Handles
Identifiers to recognize players or their efforts in games.
This pattern is a still a stub.
The players are identified in the game instance, and sometimes between game instances, by short names or other at least somewhat unique identifiers. The players are often free to choose their own Handles, unless there already are similar Handles in the game. The requirement of a unique identifier within a game instance is usually quite strict, even if the game system itself does not guarantee the uniqueness of the Handle. The same applies to more persistent Handles between game instances.
Contents
Examples
Example: Asteroids and many, if not most, other arcade games have highscore lists where the players can leave their short nick-names if they perform well enough in the game. The players can enter any Handle in the highscore list, but it is often considered quite impolite to use the same Handle as someone else.
Example: online multiplayer first-person shooters let the players enter names for their avatars. These Handles are used to measure and compare the performance of the individual players and in team-oriented games also to identify the other team-members. The Handles are not necessarily persistent from the game system point of view, but often there are sometimes severe penalties for players who try to pose as other players.
Using the pattern
One of the two main aspect of designing Handles is how they should be constructed and the other is how they are displayed or used.
Handles are in many cases symbols or short free-form pieces of text, but players may have a limited set of predefined Handles to choose from or be allowed to create them fully through Naming. The classic limit of three characters per Handle that early Arcade Games such as Pac-Man and Space Invaders had is sometimes still used in web-based games. In online games for children, such as ToonTown, players may only be allowed to compose their Handles from predefined list of words in order to avoid the possibility of obscene Handles.
Regarding their uses in games, Handles are often used to create High Score Lists or User Accounts. Through the latter, they can support Multiplayer Games through Public Player Statistics and ways to identify each other in Game Lobbies and Chat Forums. Handles can also be used to display with Teams or Guilds players belong to, and this may either be controlled by the game system (or Game Servers) or be informally done by player agreement.
When Avatars exist in games, Handles are quite often used to create Geospatial Game Widgets that provide Game State Indicators of which Avatars is controlled by which players.
Consequences
Handles are used to identify different players in cases where differentiation would otherwise be impossible or difficult, e.g in Asynchronous Games or Mediated Gameplay. For people playing together this can support Cooperation and Coordination in Teams or Parties, partly by providing different identifies but even more so by making it possible to assume future actions, and can help players form more Social Organizations where the players may have different roles and responsibilities. Both in these types of games and others, Handles can provide the starting points for players' to have Identification with entities in the games or the events that take place during gameplay.
Whenever Handles can be noticed by others players or Spectators, they can work to accrue Game-Induced Player Social Status since a players' Game Mastery can be noticed. High Score Lists are a prime example of this use of Handles, allowing players to compare the outcomes of their game instances with other players.
Letting players choose or create their Handles gives them a limited form of a Freedom of Choice, but may make Enforced Player Anonymity impossible. However, Handles in games with only Mediated Gameplay can allow for a Possibility of Anonymity.
Having an unique identify is a core feature of being a Character, so showing Handles through Geospatial Game Widgets or HUD Interfaces can be the starting point for having the Characters pattern in a game design.
Relations
Can Instantiate
Freedom of Choice, Game State Indicators, High Score Lists, Identification
with Mediated Gameplay
with Geospatial Game Widgets or HUD Interfaces
Can Modulate
Asynchronous Games, Avatars, Chat Forums, Cooperation, Coordination, Game Lobbies, Mediated Gameplay, Multiplayer Games, Parties, Public Player Statistics, Teams, User Accounts
Can Be Instantiated By
Can Be Modulated By
Possible Closure Effects
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Potentially Conflicting With
History
An updated version of the pattern Handles that was part of the original collection in the book Patterns in Game Design[1].
References
- ↑ Björk, S. & Holopainen, J. (2004) Patterns in Game Design. Charles River Media. ISBN1-58450-354-8.
Acknowledgements
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