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Anchor Resources Design Pattern
[Complete Exercise, Example, and Pattern]
I published this article in parts over the last week or so. I am releasing it in complete form behind the paywall as the Medium Algorithm seems to privilege content that is ‘premium’ in this way. If you see this and don’t want to pay, please check out the three articles collected here in their free individual form!
Anchor Resources Design Pattern
Today, I am going to present the third mechanics-focused game design pattern exercise from the upcoming second edition of my Pattern Language for Game Design textbook. The articles about the first exercise for creating an ‘Atomic Mechanics Pattern’ can be found here.
The concept of an Anchor Resource is common in game design, it is considered in Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design by Adams and Dormans, and also in the more recent Game Balance by Ian Schriber and Brenda Romero. This exercise was developed in a course that uses Game Balance as its primary textbook and is assigned to accompany Chapter 5 in that book.
It is not necessary to read Game Balance to use this exercise, though it’s a great book, and I encourage you to check it out. I will define the terms and basic concepts here. Game Balance defines an anchor this way: “An anchor is a resource that…
