Patterns

According to Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, a pattern is: Anything proposed for imitation; an archetype; an exemplar; that which is to be, or is worthy to be, copied or imitated; as, a pattern of a machine.

I started this blog entry with the definition of the word pattern because, it seems, many folks don't seem to understand the meaning of the word.

Lately, I've been having difficulty with some of the folks I work with who don't seem to be capable of comprehending the meaning of certain basic words. Like pattern. Of course, if they don't learn the meaning of simple words like pattern, they're going to learn the definition of the word *NO* very quickly...

Still, I have architects, landscape architects and interior designers in my office who routinely try to establish some graphical pattern for the way in which they want the contractor to build something. The problem is that the designers don't seem to understand what the word pattern really means. After all, a pattern is something that's designed to be repeated, especially when you're talking about the pattern for a floor tile. I mean, you may have three or four types of floor tiles that may be laid out in a certain manner, so that building occupants will perceive an aesthetically pleasing composition of floor materials, but there's a noticeable difference between a pattern (order) and a random arrangement (chaos).

What makes it more entertaining is when they say something to the effect of "we need this to repeat, except..."

Well, you know what? If there's an exception, it's not repetitive. In fact, if there are exceptions, it is *NOT* a pattern, because exceptions *PREVENT* repetition. Exceptions obviate patterns. You can't have a pattern if you keep breaking it.

Furthermore, there's no such thing as a "random pattern." That's a contraction of terms.

I just want to throttle the *supposedly* educated people I work with sometimes.

But, the concept of patterns got me to thinking...

Idiot User A wants me to create the definition of a pattern for the computer to follow for her design.

Computers like patterns.

Computers *thrive* on patterns.

Computers *require* patterns to behave correctly.

Patterns are nothing more than sets of rules for the computer to follow.

Some patterns are extremely complex or elaborate sets of rules the computer must follow.

Some patterns are *so* complex that, up-close-and-personal, they appear to be random, but from a distance, the repetition becomes quite clear.

Programs are patterns for computers to follow.

DDO is a program and is, therefore, a pattern. An extremely complex pattern, but a pattern nonetheless. One that the players of the game use to achieve a desired goal.

(Ultimately, I hope that goal is to have fun but, with some people, you never know...)

Because we, as players, immerse ourselves into the pattern of the program, we become one of the pattern's elements. Something that can easily be repeated. Especially since elements of the pattern are controlled by the rules that define the pattern.

But, in most cases, the collection of rules is so broad and complex, as players, we don't always see the pattern very clearly.

Or, do we?

I *know* that I have a pattern for the completion of the Goodblade quests.

And that, for some quests, such as The Pit, there's an *explicit* pattern for completion. That, if you stray too far from the pattern, if you break the rules in some manner, you won't be able to complete the quest.

The challenge for the developers is to create a set of rules that define the pattern, that the resulting program allows for more than one "solution" to the selected "problem," or to introduce a sufficient level of complexity, that the player is unable to perceive the pattern.

After playing this game for what is now approaching two years, some patterns are quite consistent and obvious. But, not always. Such as the difficulties we were having with the Queen raid the other night.

Sure, we said the raid was bugged. But what was really happening was that we were somehow causing a certain result by our actions, even if unintentionally, or we weren't performing the actions required to complete the pattern. Either way, it was a bust, and we weren't able to complete the raid. We all suspect that there's an error in the pattern's definition, but it requires a developer to review the rules to make that determination.

Part of what's interesting about each new module that's added to this game is that it alters the pattern. In some cases, it changes the existing rules to alter the pattern in some quests, and introduces new rules, to create new patterns in others that the player base has never seen before.

So, the real challenge, as a developer, is to continually revise existing rules and create new ones that develop more and more complexity and reduce the evidence of a pattern. The goal is to make the pattern more entertaining, to increase the amount of fun to be had. But, at the same time, there's a side effect of making things so complex that, as with the Queen raid, sometimes things behave unexpectedly or unpredictably.

From such an abstract point of view, it's a fascinating subject for contemplation.

Because of the current state of the game, there are some shortages of subjectively desirable content to play through. And, to some extent, I even have my own "pattern" for character development, so I end up playing my characters through a sometimes overly obvious pattern of quests and patterns within those quests. I have to wonder what I can do to make some of those patterns less evident...

Keep it fun!