Free Gift Inventories
Sets of game elements given to a player to be given to other players.
In games where players need resources, one way of encouraging social interaction between them is to allow them to give each other gifts. If they are given freely to players to distribute, they form Free Gift Inventories which players can use to help those other players which they feel are worthy of the presents.
Contents
Examples
Players of FarmVille are often presented with lost animals that they may offer to other players.
Using the pattern
Creating Free Gift Inventories consist primarily of deciding when players should be provided with them and what Resources they should contain. They are typically some form of Reward but with some level of Randomness to avoid making other players being able to predict too easily when they should be possible receivers. Likewise, Randomness is often used so no players can predict what Resources will be the next possible gift.
Given that Free Gift Inventories provide a way for Social Interaction with no direct negative consequences and no need real-time interaction, they are well-suited for Massively Single-Player Online Games, Asynchronous Games and any with Casual Gameplay.
Interface Aspects
Managing Free Gift Inventories is likely to best done through Secondary Interface Screens unless they are a very common part of a game's gameplay.
Consequences
Free Gift Inventories is an example of Inventories used for Player-Decided Distribution of Rewards & Penalties. From the players perspective, they make the Resources into Renewable Resources unless the Resources actually are limited and there is some Game Status Indicators revealing the numbers left.
As long as the gifts are being given to other players, they are a form of Social Interaction. Although on the surface they allow players to perform Altruistic Actions and Cooperation they may carry the consequences of an implied Delayed Reciprocity and indirect Trading. This may even include Guilting.
Exaggerated Perception of Influence
Relations
Can Instantiate
Altruistic Actions, Cooperation, Delayed Reciprocity, Guilting, Inventories, Player-Decided Distribution of Rewards & Penalties, Social Interaction, Rewards, Trading
Can Modulate
Asynchronous Games, Casual Gameplay, Massively Single-Player Online Games, Resources
Can Be Instantiated By
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Can Be Modulated By
Secondary Interface Screens, Randomness
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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