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DESIGN PATTERNS IN GAMES: THE WORKSHOP Foundations of Digital Games 2012
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DESIGN PATTERNS IN GAMES: THE WORKSHOPFoundations of Digital Games 2012
BIG QUESTIONS AND CHALLENGESOpening Remarks
1977 Architecture and urban
design “ Organize implicit
knowledge about how people solve recurring problems when they go about building things”
Present a problem and a solution
http://www.patternlanguage.com
INFLUENCE ON SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
“reusable solution to a commonly occurring problem in software design”
1994(with lots of earlier work at least as far back as 1987)
GAMES?1. Need for a language/vocabulary for
describing and talking about game design
2. Desire to document design decisions/conventions
Often problem/solution pairs
GAMES – EARLY WORK
The Case for Game Design
Patterns
2002Bernd Kreimeier
(Gamasutra)
2005Bjork & Holopainen
(also earlier work in 2003)
2005Zagal, Mateas, et al.
Formal Abstract
Design Tools
1999Church
(Game Developer)
1984Crawford
TODAYGenerativeGrammars
Descriptive Notation
& Grammars
Etc.AbstractLogical
Formalisms
Genre Specific Patterns
Interface Patterns
Game Programming Patterns
Taxonomies
WHY PATTERNS IN GAMES?1. Common solutions for design problems2. Development of critical/expressive
language3. Framework for developing/sharing
deeper understanding4. Exploring/mapping design space5. Formalizing design knowledge for
automated creation6. Support for games education
DESIGN PATTERNS AND GAMES BEYOND 2012
It’s been about 10 years….
THE BIG CHALLENGES1. Accessibility & Usability
2. Significance of Contributions
3. Ludic Responsibility
ACCESSIBILITY & USABILITY (1/3) Barriers to Entry
How to navigate and make sense of? Topologies of patterns Entry Points
Experts invest time to learn language Elitist
Fragmentation Multiple approaches re-inventing the wheel
ACCESSIBILITY AND USABILITY (2/3)
Why not useful? Is this work relevant? To whom?
ACCESSIBILITY & USABILITY (3/3) Appropriate Level of Abstraction
Focus on the tree, miss the forest Focus on forest, what trees?
SIGNIFICANCE OF CONTRIBUTIONS Theoretical Underpinnings
Are we creating theory? What theory/ies are informing/supporting our work?
Methodological Rigor What are our methods?
What are the drawbacks? What are the strengths?
Documenting and developing Data collection, data sharing
LUDIC RESPONSIBILITY (1/3) “Good” Design vs “Bad” Design vs “Design”
Positive Values (e.g. cooperation)? Negative Values (e.g. competition)?
Is our work descriptive? This is what we’ve seen
Is our work prescriptive? This is what you should do…
LUDIC RESPONSIBILITY (2/3) Anti-patterns
Examples of “bad design” Common Mistakes Laziness
“Should know better”
Dark Patterns From wiki.darkpatterns.org (UI/UX) “User Interfaces Designed to Trick People”
LUDIC RESPONSIBILITY (3/3) Dark Patterns = Patterns for “Evil”
“Evil”? Patterns for manipulating players
Removing the player’s autonomy Don’t make an informed decision about game
When the designers’ intentions aren’t good?
DARK PATTERNS – FRIEND SPAM “A site or game asks for your twitter or
email credentials for an allegedly benign purpose (e.g. finding friends who are already using that service), but then goes on publish content or send out bulk messages using your account - i.e. from you.”
http://wiki.darkpatterns.org/Friend_Spam
DARK PATTERN? – IN-GAME PURCHASES
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/11/06
DARK PATTERNS? Charging extra for additional game
options E.g. Skip a level? Pay now!
Pay-to-cheat Words With Friends: Buy ability “look in bag” and
see what letters are left (access to hidden info) Mercenary Treadmill
Game’s features depend on in-game currency that takes forever to amass - unless you pay real $!
http://s349909351.websitehome.co.uk/blog/
THE BIG CHALLENGES1. Accessibility & Usability
1. Entry Barriers2. Who is this for? What is the relevance?3. Level of Abstraction?
2. Significance of Contributions1. Theoretical Underpinnings2. Methodological Rigor
3. Ludic Responsibility Descriptive / Prescriptive Supporting Values
