Self-Service Kiosks

Location in game worlds where players can on their own do transactions or receive services.

In games where players control characters inhabiting game worlds, they may have need of various services such as trading, healing, or training. Self-Service Kiosks are places where players can go to get these services and can handle the interaction as if using a vending machine.

Examples

Many Computer-based Roleplaying Games, e.g. The Witcher, World of Warcraft, and the Dragon Age series, have vendors selling the various items players need and sell the superfluous ones. These vendors are shown as non-player characters but cannot be killed or otherwise interacted with except to trade and talk. In contrast, most places where one can buy and sell things in the Fallout series are run by non-player characters that can be killed, but the Vendortron robot outside of Freeside in Fallout: New Vegas qualifies as a Self-Service Kiosk since it is built into a kiosk and cannot be attacked.

Self-Service Kiosks are also found in more action-oriented computer games. There are various non-player characters in Torchlight, including in the dungeons, that function as Self-Service Kiosks since they cannot be hurt or killed. The earlier Diablo series also contain such non-player characters and does Borderlands. The Grand Theft Auto series have several establishments that function as Self-Service Kiosks, some which have to be entered by foot (e.g. cloth and weapon stores) and some which have to be entered while driving a vehicle (e.g. body shops).

Using the pattern

Self-Service Kiosks provide specified services at specified locations in Game Worlds or Levels, so designing these consist of choosing what services should be available and where they should be available.

The most common types of services provided by Self-Service Kiosks are Trading, receiving Quests, and hearing Gossip. Other examples include training Skills.

Game Items Agents Algorithmic Agents Non-Player Characters Tools Installations Transferable Items

For services that may have Limited Resources, e.g. Trading and Quests, an option is to periodically refill the kiosks by making them into Resource Generators.

Consequences

Self-Service Kiosks provide Strategic Locations in Game Worlds or Levels by the services they provide. When Game Items or Quests offered at them replenish, they are also Resource Generators.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Gossip, Quests, Resource Generators, Strategic Locations, Trading

Can Modulate

Game Worlds Levels Skills

History

New pattern created in this wiki.

References

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