Sniper Locations

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Locations in game worlds suited for snipers.

Use of ranged weapons are often beneficial in games since enemies may not be able to fight back. This is especially true when the attacks can be done at very long ranges or it is difficult to detect from where the attack came. Sniper Locations are places in game worlds that provide one or both of these advantages.

Examples

For obvious reasons, Sniper Locations are most common in First-Person Shooters. The Battlefield series provides many locations where snipers can have good overviews over large parts of the gameplay area. This includes tops of cliffs, roof tops, and scalable cranes. Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas has many features in their game worlds that can be used to attack enemies at long distances and in relative safety. This is also encouraged by the presence of specialized sniping weapons in the game. The open and hilly worlds in the Crysis series also provide many Sniper Locations and

Using the pattern

Two main design requirements exist for locations to be usable as Sniper Locations: that it covers an area which is suitable for targeting Enemies and that the location itself is relatively safe.


Making Sniper Locations safe can be done in several ways. Height differences and

Inaccessible Areas

causing detours

open areas

Arenas

Obstacles

Diegetic Aspects

Interface Aspects

Narrative Aspects

Consequences

Sniper Locations affect how Combat, Aim & Shoot specifically, can be done in Game Worlds or Levels by offering Strategic Locations from which engage in these activities. This encourages Camping in these locations and, since not being noticed in them is an advantage, Stealth both in getting there are while being there. Getting to these locations and using them effectively thereby requires Tactical Planning, as does dislocating those that have gotten access to them.

Sniper Locations occupied by Enemies can effectively become Inaccessible Areas until the Enemies have be removed somehow. This feature, or if victims fail to detect the Sniper Locations, can make for Repeated Domination in games with Sniper Locations.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Camping, Repeated Domination, Stealth, Strategic Locations, Tactical Planning

with Enemies

Inaccessible Areas

Can Modulate

Aim & Shoot, Combat, Game Worlds, Levels

Can Be Instantiated By

Inaccessible Areas

Can Be Modulated By

-

Possible Closure Effects

-

Potentially Conflicting With

-

History

New pattern created in this wiki. However, it was first introduced using another template by Hullett and Whitehead[1], and a more detailed description in this template is available[2].

References

  1. Hullett, K. & Whitehead, J. (2010). Design Patterns in FPS Levels, paper presentation at Foundations of Digital Games 2010, June 19-21, Monterey, CA, USA.
  2. Sniper Location pattern by Kenneth Hullett.

Acknowledgements

Kennart Hullett, Jim Whitehead