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======Arena====== {{:patterns:arena-dragonage.png?direct}} [[games:dragonage|Dragon Age: Origins]] arena (6) in Orzammar. Map from [[http://guides.gamepressure.com/dragonageorigins/guide.asp?ID=8601|gamepressure.com]]. =====Description===== An open room with few entrances. Often used for combat, either with the [[patterns:enemy|enemy/enemies]] in the center or [[patterns:reinforcements|coming in waves]]. The arena entrances are often locked/inaccessible during the encounter. The arena can contain [[patterns:cover|cover]] or any elements deemed necessary for the encounter. A tangible reward is usually given afterward, or before if the encounter is used to teach an [[patterns:item|item's]] use. The arena, often a relatively long encounter, acts as a break in the exploration by implementing heavy combat. It marks a significant point in the level's structure, often as the end of the level, and gives a good reason to reward the player with a checkpoint, an item, or a quest completion. =====Variables and Affordances===== * **Physical size**: an arena of a larger size affords more tactical movement. * **Amount of cover** (//None or Some//): no cover makes an arena more of a gladiatorial challenge, forcing them to take on all the opponents at the same time. Some cover allows the player to pace the battle themselves. * **Number of entrances**: one entrance means the enemies come in predictably, while multiple entrances are harder to cover. =====Examples===== * [[games:me2|Mass Effect 2]]. In //Rite of Passage (Grunt's Loyalty Quest)//, Shepard, Grunt, and another party member are thrown into an arena to prove grunt's worthiness as a krogan. * [[games:borderlands|Borderlands]]. Several times arenas are used as a side quest, in which the player is locked in a room and an increasing amount of enemies are released to fight you. * [[games:dragonage|Dragon Age: Origins]]. In //Proving Ground//, both in the dwarf noble introduction and in the main game, the player has to fight a series of opponents in a large series of arenas. =====Related Patterns===== * [[patterns:boss_battle|Boss Battles]]. Boss battles often take place in arenas. * [[patterns:cover|Cover]]. Arenas often contain cover to help strategize combat. * [[patterns:reinforcement|Reinforcement]]. Enemies often come in waves of reinforcements in arenas. * [[patterns:enemy|Enemy]]. Arenas are constructed for the purpose of fighting enemies. =====Quest-Level Relationship===== * [[patterns:defend|Defend]]. In arenas, physical movement is usually restricted, as the player must hold her ground against oncoming enemies. * [[patterns:kill_action|Kill Action]]. Combat is required in arenas, and other actions are usually unimportant until the arena is left behind. * [[patterns:deja_vu_quest|Deja Vu Quest]]. An arena may be revisited, or remade, such as the Ring of Blood/Amphitheater of Anguish/Crucible of Carnage quests in [[games:wow|World of Warcraft]], or the Hercules world in [[games:kingdomhearts|Kingdom Hearts]]. While the challenge may be different, it will consistently follow the same pattern in order to bring out nostalgia within players. =====Acknowledgments===== Pattern inspired by Ken Hullett's [[resources:other_dp|level design patterns]] project. {{tag>level:LevelStructure games:kingdomhearts games:wow games:dragonage games:me2 games:borderlands}}