FUNDAMENTALS OF GAME DESIGN, SECOND EDITION

Actions That Serve Other Functions

Games include many actions that allow the player to interact with the game world but not engage in gameplay. Games also offer actions that aren't specifically play activities but give the player control over various aspects of the game. The follow­ing list describes a number of types of non-challenge-related actions.

■ Unstructured play. You will almost certainly want to include some fun-to - perform actions that don't address any challenge. Players often move their avatars around the game world for the sheer fun of movement or to see a new area even if it offers no challenges; this is referred to as sightseeing. You may want to include actions just because they're part of the role. In most driving games, honking the horn accomplishes nothing, but if you couldn't honk the horn, the game would feel incomplete.

■ Actions for creation and self-expression. See Chapter 5, "Creative and Expressive Play," for a discussion of actions allowing players to create and custom­ize things, including avatars. Much of the activity in construction and management simulations consists of creative play rather than gameplay, although the player's actions are often constrained by limitations imposed by the game's internal economy.

■ Actions for socialization. Players in multiplayer games, especially online games, need ways to talk to each other, to form groups, to compare scores, and to take part in other community activities. (See Chapter 21, "Online Games.")

■ Actions to participate in the story. Participating in interactive dialog, interact­ing with NPCs, or making decisions that affect the plot all constitute actions that allow the player to participate in a story even if those actions don't directly address a challenge. The more of them you offer, the more your player feels she is taking part in a story.

■ Actions to control the game software. The player takes many actions to con­trol the game software, such as adjusting the virtual camera, pausing and saving the game, choosing a difficulty level, and setting the audio volume. Some such actions may affect the game's challenges (setting the difficulty level certainly does), but the player doesn't take them specifically to address a challenge.