Crafting

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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.

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


Grinding


Constructive Gameplay


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

Character Development

Can Modulate

Game Items, Game Worlds

Can Be Instantiated By

Installations, Tools

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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