the latter case, Rescue goals provide the possibility of several subgoals: Stealth goals to enter areas without detection and Gain Information goals to learn the layout and positions of Guards, Alarms, and Deadly Traps. Games using Rescue as the main goal often have the character responsible for the kidnapping as a Boss Monster that has to be defeated before completing the goal.

Rescue s can be constructed so that they are completed as soon as the Guards and Obstacles are Overcome but may also be constructed so that the rescued people have to be moved into a safe area, i. e., places in the Game World that are both Goal Points and Safe Havens. The latter ones allow for opposing Capture goals and provides gameplay where the goals may change several times before reaching a final conclusion.

Can Be Instantiated By

Non-Player Characters

Can Be Modulated By

Alarms

Narrative Aspects

Rescue goals are often used as part of Predefined Story Structures in a game, and make easy starting points for creating Quests.

Consequences

As Rescue goals are defined by overcoming Guard goals, they are Preventing Goals which create Conflict. Fulfilling them requires either Combat or Stealth, so the pattern can make these pattern emerge during gameplay if the games support them. Although the goal object of Rescue goals may be Characters or Units, possibly controlled by other players, the structure of Rescue goals can in many cases be seen as struggles over Ownership (e.g. the missions in Counter-Strike with hostages).

Relations

Can Instantiate

Combat, Preventing Goals, Quests, Stealth

Can Modulate

Ownership, Predefined Story Structures

Can Be Instantiated By

Non-Player Characters

Guard

Can Be Modulated By

Alarms

Possible Closure Effects

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Potentially Conflicting With

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History

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

Acknowledgements

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