Game World Navigation

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This pattern is a still a stub.

The action of trying to move from one place in the game to another when the correct way is not obviously apparent.

Examples

Example: The text-based adventure game Zork made navigation difficult by having non-symmetric routes between locations: Moving north from a place to another did not means that one returned by going south, rather one might have to go west instead.

Example: The maze-like levels in Doom and Quake required player to navigate within the environments to move efficiently between all parts of the levels.

Assassin's Creed series

Using the pattern

Game World Navigation is the activity of trying to find one's way from one point in a Game World (or Level) to another. Besides the presence of these environments this also requires that Movement in possible and that it is possible to get lost or take unnecessarily long routes. For the last requirement, Traverse does not always give rise to Game World Navigation (e.g. completing Levels in Donkey Kong or Frogger requires completing Traverse goals but these is no risk of getting lost) while the opposite is true. This being said, Traverse goals can motivate players to engage in navigation, and requiring Game World Exploration forces players do so Game World Navigation although one cannot be sure of the exact goal location. Game World Navigation is most common in games with large Game Worlds (e.g. the Grand Theft Auto series and the Just Cause series). However, games relying on text-based descriptions, e.g. the Zork series can have Game World Navigation and make the activity into one of Puzzle Solving by consciously breaking Diegetic Consistency so that moving in one direction and then moving in the opposite direction does not brings one back to the original position.

The layout of Game Worlds or Levels can heavily affect how easy or difficult Game World Navigation is. Obstacles in general makes it more difficult while Big Dumb Objects, Clues, Diegetically Outstanding Features, Landmarks, Point of Interest Indications, Props, and Traces makes it more easy.

An exception to this is when the latter are used to create Red Herrings.

The layout of Game Worlds modulate theRight Level of Difficulty of navigating and can be made more difficult by Movement Limitations, Obstacles,Inaccessible Areas, and other possibilities for Leaps of Faith, especially if they block players' views to other areas of a Game World. The navigation can be made easier by the use of Outstanding Features, Traces, Clues, and Game State Overview in the forms of maps. The division of Game Worlds into Levels makes Game World Navigation easier as smaller areas have to be navigated. Privileged Movement forms such as flying also makes the navigation easier as players can have better Game State Overview through different perspectives and may remove problems with Obstacles and Inaccessible Areas.

an activity based upon Exploration goals in Game Worlds done when performing Movement where only reaching the Goal Point is the only point of interest. However, learning the layout of the Game World can be used if the route has to be navigated again and can thus be

Strategic Knowledge

Can Be Modulated By

Inaccessible Areas, Mini-maps, Movement Limitations, Strategic Locations, Warp Zones

Game State Overviews together with Privileged Movement

Consequences

Game World Navigation is the activity of trying to succeed with Traverse goals in Game Worlds or Levels, and implies that players have a Freedom of Choice since otherwise there would be not challenge to the act of navigating. As mentioned above, Game World Navigation can require Puzzle Solving when Diegetic Consistency is broken but this can occur when players get lost or are unsure of which routes are possible. Through this, Game World Navigation encourages Cognitive Engrossment but can actually lessen Spatial Engrossment as it encourages players to perceive Game Worlds from an abstract perspective rather than through a diegetic perspective. While Game World Exploration may be the reason for engaging in Game World Navigation, the reverse may be true since players may discover new areas while navigating.

While Mini-maps may help navigation by providing maps they may also make it to easy to find one's position and which direction one should be travelling in, thereby making the activity of navigating closer to Excise than a gameplay challenge. The same applies to God Views since they can let players move their view of the Game World regardless of game elements, making Game World Navigation a trivial problem.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Cognitive Engrossment, Freedom of Choice, Game World Exploration, Puzzle Solving, Red Herrings, Traverse

Can Modulate

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Can Be Instantiated By

Game World Exploration, Game Worlds, Levels, Movement

Can Be Modulated By

Big Dumb Objects, Clues, Diegetically Outstanding Features, Inaccessible Areas, Landmarks, Mini-maps, Movement Limitations, Obstacles, Point of Interest Indications, Props, Strategic Knowledge, Strategic Locations, Traces, Warp Zones

Game State Overviews together with Privileged Movement

Possible Closure Effects

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Potentially Conflicting With

God Views, Mini-maps, Spatial Engrossment

History

An updated version of the pattern Game World Navigation that was part of the original collection in the book Patterns in Game Design.

Acknowledgements

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