Selectable Set of Goals

Goals which players can choose a subset to strive towards.

Games typically provide players with many goals that they can try to complete. In some cases this means that players can choose one or several goals from a larger set of goals. The Selectable Set of Goals can be defined so that players have to select goals first and then can try to achieve them or that they have all goals accessible all the time but only need to complete some of them to complete a larger goal.

Examples

Example: Traversing the technology tree in the computer game Civilization requires players to select goals defining what kind of technology to develop. Beyond what technology to develop next, players can also implicitly select collections of technology goals to reach as goals in order to match later requirements of advanced technologies.

Example: The different possibilities for scoring in the board game Settlers of Catan allow players to select from several different goals to achieve the overarching goal of reaching a certain amount of points.

Example: The different worlds in Super Mario 64 offer different sets of goals providing players with selectable sets of Selectable Sets of Goals. The player is also free to move within these worlds and goals without needing to complete them in any specific order.

Using the pattern

Can Modulate

Excluding Goals, Goal Hierarchies, Grind Achievements, Open Destiny, Polyathlons, Predetermined Story Structures, Predictable Consequences

Can Be Instantiated By

Actions Have Diegetically Social Consequences, Area Control, Choke Points, Flanking Routes, Open Destiny, Optional Goals, Predefined Goals

Configuration together with Incompatible Goals

Can Be Modulated By

Ephemeral Goals, Strategic Knowledge, Unknown Goals

Consequences

Can Instantiate

Analysis Paralysis, Balancing Effects, Challenging Gameplay, Enforced Agent Behavior, Freedom of Choice, Internal Conflicts, Open Destiny, Replayability, Risk/Reward, Trade-Offs, Varied Gameplay

with Excluding Goals

Replayability

with Polyathlons

Extra-Game Information

with Traverse

Freedom of Choice

Relations

Can Instantiate

Analysis Paralysis, Balancing Effects, Challenging Gameplay, Enforced Agent Behavior, Freedom of Choice, Internal Conflicts, Open Destiny, Replayability, Risk/Reward, Trade-Offs, Varied Gameplay

with Excluding Goals

Replayability

with Polyathlons

Extra-Game Information

with Traverse

Freedom of Choice

Can Modulate

Excluding Goals, Goal Hierarchies, Grind Achievements, Open Destiny, Polyathlons, Predetermined Story Structures, Predictable Consequences

Can Be Instantiated By

Actions Have Diegetically Social Consequences, Area Control, Choke Points, Flanking Routes, Open Destiny, Optional Goals, Predefined Goals

Configuration together with Incompatible Goals

Can Be Modulated By

Ephemeral Goals, Strategic Knowledge, Unknown Goals

Possible Closure Effects

-

Potentially Conflicting With

-

History

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

Acknowledgements

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