Crafting
The activity of creating game items.
Crafting is the activity of creating game items within game worlds through actions. By allowing these activities, games explain how the items come to be in the worlds as well as offer players the possibility to engage in a constructive activity.
Contents
Examples
Crafting is most often found in Category:Massively Multiplayer Online Games such as Entropia Universe, Eve Online, Ultima Online, and World of Warcraft. Here, players can craft weapons, armor, and tools depending on the setting.
Players of Slaves to Armok II: Dwarf Fortress start with a small cache of items but need to craft more for their dwarves having a chance to survive; in Minecraft players need to craft all tools they wish to use. Zombie Lane allows players to buy more powerful weapons that the default shovel, but also that they can create special types of weapons through Crafting.
The Fable series let players engage in mini-games that are diegetically presented as crafting but doesn't actually create game items.
Using the pattern
The components of Crafting is what is required to engage in it and what is constructed from the action.
Crafting consists of transforming something into something else, so some form of Resources that are consumed in the process is very common. To limit who can do the Crafting, or when it can be done, game designs can require use of Tools or that those doing the action have Privileged Abilities or specific Skills. Making use of Installations for Crafting (as Minecraft does for larger items), makes the ability to craft into a Location-Fixed Ability.
Extended Actions, Development Time
Besides allowing the Crafting to begin with, the use of Skills can also be used to influence
Persistent Game Worlds
Construction
Any type of Game Items can be the result of Crafting, but Tools (and Installations) is worth mentioning as a subcategory since it may be required for players to engage in other types of Crafting and thereby can set up development chains where the New Abilities gained can be seen as a form of Character Development.
which is common in games using Converters in Producer-Consumer chains
Diegetic Aspects
Crafting allows players to help create the content in Game Worlds and is therefore a Diegetic Pattern.
Interface Aspects
Since Crafting typically concerns manipulating and transforming Game Items that one has, the interface for Crafting is quite often part of the interface for Inventories.
Narrative Aspects
Consequences
Crafting provides a way for players or other Agents to produce Game Items in Game Worlds. When the Crafting is possible to do by players, as for example in Minecraft or Slaves to Armok II: Dwarf Fortress, this gives them a Creative Control and the knowledge of what Game Items can be construct, and what is required to do this, is Strategic Knowledge.
Relations
Can Instantiate
Creative Control, Diegetic Consistency, Strategic Knowledge
with Tools
Can Modulate
Can Be Instantiated By
Can Be Modulated By
Development Time, Extended Actions, Privileged Abilities, Resources, Skills
Possible Closure Effects
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Potentially Conflicting With
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History
New pattern created in this wiki.
References
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Acknowledgements
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