Design pattern Library - Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design - page 313

An engine building pattern operates without feedback when energy is not required
to activate building mechanisms. This can be a viable structure when the engine
produces different types of energy that affect the game differently and allows the
players to follow different strategies that favor particular forms of energy above oth-
ers. However, it usually does require that the activation of building mechanisms is
restricted in some way.
The upgrade mechanism in a dynamic engine pattern also is an example of a building
mechanism. In fact, the dynamic engine is a simple and common implementation
of an engine building pattern. However, its simplicity means that a dynamic engine
allows only one or maybe two kinds of upgrades. The typical core engines in a game
that follow the engine building pattern allow for many more upgrade options.
examples
SimCity is a good example of engine building. The energy in SimCity is money, which
is used to activate most building mechanisms. The mechanisms consist of prepar-
ing building sites, zoning, building infrastructure, constructing special buildings,
and demolition. The core engine of SimCity is quite complex with many internal
resources such as people, job vacancies, power, transportation capacity, and three
different types of zones. Feedback loops within the engine cause all sorts of friction
and effectively balance the main positive feedback loop, up to the point that the
engine can collapse if the player is not careful and manages the engine poorly.
In the board game Puerto Rico , each player builds up a New World colony. The colony
generates different types of resources that can be reinvested or converted into victory
points. The core engine includes many elements and resources such as plantations,
buildings, colonists, money, and a selection of different crops. Puerto Rico is a mul-
tiplayer game in which the players compete for a limited number of positions that
allow different actions to improve the engine; they compete for different building
mechanics. This way, a strong multiplayer dynamic is created that contributes much
of its gameplay.
related Patterns
n Applying multiple feedback to the building mechanisms is a good way to increase
the difficulty of the engine building pattern.
n All friction patterns are suitable to balance the typical positive feedback created
by an implementation of engine building that consumes energy to activate building
mechanisms.
n The dynamic engine is one of the simplest possible implementations of an engine
building pattern.
n The engine building pattern elaborates the dynamic engine and converter engine patterns.
n The engine building pattern can be elaborated by the worker placement pattern.