Design patterns - Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design - page 148

We call recurrent patterns in the structure of game mechanics design patterns . The
architect Christopher Alexander first introduced the idea of design patterns in his
book A Pattern Language (1979). That work inspired others to create design patterns
for software engineering, and they have become a popular tool in that field. Design
patterns for games, as we describe them here, follow the same lines as those used in
architecture and software engineering.
A brief History of Design Patterns
Alexander and his colleagues originally identified design patterns in an attempt to
capture objective standards of quality in architecture. They documented the patterns
they found to help architects design good buildings. As Alexander himself put it,
“There is a central quality which is the root criterion of life and spirit in a man, a
town, a building, or a wilderness. This quality is objective and precise but it cannot
be named” (Alexander 1979, p. ix).
Good desiGn
People call things good when they like them. “Good“ is often thought to be a personal
and subjective value judgment. What one person calls a “good game” might not appeal
to another. however, many critics of games, ilms, topics, or architecture feel that certain
products are objectively better than others. They think their evaluations are more than
just matters of personal taste (and if they don't, they should reconsider their choice of
profession). in all fields of art and design, games included, we work with assumption that
at least some aspects of a game can be evaluated objectively. Our opinions might not be
universally accepted, but they're more than a simple matter of personal taste. Learning
about design patterns for games will help you understand the characteristics that good
games possess.
Alexander describes an entire library of patterns for architecture, which he calls a
pattern language . Each pattern represents a solution to a common design problem.
These solutions are described as generically as possible so that they may be used
in different circumstances. The patterns are all described in the same format. Each
pattern also has connections to larger and smaller patterns within the language.
Smaller patterns help to complete larger patterns. The works of Alexander describe
more than 100 different patterns across a few different domains within architecture
(from urban planning to individual buildings).