Game Design: The Lens of Dynamic State
To use this lens, think about what information changes during your game, and who is aware of it. Ask yourself
- What are the objects in my game?
- What are the attributes of the objects?
- What are the possible states for each attribute? What triggers the state changes for each attribute?
- What state is known by the game only?
- What state is known by all players?
- What state is known by some, or only one player?
- Would changing who knows what state improve my game in some way?
Game playing is decision-making. Decisions are made based on information. Deciding the different attributes, their states, and who knows about them is core to the mechanics of your game. Small changes to who knows what information can radically change a game, for better or worse. Who knows about what attributes can even change over the course of a game - a great way to create drama in your game is to make an important piece of private information suddenly become public.
(The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses by Jesse Schell, Carnegie Mellon University, 2008. Page 140)