Companions
Agents controlled by the game system that follow and help players as the move through the game environment.
Like in other endeavors, it may be easily to succeed in games if one has help. While these may be other people, games can also provide characters and other entities, commonly called Companions, that follow the players progress and try to help. They may be gained and lost during gameplay or may be incorporeal presences only giving advice, but
Contents
Examples
the Fallout series Shadow Dancer Fable II
The advisors present in the Civiliation series can be seen as a form of Companions. Like the player, they have no direct manifestation within the game world but they do follow players' progress throughout the ages and provide tips and tricks.
Using the pattern
Avatars Units Characters Fable series Enemies Factions Internal Rivalry Loyalty Testing Achievements
Companions are not players per se, since their definitions is that they should accompany a player. Even if they may be more powerful than players in some areas, so that different Functional Roles can be filled, players do need to have some Privileged Abilities in relation to the Companions. These abilities may at a minimum be to have the power of actually completing goals and controlling the group's Movement (so the game doesn't play itself and players can become Spectators) but typically include many other abilities so players have an Exaggerated Perception of Influence compared to the Companions. For these reasons, Companions differ from AI Players used to fill Teams.
Diegetic Aspects
Interface Aspects
Narrative Aspects
Consequences
Companions are Algorithmic Agents that function as Helpers to players. As they often are partly defined as Characters, they are also often examples of Non-Player Characters.
Functional Roles Exaggerated Perception of Influence
Relations
Can Instantiate
Agents Exaggerated Perception of Influence Functional Roles Helpers Non-Player Characters
Can Modulate
Can Be Instantiated By
Can Be Modulated By
Possible Closure Effects
Potentially Conflicting With
History
New pattern created in this wiki.
References
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Acknowledgments
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