Props

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Diegetic elements of game worlds that have no gameplay enabled through them.

Games with Game Worlds rarely can let players interact in all conceivably possible ways with all objects they logically should contain, both for production reasons and for wanting to focus the gameplay towards certain activities. To still let the objects be present, this can be solved by having Props, objects that either cannot be interacted with or only has non-vital information connected to them.

Examples

Trees are a common example of Props found for example in the Super Mario series, the Elder Scrolls series, and the Dragon Age series ( Crysis, Minecraft, the Just Cause series, and the Warcraft series are examples of games where the trees provide gameplay functionality).


Buildings


Backgrounds in e.g. the Quake series, the Halo series


Using the pattern

As a pattern mostly related to diegetic and narration aspects, the most important design choices for Props relate to this areas.

Big Dumb Objects

Even if Props have no gameplay directly facilitated through them they can affect gameplay in a couple of ways. They can affect Movement and Maneuvering by being designed to provide Clues, Traces, and Landmarks, or be Red Herrings that appear to be any of the former. They can of course also be Obstacles that block Movement and can be crashed into if diegetically plausible.


Invisible Walls


Geospatial Game Widgets

Exploration

Game Worlds Levels

MacGuffins

Diegetically Outstanding Features

Unlike their use in theater and movies, Props are rarely Game Items that can be picked up or moved. This since this is gameplay activities and may affect gameplay-related aspects such as Inventories.

Diegetic Aspects

Diegetic Consistency

Jonas' avhandling

Interface Aspects

Narrative Aspects

Narration Structures Environmental Storytelling Cutscenes

Consequences

When Props are designed so they provide Clues, Traces, and Landmarks they also help Game World Navigation (when they are Red Herrings they can of course instead making this harder).

While Props cannot individually enable Narration Structures, they can modulate them or create them through being part of Environmental Storytelling.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Clues, Environmental Storytelling, Landmarks, Red Herrings, Traces

with ...

Can Modulate

Game World Navigation, Narration Structures

Can Be Instantiated By

Cutscenes

Can Be Modulated By

Possible Closure Effects

Potentially Conflicting With

History

New pattern created in this wiki.

References

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Acknowledgements

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