Bjšrk, et al.
Staffan Bjšrk, Sus Lundgren and Jussi Holopainen
staffan.bjork@tii.se
GAME DESIGN PATTERNS
We introduce Game Design Patterns, a method for analyzing, describing and designing games founded on game components and interaction that players have when playing games. As the basis for our patterns we have selected design choices that have been identified in existing games and generalized to be independent of any particular game and applicable in a wide range of game types. The use of design patterns was introduced by Christopher Alexander et al. for architecture but has been modified to suit the specific requirements of games, most importantly shifting from a problem-solving approach to focusing on designing interaction.
We describe three different use areas for design patterns for games: allowing different games and game genres to be compared to each other through analysis and comparisons of games in terms of components and interaction; the development of game concepts from an idea to a draft through the selection of patterns and recursively selecting subpatterns based on their feasibility for the particular design context; problem-solving during development by finding related patterns and adapting previous design choices to the current problem.
The paper describes the use of game design patterns together with the benefits and disadvantages we have identified. The use of design patterns within other research and design areas are discussed, including the differences between our proposed design pattern template and other templates. We describe our process for developing methods for use of patterns both for researchers and designers as well as the collection, refinement and evaluation of a large (200+) collections of design patterns.
Biographies:
Staffan Bjšrk
Staffan Bjšrk is a Ph.D. in informatics and studio manager of the PLAY group of the Interactive Institute in Sweden. His research interests include design patterns in games, ubiquitous computing, and the use of emergent narratives in computer entertainment. His work has been published in SIGGRAPH, ACM CHI, HUC (now UbiComp), and Interact. He has been co-chair for Short Talks & Interactive Posters at SIGCHI 2003, elected dissemination officer of the Digital Games Research Association and is in the founding committee for the Swedish Research Forum for Research on Games (www.fosfor.org).
Sus Lundgren
Sus Lundgren has a M.Sc. in Interaction design, and is presently working at the PLAY group of the Interactive Institute in Sweden. She has a solid background in gaming of various kinds; she has written several LARPs and role-playing scenarios, co-owns a collection of some 320 board games, and has been one of the organizers of GothCon (Sweden's largest and the world's oldest gaming convention) for ten years. Her research interests include design patterns in games, design methods for interaction design, ubiquitous computing and information visualization with focus upon non-graphical interfaces. Relevant publications include "Joining Bits and Pieces - How to make Entirely New Board Games using Embedded Computer Technology." (M.Sc. Thesis of 2002) and "Game Mechanics: Describing Computer-Augmented Games in Terms of Interaction" (TIDSE 2003, together with Bjšrk, Staffan).
Jussi Holopainen
Jussi Holopainen is a Research Scientist working at Nokia Research Center in Finland.
His main research interests are games using mobile technologies and design patterns of all types of games. His work has been presented at international conferences including SIGGRAPH, HUC (Handheld and Ubiquitous Computing), Computer Games & Digital Cultures and Game Developer Conference. He is also member of the executive board of Digital Games Research Association.
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