PATTERN LANGUAGE FOR GAME DESIGN
Application of Pattern Language for Game Design in Pedagogy and Design Practice
Abstract for my upcoming paper for the journal ‘Information’
I am working on a paper on the use of game design patterns for publication in the journal ‘Information.’ The paper will be submitted at the end of July and should be published a month or so later. Here is the abstract:
The idea of a pattern language as conceived by Christopher Alexander in 1977 generated interest from many disciplines, but failed to have the transformative effects I would have anticipated. Attempts to implement Alexander’s ideas either were too narrowly focused, ignored the role of a pattern in solving a specific design problem, or failed to place patterns in an interconnected network. Looking at fifty years of attempts shows that a different approach is needed.
In order to gain the full benefit of a pattern language, designers must take two steps back. First, they must recognize that, while a functionally complete language may be valuable, it is also just a side effect of the process a designer used to create it. To put it simply: having created a pattern language is more valuable than just having one. This article presents several example exercises that can be used to create both general and focused patterns. Many exercises like these are included in the book Pattern Language for Game design and constitute a process through which developers can create their own pattern languages.
A second step back is needed, however, as it is beyond the abilities of any designer to create a set of exercises that would be sufficient to generate all possible needed patterns. Thus, this article also presents a set of guidelines for creating the exercises that can be used to create patterns.
To fully realize the potential of patterns, senior designers must look at the design spaces that their teams are working in and craft exercises that can be used to discover the patterns in these spaces. They and other designers will generate these patterns, and in turn, newer designers will use the patterns as they begin to learn the craft.
