Point of Interest Indicators

From gdp3
Revision as of 15:24, 9 August 2011 by Staffan Björk (Talk | contribs)

Jump to: navigation, search

...

This pattern is a still a stub.

See Linderoth (2010)[1] for details on how Point of Interest Indications affect how players learn to play games.

Examples

The later installments of the Fallout series use Point of Interest Indications on mini-maps to make players aware of potentially interest areas before their characters can actually perceive these.

Letting players aim correctly of enemies by a single button press is a form of Point of Interest Indication. Examples of games with this include Batman: Arkham Asylum, the Mass Effect series, and the Tomb Raider series.

Using the pattern

Point of Interest Indications can be used with all different types of ways of presenting Game Worlds, i.e. First-Person, Third-Person, and God Views. These can also be apply abstract through pointing out places on Mini-maps. They are nearly always Geospatial Game Widgets since they need to point of places in Game Worlds.

Although a lot of places in Game Worlds may be qualify to have Point of Interest Indications, Goal Points are most often shown to players through these. Killcams are specific Point of Interest Indications for spots where kills have just occurred and Auto-Aim support is a way of providing Point of Interest Indications for Enemies. Vision Modes can motivate turning on complete categories of Point of Interest Indications.

Interface Aspects

Point of Interest Indications is both an Information and Interface Pattern.

Consequences

Besides pointing out what can be interacted with in Game Worlds, Point of Interest Indications can draw players' attention to Clues. More generally, Point of Interest Indications can be used to augmented already Diegetically Outstanding Features so that players are extremely unlikely to miss them.

When used initial in games to point of how to play a game but then removed, Point of Interest Indications can support Smooth Learning Curves.

Since Point of Interest Indications can represent perceptual abilities of Characters in games with First-Person Views, the pattern can imply such as well as Player/Character Skill Composites.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Smooth Learning Curves

with First-Person Views

Characters, Player/Character Skill Composites

Can Modulate

Clues, Diegetically Outstanding Features, First-Person Views, Game Worlds, Goal Points, God Views, Mini-maps, Third-Person Views

Can Be Instantiated By

Auto-Aim, Geospatial Game Widgets, Killcams, Vision Modes

Can Be Modulated By

-

Possible Closure Effects

-

Potentially Conflicting With

-

History

New pattern created in this wiki. However, it was first reported as a design feature in games by Linderoth (2010)[1].

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Linderoth, J. (2010). Why gamers donʼt learn more - An ecological approach to games as learning environment, in Nordic DiGRA 2010.

Acknowledgements

-