Goal Hierarchies

Structures of goals where the completion or non-competition of certain goals affects the possibility to complete other goals.

This pattern is a still a stub.

Examples

Example: A good example of a Hierarchy of Goals can be found in Zelda: A Link to the Past. At the start, Link is given the task of rescuing princess Zelda from the castle. After accomplishing this, Link is presented with a more elaborate quest of overcoming the evil wizard Agahnim. The subgoals of this task, such as freeing the seven maidens, are gradually revealed to the player during the gameplay and, near the end of the game, it is revealed that it is not Agahnim, but Ganon from the Dark World, that Link has to overcome.

Example: Chess can be seen as a loosely defined implicit Hierarchy of Goals. No pieces need to be captured from the opponent, nor any strategic locations occupied, to be able to checkmate the opponent's king. However, it does make the goal of checkmating easier, and nearly all players focus on achieving these subgoals before attempting to achieve the main goal.

Example: The rough goal hierarchy in Pac-Man is as follows: eat the pills while avoiding the ghosts, get the power pill while avoiding the ghosts, chase the ghosts or eat the pills while under the influence of the power-pill, finish levels by taking all pills on each level, and finally get into the high score list.

Relations

Instantiates: Narration Structures

Instantiated by: Tournaments, Collecting, Renewable Resources

Can Instantiate

Complex Gameplay, Higher-Level Closures as Gameplay Progresses

with Factions

Higher-Level Closures as Gameplay Progresses

Can Modulate

Companion Quests, Enemies, Traverse

Can Be Instantiated By

Achievements, Capture, Continuous Goals, Factions Grind Achievements, Levels, Minigames, Optional Goals, Predefined Goals, Quests, Speedruns, Stimulated Planning, Supporting Goals

Herd together with One-Way Travel

Can Be Modulated By

Clues, Dynamic Goal Characteristics, Excluding Goals, Save Points, Selectable Set of Goals, Strategic Knowledge, Unknown Goals

Possible Closure Effects

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Potentially Conflicting With

Quick Games

History

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

Acknowledgements

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