In this post I'll be looking at the different types of game object and their significance. Rather than an exhaustive list, I'm going to focus on the items that I find fascinating or important.
Patterns for game objects
The authors break the list of objects into four categories: game world, objects, abstract objects, and locations.
The game world defines the spacial relationship between objects, i.e. the environment. This could be a board game layout, or the environment within a level of an FPS. The world is often based on a grid structure, allowing easy referencing and modular design (e.g. tiled graphics, modular building construction).
One of the interesting topics in this section is the notion of inaccessible areas. These are regions which the player cannot deliberately enter, such as the corners in Ludo. These act as safe havens or spawning points, and can be unlocked and made accessible at later stages in the game if desired.
(I came across this issue when building a prototype of the dodgeball game: when the player spawned, there was a significant chance that an enemy ball would collide with the player before they had a chance to move. I had tried to dynamically postpone spawning until a suitable moment, but this proved to be complex due to the maths required to predict a ball's trajectory (including bouncing). Yet a zoned area (which the enemy could not enter) would have solved this problem in a stroke.)
Game objects are the entities which are manipulated by the player, such as avatars, or the entities which dynamically affect the game state, such as enemies (including bosses) or obstacles. This can also include tools such as pick-ups (like health bonuses or a get-out-of-jail-free card) or clues.
Abstract objects are things like the score or number of lives. These may be critically important within a game, as they provide a goal or a limit on the overall gameplay.
Finally, locations refers but to things which control the game, such as strategically-important positions (for example, the centre position in noughts-and-crosses, or the corners in Othello/Reversi.
Analysing the structure of games allows us to assess how much different elements affect the gameplay and motivation of players. Although it is a very dry subject, it is essential to finding a consistent approach to game design.