Vehicles
Game elements that allows for faster movement, or different types of movement, than that normally available.
Game worlds can be difficult to move through, either because the terrain is hazardous, one cannot traverse it because one does not have the right abilities, or simply because they are very large. To solve one or all of these issues games can, like in the real world, offer Vehicles as a solution.
Note: this pattern describes diegetic vehicles that can be entered or mounted to ease travel. Those vehicles that players control directly are in fact either Avatars or Units.
Contents
Examples
In the Grand Theft Auto series much of the gameplay revolves around using Vehicles that have been obtained by illegal means to solve various challenges.
The Battlefield series lets players access a variety of military vehicles to gain air power, water maneuverability, increased fire power, as well as protection from small arms. Many of the Vehicles can in addition carry extra players than can either be gunners or simply passangers.
While its predecessor Morrowind allowed various forms of instantaneous travel between parts of the game world (including riding giant insects), Oblivion lets players ride horses between the various adventure locations.
Players of Minecraft that wish to simplify travel can build boats or lay railroads after having crafted the necessary game elements.
Using the pattern
Designing Vehicles consist of deciding how they should provide Movement within Game Worlds and where they should be available.
The places where Vehicles can be found in the Game Worlds will becomes Resource Locations, and may spawn Races to get to them first. These places may simply contain the Vehicles, or if they are created during gameplay by Spawning be Spawn Points for them. An alternative, exemplified by Minecraft, is to let players create their own Vehicles through Construction.
Like many game elements, Vehicles can be Destructables. For these it can however be appropriate to allow the destruction occur due to reckless driving, and in any case link the destruction of the Vehicles to loss of Lives if these are used in the games. Vehicles can also be constructed to include Weapons in which case they can function as Installations independent of their ability to move, and the attacks provided by the Weapons can provide Privileged Abilities.
If not all players are likely to be able to access Vehicles often, this may cause problems with Player Balance in Multiplayer Games such as the Battlefield series. This can be mitigated through making the Vehicles into Destructables, letting them have Limited Resources or Non-Renewable Resources regarding things such as fuel or ammunition, and providing possibilities for other players to gain Privileged Abilities specifically aimed at attacking the Vehicles.
Diegetic Aspects
This pattern describes all game elements that can provide transportation for Avatars and Units, so diegetically the Vehicles do not have to be device but can be living creatures such as horses, elephants, and magical birds.
Interface Aspects
In Real-Time Games it may not be easy to map the normal interface players use for Maneuvering to that use for the available Vehicles, e.g. the movement of a human translates bad to that of a helicopter. To solve this games may need to provide different control schemes for each types of vehicles depending on their form of locomotion, and Option Interfaces for each of them so players can customize them.
Consequences
Vehicles modify how players can perform Movement, and Maneuvering for Real-Times Games, in Game Worlds. When it allows players to more quickly move through the environment where no specific challenges exist, this counters the Excise this would otherwise be. When they provide ways of travelling through otherwise impossible mediums, e.g. air or water, they give players a form of Privileged Movement that can open up Inaccessible Areas - but if Vehicles allowing this are to easy to access the areas stop being treated as Inaccessible Areas and only ones cumbersome to enter. Visiting these new areas can provide Varied Gameplay but so can the actual controlling of the Vehicles themselves be.
Learning how to control Vehicles, especially if they have different control schemes than ordinary Movement, is one way in which players can develop Game Mastery.
Relations
Can Instantiate
Game Mastery, Privileged Movement, Races, Resource Locations, Varied Gameplay
with Spawning
with Weapons
Installations, Privileged Abilities
Can Modulate
Game Worlds, Lives, Maneuvering, Movement
with Privileged Movement
Can Be Instantiated By
-
Can Be Modulated By
Destructables, Option Interfaces, Weapons
Possible Closure Effects
-
Potentially Conflicting With
Player Balance in Multi-Player Games
History
New pattern created in this wiki.
References
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Acknowledgements
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