Destructible Objects
Game Items that can be destroyed.
Destroying things are a common activity in games, especially in computer games. This may because they pose a threat, that block access to a reward, or simply because they are there but in all cases there needs to exist Destructible Objects in the games for the activity to be possible. Not all destruction of object in games need to be due to intentional action, "natural" effects such as erosion, wear and tear, weathering, and explosive reactions can all cause destruction as well.
Note: this pattern doesn't discuss the "destruction" of game elements that are Agents, e.g. Avatars, Units, and Characters. See those specific patterns for details about this.
Contents
Examples
Through wear and tear, equipment in Minecraft and the Fallout series slowly deteriorate to the point were they are functionally destroyed.
It is a genre feature to include explosive barrels in First-Person Shooters like the Battlefield, Bioshock, Doom, and Halo series, as well as Borderlands and Crysis. Torchlight and the Diablo series also have exploding barrels. See the Giant Bomb site for an article[1] with a list of 180+ games with exploding barrels.
The vehicles and installations that players can make use of in the Battlefield series can be targeted and destroyed by other players, only to later respawn to ensure that there is a constant availability of both vehicles and installations in the game. Crysis also contain destructible vehicles and allows for the destruction of forests and some types of buildings, while the Red Faction series goes further in this by having all buildings (and in earlier version all terrain) destructible as well; NetHack and Minecraft allow destruction of their game worlds in an even more fundamental level. The buildings in Greed Corp cannot be destroyed by using "harvesters" erode the tiles that gameplay occurs on, making the game world smaller as gameplay progresses.
Using the pattern
Destructible Objects are Game Items which can by some means be destroyed. Any type of Game Items may be the source, although Weapons and Armor are common (through Deterioration as for example in Minecraft or the Fallout series) and Vehicles and Installations in games which to occur in (e.g. the Battlefield series).
but conceivably Penalties can also be the cause.
The pattern of Parallel Lives is created by connecting one player's Lives to a set of Destructible Objects that all are at risk simultaneously.
Diegetic Aspects
Interface Aspects
Narrative Aspects
Consequences
Destructible Objects change Game Items, Game Worlds,
Relations
Can Instantiate
with Lives
Can Modulate
Armor, Game Items, Game Worlds, Weapons
Can Be Instantiated By
Can Be Modulated By
Possible Closure Effects
Potentially Conflicting With
History
New pattern created in this wiki.
References
Acknowledgements
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