Patterns in game design

So, I’ve read through the first part of Björk and Holopainen’s Patterns in Game Design, which is the introductory part that covers some theoretical aspects of describing elements in games. Here, these elements are referred to as game design patterns, and should be understood as generic descriptions of typical components found in games. These patterns are structured in a framework that classifies them as either Holistic (the activities of playing a game), Structural (the structural elements that builds up the game), Temporal (the actions, events and closures in the game) and Boundary (the rules and goals in the game).

I was a bit surprised to see that the second part of the book, which is by far the largest, is simply a dictionary of game design patterns. Each pattern’s use and consequence is described, as well as their relations to other patterns. I see no need at this point to read the book from cover to cover, but rather consult it when I need to solve a problem, or just the need of some inspiration or help.

An interesting aspect about this book is that it addresses the advantage of having of having a common language in game design, not just for analyzing games, but also for designing them and communicating them to either fellow team members or publishers. It has been common to use theories from typically narrative medias, such as film and television, in order to analyze games. However, games are an interactive medium, and should therefore be treated differently, in spite of also having narrative qualities.

One can use the book as a tool of problem solving, for example if the designer needs to get rid of an unwanted element from his/her game, and is unsure how to do it, or one can use the patterns to add a new, wanted element to the game. One can use it to stimulate one’s creativity by adding a new pattern to the existing game design and see what difference it makes, or, if the designer feels the need for more tension in the his/her game, he can look up the tension pattern, and learn which elements he can use in order to achieve this.

Whew. I can see the usefulness of these patterns as regards to our prototyping of the Trollblod-project, and hopefully, I will be able to use some of this knowledge in my game design task as well. I would have to show in which settings such a system would be useful. Of course, this system will have to be adapted to each and every project, and in collaboration with other means of game designing. Time will tell. Next up, I’ll read Koster’s A Theory of Fun in Game Design.