Feature: 'Book Excerpt: Patterns in Game Design: Using Design Patterns'

Today Gamasutra features an excerpt from Staffan Björk and Jussi Holopainen's intriguing book Patterns in Game Design illustrates a number of uses of 'game design patterns', which, the authors suggest, can be combined and tailored for specific real world uses. The following passage introduces how to identify game patterns: Analyzing entails identifying game design patterns in games, game prototypes, or design documents. Finding game design patterns in games or game prototypes can be done by test playing the game, either doing it oneself or through observing others. With design documents, this is not possible, but by analyzing the descriptions of the games, it is possible to make a structural analysis to identify game design patterns in the game. Although not all game design patterns are easily identifiable by structural analysis, and for many, the certainty of their existence during gameplay cannot be guaranteed, it is usually quicker and more ordered than play testing. This is because play testing causes a conflict of interest between studying the game design and trying to play the game when doing it oneself, and from the vast amount of data generated when observing others. You can now read the full Gamasutra feature on the subject (no registration required, please feel free to link to the article from external websites).