Quote from: p.110-112in a courtyard where the pattern of the opening and veranda and crossing paths is missing, there are forces which conflict in such a way that no one can resolve them for [themselves].
[..]
a room which has no window place, in which the windows are just "holes," sets up a hopeless inner conflict in me which I can't resolve.

Quote from: p.110-112The instinctive knowledge that a room is beautiful when it has a window place in it, is thus not an aesthetic whim. It is an instinctive expression of the fact that a room without a window place is filled with actual, palpable organic tension; and that room which has [a window place -- a window seat, or a special ledge next to the window, or a small alcove which is entirely glassed.] lacks this tension, and is, from a simple organic point of view, a better place to live.

You really have to read these three pages for yourself.

Quote from: p.106This state cannot be reached merely by inner work.

There is a myth, sometimes widespread, that a person need only do inner work, in order to be alive like this [..] This teaching has some value, since it is so each for a man[sic] to imagine that his problems are caused by "others." But it is a one-sided and mistaken view which also maintains the arrogance of the belief that the individual is self-sufficient, and not dependent in any essential way on his surroundings.

Quote from: p.85If every church is different (because different events occur there -droqen), what is it that remains the same, from church to church, that we call "church"?

p.83

Events occur in spaces - that much is "obvious, and not very interesting."

Alexander says we want to know "how the structure of the space supports the patterns of events it does" (if, in fact, it does at all?) "in such a way that if we change that if we change the structure of the space, we shall be able to predict what kinds of changes in the patterns of events this change will generate."

Easier said than done, and I guess this is why there is often a horizontal separation of roles/specialties -- how people will respond to a building, and how a building will respond to the forces of weather and gravity and so on. In order to form a true pattern one must contend with all "human and non-human" forces and situations.

Quote from: p.73when we see that a sidewalk in Bombay is used by people sleeping, or for parking cars . . . and that in New York it is used only for walking--we cannot interpret this correctly as a single sidewalk pattern, with two different uses. The Bombay sidewalk (space + events) is one pattern; the New York sidewalk (space + events) is another pattern. They are two entirely different patterns.

A pattern is space + events. What MDA separates, patterns marry!

To see them as patterns, the mechanics and dynamics and aesthetics are not distinct lists which interact with each other... instead a whole game is one list of interacting patterns, each pattern an inextricable package of form and content and experience.

The important thing is that patterns still present a way to break whole things up into smaller pieces, I just like the shape of these pieces much more.

~ SYNAPSE Lists

Quote from: p. 65We know, then, that what matters in a building or a town [or a virtual space -droqen] is not its outward shape, its physical geometry alone, but the events that happen there.

[..]the human events given by the situations which are repeated, the mechanical events, the rush of trains, the fall of water [..] it is roughly true that any system, any aspect of the life of a part of the world, is essentially governed by those situations, human or non-human--which keep on repeating there.

Repetition is life. Patterns are repetition.

Quote from: p.52there are those special secret moments in our lives, when we smile unexpectedly--when all our [inner] forces are resolved.

[..]

We cannot be aware of these most precious moments when they are actually happening.

In fact, the conscious effort to attain this quality, or to be free, or to be anything, the glance which this creates, will always spoil it.
    It is, instead, when we forget ourselves completely

"whatever you are doing at such a moment, hold on to it, repeat it"

Patterns. Not in the moment, no meta rumination and introspection, but looking back upon times spent free of those pondering concerns...

Quote from: The Timeless Way of Building p. 49Each of us lives most fully "on the wire," in the face of death, daring to do the very thing which fear prevents us from.

I think this has something to do with game design and risk. I'm still troubled by this -- the book says you need to live on the wire to find the nameless quality within yourself, for your work, while games are about delivering this experience to people for no reason other than to make them feel alive. Maybe that's fine. But is it just giving people a fish, rather than teaching them to?

Quote from: The Timeless Way of Building p. 19THE QUALITY WITHOUT A NAME

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.

This quality is objective and precise, but it cannot be named. David Deutsch's The Beginning of Infinity advocates for the infinite pursuit towards truth, and I think the quality described here is like that -- it exists, but we will never know it, rather we can infinitely move towards it, and not in a Zeno's paradox diminishing-returns sort of way, but in more of an infinitely unfolding and evolving forever kind of way. Always approaching something objective and precise and yet it's so huge that we will, can, never tire of moving towards it.

Quote from: The Timeless Way of Building p.14The power to make buildings beautiful lies in each of us already.

It is a core so simple, and so deep, that we are born with it. This is no metaphor. I mean it literally. Imagine the greatest possible beauty and harmony in the world--the most beautiful place that you have ever seen or dreamt of. You have the power to create it, at this very moment, just as you are.

[..]

But as things are, we have so far beset ourselves with rules, and concepts, and ideas of what must be done[..]that we have become afraid of what will happen naturally, and convinced that we must work within a "system" and with "methods" since without them our surroundings will come tumbling down in chaos.

In the first pages of The Timeless Way of Building, Alexander evokes a singular nameless quality, something which is fundamental to humanity (and perhaps existence, though I would question this). It's beautiful and awe-inspiring. In particular, though, I wanted to pull this quote. You have the power to create it just as you are. A person is enough.

regarding Christopher Alexander's The Timeless Way of Building
and Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, and Murray Silverstein's A Pattern Language

Quote from: The Timeless Way of BuildingON READING THIS BOOK

What lies in this book is perhaps more important as a whole than in its details. If you only have an hour to spend on it, it makes much more sense to read the whole book roughly in that hour, than to read only the first two chapters in detail. [..] If you read the beginning and end of each chapter, and the italic headlines that lie between them, turning the pages almost as fast as you can, you will be able to get the overall structure of the book in less than an hour.

THIS IS HOW I READ BOOKS ANYWAY, THANK YOU FOR WRITING THE BOOK FOR ME OMG

~ backlinked from FIRST, DO IT ALL IN ONE HORRIBLE MESSY GO.

I spent the day playing around with mockups and compositions, but they were lacking... something. I realized that that 'something' is, first of all, game design and not art design, and I need to acknowledge that when I'm doing composition-work I can still count that as a success if I don't solve game design problems... but, that aside, I think what I was missing game design-wise was a locked door.

Maybe I should make a pattern out of this...

For now, I'll just say that in particular, a locked door represents an inviting and simple and impossible challenge: without the key, you cannot open a locked door. But you can! You can force it open, you can pick the lock, you can find another way around. You can also do some things with a locked door even if you can't open it. You can look at it and admire the outer surface. You can jiggle the handle. The space behind the door is implied but invisible -- except maybe you can peek through the keyhole to catch an unsatisfying glimpse of what's on the other side.

step 6. pick one pattern and document it using the Pattern Template

Name: I Won't Just Wait Around

Confidence: 3

(no image)

Author: droqen
Design problem: It's hard to make a player partake in low-stakes activities in a game where most actions are high-stakes
Description: To get an optimization-minded player to relax and smell the roses, the designer may want to make the optimal way to play involve some downtime.

Games that use this pattern and how:

everquest. Combat in this game involves the expenditure of health and mana, resources which take time to replenish. While waiting for these resources to return, players have downtime in which many activities are still available, just not combat. In particular, the way to optimize recovery rate is the sit action, which disables certain actions and places a priority on the UI, especially socializing and inventory/character management.

starseed pilgrim. When a player runs out of seeds, and to a lesser extent when they plant certain slow-growing seeds, they must wait for their existing 'plants' to grow before continuing to act. The real-time pressure is continuous, but this affords the player significant time to take in the ambience and/or think about their situation, without feeling as though they are playing non-optimally.

step 5. look at the list of techniques you've created. describe each pattern you see.

if a player can't actively do anything productive, but will be able to soon, they can look for something else to do in the meantime.

opportunity cost varies depending on what actions are available.

when a player has nothing to do, they may socialize or click/tab away from the game.

the amount of downtime can increase or decrease with the player's progression into the game (candy box vs starcraft)

some activities are circular and endless (rearranging inventory, making plans, etc), and it takes an outside force or willpower to stop these activities.

probability 0. (the feeling of downtime in probability 0 is quite rare, although i feel it when i play it.) enemies are not extremely threatening, but making an attempt to kill one can prove awkward and risky - with limited time, the player makes decisions about whether it's worth it to take the risk. during downtime, the player might be more able and willing to risk time since it has less value, and chase down enemies who seem like a waste of time to kill.

inconsiderate climbers. the downtime in inconsiderate climbers pushes players to interact (either cooperatively or with hostility), as is the point of the game. the mechanics accomplish this by having many actions that harm other players and a few that help them... and by having a non-smooth reward space, where some players will always run out of things to do before others.