Difference between revisions of "Ability Losses"

Revision as of 09:32, 28 June 2011

The event of losing the abilities of performing certain actions in a game.

This pattern is a still a stub.

The choice of Focus Loci affects how player's can experience Ability Loss. If the Privileged Abilities are provided by Avatars or Characters, the loss is typically either due to the end of a Time Limit in the case of Power-Ups or a Penalty for losing a Life or losing Ownership of Tools.

Games do not have to let players have the same possibility of actions the whole game. Such Ability Losses may be the cause of Penalties for failing goals or the effect of opponents' actions, but may also simply be due to different play modes.

Examples

Respawning in multiplayer first-person shooters is typically done without any weapons, and the special abilities they provided, gained in earlier gameplay.

Game masters in roleplaying games can sometimes be forced to invent events that are unavoidable to the players to strip them of equipment that gives the abilities that disrupt the game balance.

RoboRally

Space Alert

Using the pattern

The design of Ability Losses consists of deciding what actions are lost and the reason for the losses, typically Penalties for failing goals. Besides Penalties, Ability Losses may be the natural closing effect of Temporary Abilities. Other common causes for Ability Losses, which can be seen as more specific examples of Penalties, include Spawning after losing Lives or being part of Role Reversals where the losses of some abilities are usually countered by New Abilities in other Competence Areas.

The Penalties of Ability Losses can also be mitigated by having Time Limits or by giving players New Abilities within other Competence Areas.

In games with Game Masters, Ability Losses may naturally occur as the outcome of Negotiation with players in order to restore Player Balance. Although not popular, it can also be part of Evolving Rule Sets in order to provide Balancing Effects between different strategies.

Game Items,

Can Instantiate

Environmental Effects, Traps

with Time Limits

Cooldown

with Environmental Effects or Game Items

Traps

Can Be Instantiated By

Debuffs,

Narrative Aspects

Ability Losses are not commonly used to advance Narrative Structures unless they are Ultra-Powerful Events, since players may see goals in resisting the loss, especially in games that support Save-Load Cycles. One reason for enforcing these types of Ability Losses in Narrative Structures is as part of Character Development. When the losses are part of the game story, they do provide a form of Varied Gameplay, as players have to adjust to a Limited Set of Actions, which may be used to modulate theRight Level of Difficulty. However, Ability Losses may be enforced by a game design to ensure a Narrative Structure, although this may be in conflict with a Consistent Reality Logic, for example, making it impossible to attack shopkeepers in computer-based roleplaying games when it is possible to attack monsters.

Consequences

Ability Losses are common as Penalties, e.g. those caused by the effects of Damage. Losing Abilities naturally creates or restricts a Limited Set of Actions for players and thereby players' their Freedom of Choice and most likely negatively affect any Exaggerated Perception of Influence they may have. When Ability Losses are temporary in the sense that they some how can be regained, the pattern creates Gain Competence goals.

The losses can be on an Avatar or Unit level or be applied on a player generally, but regardless of this may cause Competence Areas to be lost. When Ability Losses are related to Abstract Player Constructs or Characters, these loses can be seen as (negative) Abstract Player Construct or Character Development; Ability Losses can also modulate other Character Development, e.g. having some actions being taboo after having joined specific Factions. In extreme cases, Ability Losses may cause players to have Downtime, which is equal to Player Killing if the loss is temporary and equal to Player Elimination if it is permanent. However, Ability Losses may reduce the complexity of a game while increasing the difficulty, thereby being able to modulate both Complex and Challenging Gameplay.

The possibility of Ability Losses for Units can give rise to Continuous Goals of trying to Evade and Survive. This happens when players have some Units with Abilities that other Units under his or her control do not have, and can loss the Units. This can still occur if Units are under Indirect Control, as the loss may not be so severe since control may be possible to regain.

A loss of Abilities can affect Player Balance. If the lost Abilities were possessed by most or all other players or Agents this is a Penalty, but if the Abilities were Privileged Abilities, the losses can affirm Player Balance and be Balancing Effects if explicitly designed into the game. When Ability Losses are combined with New Abilities, this pair can be balanced in itself and require players to consider both the Risk/Reward and the Tradeoffs associated with losing one Ability to gain another.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Abstract Player Construct Development, Balancing Effects, Character Development, Downtime, Environmental Effects, Gain Competence, Penalties, Player Elimination, Player Killing, Traps

with New Abilities

Risk/Reward, Tradeoffs

with Time Limits

Cooldown

with Units

Continuous Goals, Evade, Survive

Can Modulate

Abilities, Avatars, Challenging Gameplay, Character Development, Complex Gameplay, Freedom of Choice, Game Items, Limited Set of Actions, Player Balance, Units

Can Be Instantiated By

Debuffs, Evolving Rule Sets, Game Masters, Role Reversals, Spawning, Temporary Abilities

Can Be Modulated By

Time Limits

Possible Closure Effects

-

Potentially Conflicting With

Competence Areas, Exaggerated Perception of Influence

History

An updated version of the pattern Ability Losses that was part of the original collection in the book Patterns in Game Design^[1].

References

1. ↑ Björk, S. & Holopainen, J. (2004) Patterns in Game Design. Charles River Media. ISBN1-58450-354-8.

Acknowledgements