Difference between revisions of "No Direct Player Influence"

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''Games where players direct influence on the actual gameplay is non-existent or close to non-existent.''
 
''Games where players direct influence on the actual gameplay is non-existent or close to non-existent.''
  
It may seem strange to consider games where players cannot influence the outcome directly since this seems to state there would be no [http://gdp2.tii.se/index.php/Underlying_Assumptions_and_Concepts#gameplay|gameplay]. However, the first games of chance seem to have come to being from the use of dice and lots as divination methods <ref name="Adkins"/><ref name="Johnston"/>, i.e. one let the gods decide who should have the ante.
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It may seem strange to consider games where players cannot influence the outcome directly since this seems to state there would be no [http://gdp2.tii.se/index.php/Underlying_Assumptions_and_Concepts#gameplay|gameplay]. However, the first games of chance seem to have come to being from the use of dice and lots as divination methods <ref name="Adkins"/><ref name="Johnston"/>, i.e. one let the gods decide who should have the ante. For these, it is enough for players to be 'emotionally attached' (as noted by Juul as begin part of his definition of games<ref name="Juul"/>) and believing that they are exerting effort to influence the outcome (another of Juul's characteristics of games<ref name="Juul"/>) however illusionary that latter part may be.
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This pattern is a still a stub.
 
This pattern is a still a stub.
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<ref name="Adkins">Adkins, L. (1998) Handbook to life in ancient Rome, p. 313. ISBN 0195123328.</ref>
 
<ref name="Adkins">Adkins, L. (1998) Handbook to life in ancient Rome, p. 313. ISBN 0195123328.</ref>
 
<ref name="Johnston">Johnstron, S. I (2004) ions of the ancient world, p. 385. ISBN 0674015177.</ref>
 
<ref name="Johnston">Johnstron, S. I (2004) ions of the ancient world, p. 385. ISBN 0674015177.</ref>
 +
<ref name="Juul">Juul, J. (2005). Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds. The MIT Press. ISBN 0262101106.</ref>
 
</references>
 
</references>

Revision as of 19:26, 3 January 2011

Games where players direct influence on the actual gameplay is non-existent or close to non-existent.

It may seem strange to consider games where players cannot influence the outcome directly since this seems to state there would be no [1]. However, the first games of chance seem to have come to being from the use of dice and lots as divination methods [1][2], i.e. one let the gods decide who should have the ante. For these, it is enough for players to be 'emotionally attached' (as noted by Juul as begin part of his definition of games[3]) and believing that they are exerting effort to influence the outcome (another of Juul's characteristics of games[3]) however illusionary that latter part may be.


This pattern is a still a stub.

Examples

Crobots P-Robots

Gambling games such as Roulette can be seen as examples of No Direct Player Influence since they are pure games of chance when players are actually only betting on an outcome, not affecting it themselves.

Freedom of Choice

Ricochet Robots Progress Quest

Conway's Game of Life

4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness

Using the pattern

Making games have no No Direct Player Influence is easy in one fashion and difficult in another. Easy since instantiating the pattern simply consists of not letting players be able to interact with the systems. Difficult since they still need to be interesting and have some type of interaction possible. Typical solutions include the use of Exaggerated Perception of Influence or Meta Games.

Spectators

Zero-Player Games

Algorithmic Agents

Enforced Agent Behavior

Diegetic Aspects

Interface Aspects

Narrative Aspects

Consequences

As long as players' instruction can be given to without requiring the other players to be there, and that the results of them can likewise be given individually, games with No Direct Player Influence naturally provide a basis for Asynchronous Games. This may however not result in Common Experiences depending on how much the players identify with the actions of their agents.

Meta Games

Relations

Can Instantiate

Zero-Player Games

Asynchronous Games

Can Modulate

Can Be Instantiated By

Algorithmic Agents

Can Be Modulated By

Possible Closure Effects

Potentially Conflicting With

History

New pattern created in this wiki.

References

  1. Adkins, L. (1998) Handbook to life in ancient Rome, p. 313. ISBN 0195123328.
  2. Johnstron, S. I (2004) ions of the ancient world, p. 385. ISBN 0674015177.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Juul, J. (2005). Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds. The MIT Press. ISBN 0262101106.