Gameplay Engines
Player constructed systems that provide benefits for the player that constructed it.
This pattern is a still a stub.
Contents
Examples
Some Card Games are built upon the basis that players construct decks. Examples include Blood Bowl: Team Manager - The Card Game, Dominion, Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game, and Thunderstone. The success in any of these games depend on making the cards in one's deck work together as a Gameplay Engine.
Using the pattern
Supporting the presence of Gameplay Engines consist of letting players use Construction to make more efficient or self-sustaining Player Abstract Constructs. This is typically done through letting the game system be able to generate Combos, Emergent Gameplay, or Positive Feedback Loops through the constructions the players can create in the Abstract Player Constructs. Deck Building is a specific pattern that has more of the prerequisites necessary for Gameplay Engines to be possible.
There presence of Construction/Scoring Phase Shift in games which allow Gameplay Engines can make the engines useless at a certain point where in becomes more important to focus on generating victory points. The easiest way to make Construction/Scoring Phase Shift possible in games with Gameplay Engines rather obviously to add Scores to the design.
Consequences
Gameplay Engines can be seen as a form of Abstract Player Constructs, or as goal requirement for which effects there should have. Building them are a form of Investments and Supporting Goals for winning a game, typically those that have Winner determined after Gameplay Ends. Since typically games that provide Gameplay Engines provide many different types of them, choosing one to try and build is a Player Defined Goals as well as being Constructive Gameplay. Building efficient Gameplay Engines typically require both Strategic Knowledge and Strategic Planning.
Construction/Scoring Phase Shift often occur in games which have Scores and allow the construction of Gameplay Engines.
Relations
Can Instantiate
Abstract Player Constructs, Constructive Gameplay, Investments, Player Defined Goals, Strategic Knowledge, Strategic Planning, Supporting Goals
with Scores
Construction/Scoring Phase Shift
Can Modulate
Winner determined after Gameplay Ends
Can Be Instantiated By
Combos, Construction, Deck Building, Emergent Gameplay, Positive Feedback Loops
Can Be Modulated By
Construction/Scoring Phase Shift
Possible Closure Effects
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Potentially Conflicting With
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History
New pattern created in this wiki.
References
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Acknowledgements
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