Continuous Goals

Goals that require the player to maintain a subset of a certain game state within certain limits.

This pattern is a still a stub.

Examples

Example: Multiplayer first-person shooters such as Battlefield 1942 have modes where teams score points (or reduce ticks from the opposing team) by controlling strategic locations.

Example: the goal for the king in King of the Hill is to maintain the game state of being the king while the other players have the goal of changing that game state. The same situation appears in Tag, but reversed; the chasing player, "it", has a goal to change the game state by role reversalwhile the other players try to maintain the state.

Assassin's Creed series

Using the pattern

There are several ways of creating Continuous Goals. Many other types of goals are by their nature normally continuous, e.g. Area Control, Conceal, Evade, Guard, King of the Hill, Loyalty, Races, Reconnaissance, Repeat Combos, and Survive. Other emerge from the presence of game elements, e.g. Lives and Units gives players Continuous Goals of not losing these. Games with Scores similarly create a goal for players as long as they play to increase their Scores.

Can Be Instantiated By

Actions Have Diegetically Social Consequences, Factions, Indirect Control, Player-Planned Development, Preventing Goals, Sustenance Rewards,

Extended Actions together with Interruptible Actions

Can Be Modulated By

Check Points, Encouraged Return Visits, Goal Points, Time Limits

Consequences

Can Instantiate

Hovering Closures, Tension, Time Limits, Time Pressure

with Algorithmic Agents and Supporting Goals

Companions

with Negotiation and Social Dilemmas

Cooperation, Dynamic Alliances, Social Organizations

with Encouraged Return Visits

Challenging Gameplay

Can Modulate

Rewards, Social Dilemmas

Relations

Can Instantiate

Hovering Closures, Tension, Time Limits, Time Pressure

with Algorithmic Agents and Supporting Goals

Companions

with Negotiation and Social Dilemmas

Cooperation, Dynamic Alliances, Social Organizations

with Encouraged Return Visits

Challenging Gameplay

Can Modulate

Rewards, Social Dilemmas

Can Be Instantiated By

Actions Have Diegetically Social Consequences, Area Control, Conceal, Evade, Factions, Guard, King of the Hill, Indirect Control, Lives, Loyalty, Player-Planned Development, Preventing Goals, Races, Reconnaissance, Repeat Combos, Scores, Survive, Sustenance Rewards, Units

Extended Actions together with Interruptible Actions

Can Be Modulated By

Check Points, Encouraged Return Visits, Goal Points, Time Limits

Possible Closure Effects

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Potentially Conflicting With

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History

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

Acknowledgements

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