Difference between revisions of "Communication Channels"

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[[Category:Interface Patterns]]
 
[[Category:Interface Patterns]]
 
[[Category:Patterns]]
 
[[Category:Patterns]]
[[Category:Needs work]]
 
 
[[Category:Needs revision]]
 
[[Category:Needs revision]]
 
[[Category:Needs examples]]
 
[[Category:Needs examples]]
 
[[Category:Needs references]]
 
[[Category:Needs references]]
[[Category:Stub]]
 
[[Category:Staffan's current workpage]]
 
 
''Specific design support for players to send messages to other players through the game.''
 
''Specific design support for players to send messages to other players through the game.''
  
This pattern is a still a stub.
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Games often make players want to communicate with each other. While players can in theory use any part of a game which they can affect and other players can perceived as a way to communicate, [[Communication Channels]] signify parts of a game design that is dedicated to communication. In many cases these [[Communication Channels]] are technical systems but they do not necessarily need to be this.
 
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While players can in theory use any part of a game which they can affect and other players can perceived as a way to communicate, [[Communication Channels]] signify parts of a game design that is dedicated to communication.
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=== Examples ===
 
=== Examples ===
MMORPGs usually provide many different kinds of Communication Channels for the players, from chat channels to predefined gestures for the players' Avatars. Players can, of course, use Communication Channels, such as IRC and even telephones, which are not part of the game system itself.
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[[:Category:Massively Multiplayer Online Games|Massively Multiplayer Online Games]] such as [[BatMUD]], [[Eve Online]], [[Kingdoms]], and [[World of Warcraft]] usually provide many different kinds of [[Communication Channels]] for the players, from chat channels to predefined gestures for the players' avatars.  
  
[[Left 4 Dead series]]
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Both the [[Battlefield series]] and the [[Left 4 Dead series]] allow players pie menus to quick communicate about specific gameplay issues in addition to providing chat channels.
  
[[BatMud]]
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==== Anti-Examples ====
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In [[Pictionary]], teams score points when members of the team guess correctly the words that one of the members tries to draw within a time limit. The player drawing is not allowed to speak so all communication needs to be through the drawing (and some gestures). While this means the game has a very specific communication channel, being able to communicate through that channel is a central part of the game's gameplay.
  
[[Battlefield series]]
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The gameplay of [[ESP Game]] relies on players not being able to communicate with each other. For this reason, the game does not only avoid providing any [[Communication Channels]] but also hides players' identities from each other so they cannot establish other [[Communication Channels]] outside the game.
 
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==== Anti-Examples ====
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In [[Pictionary]], teams score points when members of the team guess correctly the words that one of the members tries to draw within a time limit. The player drawing is not allowed to speak so all communication needs to be through the drawing (and some gestures). While this means the game has a very specific communication channel, being able to communicated through that channel is a central part of the game's gameplay.
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== Using the pattern ==
 
== Using the pattern ==
Per its definition, [[Communication Channels]] only makes sense as a way to modify [[Multiplayer Games]] (they are more of less ubiquitous in [[Massively Multiplayer Online Games]]) and is typically used for games with [[Mediated Gameplay]]. There are several reasons why designers of a game might want to have [[Communication Channels]] in a game. The first is that it is typically required for players to be able to have [[Coordination]] with each other, and more specifically support [[Timing]] issues in [[Real-Time Games]]. Another is that the existence and use of [[Communication Channels]] is a prerequisite for any game with [[Mediated Gameplay]] if it is to have [[Social Interaction]] on any higher level. The pattern is equally useful in [[Asynchronous Gameplay|Asynchronous]] as [[Synchronous Gameplay]]. A third reason is that they may be the only medium through which players can do [[Enactment]], and even if this can be done through other means as well it can be used to augmented players' possibility to engage in [[Roleplaying]]. While they can be used for games in general, specific [[Communication Channels]] can also provided to players based on [[Friend Lists]], [[Game Lobbies]], or [[Guilds]] or specific ones may be provided to [[Spectators]].
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Per its definition, [[Communication Channels]] only makes sense as a way to modify [[Multiplayer Games]] (they are more of less ubiquitous in [[Massively Multiplayer Online Games]]) and is typically used for games with [[Mediated Gameplay]]. There are several reasons why designers of a game might want to have [[Communication Channels]] in a game. The first is that it is typically required for players to be able to have [[Coordination]] with each other, and more specifically support [[Timing]] issues in [[Real-Time Games]]. Another is that the existence and use of [[Communication Channels]] is a prerequisite for any game with [[Mediated Gameplay]] if it is to have [[Social Interaction]] on any higher level. The pattern is equally useful in [[Asynchronous Gameplay|Asynchronous]] as [[Synchronous Gameplay]]. A third reason is that they may be the only medium through which players can do [[Enactment]], and even if this can be done through other means as well it can be used to augmented players' possibility to engage in [[Roleplaying]]. While they can be used for games in general, specific [[Communication Channels]] can also be provided to players based on [[Game Lobbies]] or [[Guilds]], or specific ones may be provided to [[Spectators]]. [[Friend Lists]] can be used to filter or create specific [[Communication Channels]] so players need only speak to their friends if they so wish.
  
 
[[Chat Channels]], voice channels, and [[Dialogues]] are three basic forms of [[Communication Channels]] that can be used in games, but [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] (such as [[Game Masters]] for example) can be [[Communication Channels]] in themselves. [[Meta-Techniques]] are [[Communication Channels]] used primarily to modify [[Unmediated Social Interaction]] in games. By giving players a [[Game-Defined Vocabulary]] or [[Asymmetric Abilities]] regarding how they can communicate, designers can create more specific types of [[Communication Channels]]. A design choice when constructing [[Communication Channels]] is if players should be able to transmit [[Direct Information|Direct]] or [[Indirect Information]] about the game state to each other. The latter is typically enforced by [[Limited Communication Abilities]] but some form of [[Communication Channels]] are required for an intermediate media to exist.
 
[[Chat Channels]], voice channels, and [[Dialogues]] are three basic forms of [[Communication Channels]] that can be used in games, but [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] (such as [[Game Masters]] for example) can be [[Communication Channels]] in themselves. [[Meta-Techniques]] are [[Communication Channels]] used primarily to modify [[Unmediated Social Interaction]] in games. By giving players a [[Game-Defined Vocabulary]] or [[Asymmetric Abilities]] regarding how they can communicate, designers can create more specific types of [[Communication Channels]]. A design choice when constructing [[Communication Channels]] is if players should be able to transmit [[Direct Information|Direct]] or [[Indirect Information]] about the game state to each other. The latter is typically enforced by [[Limited Communication Abilities]] but some form of [[Communication Channels]] are required for an intermediate media to exist.
  
[[Communication Channels]] can ensure that messages from the game system is [[Public Information]]. Likewise, it can allow players to provide information to all other players so that it becomes [[Public Information]].  
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[[Communication Channels]] can ensure that messages from the game system is [[Public Information]]. Likewise, it can allow players to provide information to all other players so that it becomes [[Public Information]]. [[Uncertainty of Information]] can be introduce through [[Communication Channels]] by game systems intercepting messages and modifying them before sending them to their original receiver, or simply by creating false ones. A weak examples of this can be found in how [[World of Warcraft]] manipulates the messages of drunk [[Characters]] by changing most "s" to "sh" and intermittently adding "... hic!" to the end of sentences.  
 
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[[Uncertainty of Information]] can be introduce through [[Communication Channels]] by game systems intercepting messages and modifying them before sending them to their original receiver, or simply by creating false ones. A weak examples of this can be found in how [[World of Warcraft]] manipulates the messages of drunk [[Characters]] by changing most "s" to "sh" and intermittently adding "... hic!" to the end of sentences.
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In the context of this pattern, communication methods are classified in terms of three rather crude and slightly interdependent dichotomies: face to face versus mediated, synchronous versus asynchronous, and verbal versus non-verbal. All these also use a simple model of communication based on the sender sending a message through a channel to the (potential) receiver.
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Face-to-face situations occur when players share the same physical location. This is the case for almost all traditional and more current games from Hide & Seek to Chess to Pictionary. In face-to-face situations, players use natural non-verbal cues, such as gestures and facial expressions---in many cases unconsciously---as Indirect Information to determine the current situation. Poker is perhaps the best example of a game where these natural social cues present only in face-to-face situations have an extremely strong impact on the game play experience. Mediated communication is the opposite: the players are not (necessarily) sharing the same physical location, and the communication between the players is mediated by, for example, semaphores, telephone lines, or computer networks, which all can be considered part of a Dedicated Game Facilitator.
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The communication between players can be either synchronous or asynchronous. In synchronous communication players share the situation as there is no significant delay in communication, and the situation usually requires attention from all the participants. Asynchronous communication can have time delays of hours, days, or in extreme cases, millennia between sending the message and receiving it. Asynchronous communication always has to be mediated, in contrast to face-to-face communication where there cannot be time delays between sending and receiving the message. It is possible, however, to devise a situation where there is an enforced time delay in responding to the message in face-to-face situations using, for example, one-directional mirrors, but this area might remain marginal in commercial games.
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Verbal communication is based on using a shared language for messages. The simplest case, of course, is physically talking to other players. Forms of non-verbal communication range from gestures and facial expressions in face-to-face situations to visual messages such as drawings, diagrams, and animations. As the Pictionary example demonstrated, it is possible to base a whole game on requiring players to communicate by using Asymmetric Abilities. Game systems, as Dedicated Game Facilitators, often provide and control the Communication Channels available to the players as in most current MMORPGs. In these cases, the game system can even manipulate the characteristics of the Communication Channels to cause, for example, even more Uncertainty of Information by garbling the messages. The nature of Communication Channels used in Real-Time Games and [[Synchronous Gameplay]] depends on the pace of the game time.
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While [[Communication Channels]] may seem unnecessary for game with [[Unmediated Social Interaction]], it can be used to provide [[Secret Communication]] in these.
 
While [[Communication Channels]] may seem unnecessary for game with [[Unmediated Social Interaction]], it can be used to provide [[Secret Communication]] in these.
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== Consequences ==
 
== Consequences ==
[[Communication Channels]] allow players to interact with each other, and through this can heavily influence how [[Social Organizations]] and [[Social Roles]] emerge or are maintained in games. By doing this it can provide [[Community Functionality]]. The [[Social Interaction]] that [[Communication Channels]] support can give rise to many more specific types of interaction, e.g. [[Bragging]] and [[Negotiation]], and significantly change how [[Helplessness]] functions in [[Multiplayer Games]] by giving rise to [[Guilting]] and addition types of [[Negotiation]]. Games where [[Social Dilemmas]] can be debated over [[Communication Channels]] is even more likely to have [[Negotiation]] and [[Social Interaction]]. All these aspects help make [[Communication Channels]] give players of a game a feeling of [[Togetherness]]. Regardless of quality, [[Communication Channels]] does not provide [[Unmediated Social Interaction]].
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[[Communication Channels]] allow players to interact with each other, and through this can heavily influence how [[Social Organizations]] and [[Social Roles]] emerge or are maintained in games. By doing this it can provide [[Community Functionality]]. The [[Social Interaction]] that [[Communication Channels]] support can give rise to many more specific types of interaction, e.g. [[Bragging]] and [[Negotiation]], and significantly change how [[Helplessness]] functions in [[Multiplayer Games]] by giving rise to [[Guilting]] and addition types of [[Negotiation]]. Games where [[Social Dilemmas]] can be debated over [[Communication Channels]] is even more likely to have [[Negotiation]] and [[Social Interaction]]. All these aspects help make [[Communication Channels]] give players of a game a feeling of [[Togetherness]] (and can thereby work against [[Ragequitting]],
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in games where this can occur<ref name="linderoth"/>). Regardless of quality, [[Communication Channels]] does not provide [[Unmediated Social Interaction]].
  
Many other types of actions may be possible without [[Communication Channels]] but become more easy, more interesting, or more well grounded when they are discussed through the [[Communication Channels]]. Examples include [[Asynchronous Collaborative Actions]], [[Cooperation]], [[Player Kicking]], [[Social Dilemmas]], [[Team Combos]], [[Trading]], and [[Voting]].  
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Many other types of actions may be possible without [[Communication Channels]] but become easier, more interesting, or more well-grounded when they are discussed through the [[Communication Channels]]. Examples include [[Asynchronous Collaborative Actions]], [[Cooperation]], [[Player Kicking]], [[Social Dilemmas]], [[Team Combos]], [[Trading]], and [[Voting]]. The experience of playing together may also be strengthen by being able to talk about the activity will it happens, so [[Communication Channels]] can strength [[Mutual FUBAR Enjoyment]]. Further, [[Communication Channels]] can easily be used for discussions about other subjects than the specific ongoing gameplay. This is a form of [[Extra-Game Actions|Extra-Game Action]] but may still be relevant to the game, e.g. exchanging [[Trans-Game Information]] such as gameplay strategies.  
  
[[Communication Channels]] can easily be used for discussions about other subjects than the specific ongoing gameplay. This is a form of [[Extra-Game Actions|Extra-Game Action]] but may still be relevant to the game, e.g. exchanging [[Trans-Game Information]] such as gameplay strategies.  
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[[Communication Channels]] provide a basic requirement for players to have a [[Possibility of Anonymity]], but since players may be reveal things about themselves to other players, [[Enforced Player Anonymity]] may be impossible and the pattern may work against [[Actor Detachment]]. As mentioned above, they may also choose to break the [[Diegetic Consistency]].
  
 
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[[Enforced Player Anonymity]] is related to [[Communication Channels]] in another way, namely that unless a game has [[Enforced Player Anonymity]] players can create their own [[Communication Channels]] by using Skype, mobile phone, instant messaging, etc. which are not part of the game system itself. Thus, in many games players can establish communication with each other and game designer can relate to this either by supporting [[Communication Channels]], or less common, making it difficult for players to create their own [[Communication Channels]].
 
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[[Communication Channels]] provide a basic requirement for players to have a [[Possibility of Anonymity]], but since players may be reveal things about themselves to other players, [[Enforced Player Anonymity]] may be impossible and the pattern may work against [[Actor Detachment]]. As mentioned above, they may also choose to break the [[Diegetic Consistency]].
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== Relations ==
 
== Relations ==
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[[Cooperation]],  
 
[[Cooperation]],  
 
[[Diegetic Communication]],  
 
[[Diegetic Communication]],  
[[Friend Lists]],
 
 
[[Game Lobbies]],  
 
[[Game Lobbies]],  
 
[[Guilds]],  
 
[[Guilds]],  
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[[Mediated Gameplay]],  
 
[[Mediated Gameplay]],  
 
[[Multiplayer Games]],  
 
[[Multiplayer Games]],  
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[[Mutual FUBAR Enjoyment]],
 
[[Non-Diegetic Communication]],  
 
[[Non-Diegetic Communication]],  
 
[[Player Kicking]],  
 
[[Player Kicking]],  
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=== Can Be Modulated By ===
 
=== Can Be Modulated By ===
 
[[Asymmetric Abilities]],  
 
[[Asymmetric Abilities]],  
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[[Friend Lists]],
 
[[Game-Defined Vocabulary]],  
 
[[Game-Defined Vocabulary]],  
 
[[Limited Communication Abilities]]  
 
[[Limited Communication Abilities]]  
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[[Enforced Player Anonymity]],  
 
[[Enforced Player Anonymity]],  
 
[[Diegetic Consistency]],  
 
[[Diegetic Consistency]],  
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[[Ragequitting]],
 
[[Unmediated Social Interaction]]
 
[[Unmediated Social Interaction]]
  
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<references>
 
<references>
 
<ref name="Bjork & Holopainen 2004">Björk, S. & Holopainen, J. (2004) ''Patterns in Game Design''. Charles River Media. ISBN1-58450-354-8.</ref>
 
<ref name="Bjork & Holopainen 2004">Björk, S. & Holopainen, J. (2004) ''Patterns in Game Design''. Charles River Media. ISBN1-58450-354-8.</ref>
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<ref name="linderoth">Linderoth, J., Björk, S., & Olsson, C. 2013. [http://www.digra.org/digital-library/publications/should-i-stay-or-should-i-go-boundary-maintaining-mechanisms-in-left-4-dead-2/ Should I Stay or Should I Go? Boundary Maintaining Mechanism in Left 4 Dead 2]. DiGRA Nordic '12: Proceedings of 2012 International DiGRA Nordic Conference.</ref>
 
</references>
 
</references>
  
 
== Acknowledgements ==
 
== Acknowledgements ==
 
-
 
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Revision as of 10:07, 13 July 2015

Specific design support for players to send messages to other players through the game.

Games often make players want to communicate with each other. While players can in theory use any part of a game which they can affect and other players can perceived as a way to communicate, Communication Channels signify parts of a game design that is dedicated to communication. In many cases these Communication Channels are technical systems but they do not necessarily need to be this.

Examples

Massively Multiplayer Online Games such as BatMUD, Eve Online, Kingdoms, and World of Warcraft usually provide many different kinds of Communication Channels for the players, from chat channels to predefined gestures for the players' avatars.

Both the Battlefield series and the Left 4 Dead series allow players pie menus to quick communicate about specific gameplay issues in addition to providing chat channels.

Anti-Examples

In Pictionary, teams score points when members of the team guess correctly the words that one of the members tries to draw within a time limit. The player drawing is not allowed to speak so all communication needs to be through the drawing (and some gestures). While this means the game has a very specific communication channel, being able to communicate through that channel is a central part of the game's gameplay.

The gameplay of ESP Game relies on players not being able to communicate with each other. For this reason, the game does not only avoid providing any Communication Channels but also hides players' identities from each other so they cannot establish other Communication Channels outside the game.

Using the pattern

Per its definition, Communication Channels only makes sense as a way to modify Multiplayer Games (they are more of less ubiquitous in Massively Multiplayer Online Games) and is typically used for games with Mediated Gameplay. There are several reasons why designers of a game might want to have Communication Channels in a game. The first is that it is typically required for players to be able to have Coordination with each other, and more specifically support Timing issues in Real-Time Games. Another is that the existence and use of Communication Channels is a prerequisite for any game with Mediated Gameplay if it is to have Social Interaction on any higher level. The pattern is equally useful in Asynchronous as Synchronous Gameplay. A third reason is that they may be the only medium through which players can do Enactment, and even if this can be done through other means as well it can be used to augmented players' possibility to engage in Roleplaying. While they can be used for games in general, specific Communication Channels can also be provided to players based on Game Lobbies or Guilds, or specific ones may be provided to Spectators. Friend Lists can be used to filter or create specific Communication Channels so players need only speak to their friends if they so wish.

Chat Channels, voice channels, and Dialogues are three basic forms of Communication Channels that can be used in games, but Dedicated Game Facilitators (such as Game Masters for example) can be Communication Channels in themselves. Meta-Techniques are Communication Channels used primarily to modify Unmediated Social Interaction in games. By giving players a Game-Defined Vocabulary or Asymmetric Abilities regarding how they can communicate, designers can create more specific types of Communication Channels. A design choice when constructing Communication Channels is if players should be able to transmit Direct or Indirect Information about the game state to each other. The latter is typically enforced by Limited Communication Abilities but some form of Communication Channels are required for an intermediate media to exist.

Communication Channels can ensure that messages from the game system is Public Information. Likewise, it can allow players to provide information to all other players so that it becomes Public Information. Uncertainty of Information can be introduce through Communication Channels by game systems intercepting messages and modifying them before sending them to their original receiver, or simply by creating false ones. A weak examples of this can be found in how World of Warcraft manipulates the messages of drunk Characters by changing most "s" to "sh" and intermittently adding "... hic!" to the end of sentences.

While Communication Channels may seem unnecessary for game with Unmediated Social Interaction, it can be used to provide Secret Communication in these.

Diegetic Aspects

Communication Channels open up the possibility for Diegetic Communication between players and thereby Diegetic Consistency. However, players may also use these channels to break the Diegetic Consistency by initiating Non-Diegetic Communication so this design solution puts the players in power and responsibility of determined if this should be maintained. When there are several types of Communication Channels, or when Communication Channels complement Unmediated Social Interaction, this provides ways to modulate Diegetic and Non-Diegetic Communication so that different channels can be used for different types of communication.

Interface Aspects

Since Communication Channels focuses on communication between players rather than gameplay action, it is a Interface Pattern. It is however still a gameplay pattern since Communication Channels can support actual gameplay actions in addition to the communication.

Consequences

Communication Channels allow players to interact with each other, and through this can heavily influence how Social Organizations and Social Roles emerge or are maintained in games. By doing this it can provide Community Functionality. The Social Interaction that Communication Channels support can give rise to many more specific types of interaction, e.g. Bragging and Negotiation, and significantly change how Helplessness functions in Multiplayer Games by giving rise to Guilting and addition types of Negotiation. Games where Social Dilemmas can be debated over Communication Channels is even more likely to have Negotiation and Social Interaction. All these aspects help make Communication Channels give players of a game a feeling of Togetherness (and can thereby work against Ragequitting, in games where this can occur[1]). Regardless of quality, Communication Channels does not provide Unmediated Social Interaction.

Many other types of actions may be possible without Communication Channels but become easier, more interesting, or more well-grounded when they are discussed through the Communication Channels. Examples include Asynchronous Collaborative Actions, Cooperation, Player Kicking, Social Dilemmas, Team Combos, Trading, and Voting. The experience of playing together may also be strengthen by being able to talk about the activity will it happens, so Communication Channels can strength Mutual FUBAR Enjoyment. Further, Communication Channels can easily be used for discussions about other subjects than the specific ongoing gameplay. This is a form of Extra-Game Action but may still be relevant to the game, e.g. exchanging Trans-Game Information such as gameplay strategies.

Communication Channels provide a basic requirement for players to have a Possibility of Anonymity, but since players may be reveal things about themselves to other players, Enforced Player Anonymity may be impossible and the pattern may work against Actor Detachment. As mentioned above, they may also choose to break the Diegetic Consistency.

Enforced Player Anonymity is related to Communication Channels in another way, namely that unless a game has Enforced Player Anonymity players can create their own Communication Channels by using Skype, mobile phone, instant messaging, etc. which are not part of the game system itself. Thus, in many games players can establish communication with each other and game designer can relate to this either by supporting Communication Channels, or less common, making it difficult for players to create their own Communication Channels.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Bragging, Community Functionality, Coordination, Diegetic Communication, Diegetic Consistency, Direct Information, Enactment, Extra-Game Actions, Indirect Information, Non-Diegetic Communication, Negotiation, Possibility of Anonymity, Social Roles, Togetherness, Trans-Game Information, Uncertainty of Information

with Helplessness

Guilting, Negotiation

with Mediated Gameplay

Social Interaction

with Social Dilemmas

Negotiation, Social Interaction

with Unmediated Social Interaction

Secret Communication

Can Modulate

Asynchronous Collaborative Actions, Asynchronous Gameplay, Cooperation, Diegetic Communication, Game Lobbies, Guilds, Massively Multiplayer Online Games, Mediated Gameplay, Multiplayer Games, Mutual FUBAR Enjoyment, Non-Diegetic Communication, Player Kicking, Public Information, Real-Time Games, Roleplaying, Social Dilemmas, Social Organizations, Spectators, Synchronous Gameplay, Team Combos, Timing, Trading, Voting

Helplessness in Multiplayer Games

Can Be Instantiated By

Chat Channels, Dedicated Game Facilitators, Dialogues, Meta-Techniques

Can Be Modulated By

Asymmetric Abilities, Friend Lists, Game-Defined Vocabulary, Limited Communication Abilities

Possible Closure Effects

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Potentially Conflicting With

Actor Detachment, Enforced Player Anonymity, Diegetic Consistency, Ragequitting, Unmediated Social Interaction

History

An heavily updated version of the pattern Communication Channels that was part of the original collection in the book Patterns in Game Design[2].

References

  1. Linderoth, J., Björk, S., & Olsson, C. 2013. Should I Stay or Should I Go? Boundary Maintaining Mechanism in Left 4 Dead 2. DiGRA Nordic '12: Proceedings of 2012 International DiGRA Nordic Conference.
  2. Björk, S. & Holopainen, J. (2004) Patterns in Game Design. Charles River Media. ISBN1-58450-354-8.

Acknowledgements

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