Communication

Mechanism · V – Information & Knowledge immediate · irreversible · asymmetric / dynamic · cooperative / competitive / asymmetric

Communication shapes the exchange of information between actors: channels, restrictions and formats shape how knowledge passes from agent A to agent B – and thereby the strategic interaction.

Design question – How do actors exchange information in your game – through which channels and with what restrictions?

Reference example – Codenames: one word and one number – the clue may reveal no more. Hanabi: nobody sees their own cards; clues are scarce and strictly regulated. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes: one person sees the bomb, the others only the manual – everything has to be said. Pandemic (Cooperative Play) · Werewolf (Social Deduction) · Hanabi (Limited Communication)

Structural pattern

Input -> transformation -> output: knowledge held by agent A becomes knowledge held by agent B (received, interpreted) via a communication channel (signal, language, gesture).

Regulated in permitting mode (through which channels communication is allowed: verbal, non-verbal, coded; how much; in which phases; who may tell whom what) and constraining mode (bans such as no talking or no signs; time limits; formal requirements). In a game, time limits become specifications.

Design parameters

• Channel – free verbal ↔ non-verbal/game-mediated
• Restriction – unrestricted ↔ forbidden
• Truth requirement – enforced ↔ lying allowed
• Audience – private (bilateral) ↔ public (everyone hears)
• Timing – anytime ↔ only in certain phases
• Symmetry – symmetric ↔ asymmetric (one knows more)

Related Mechanisms

• Deduction (MEC-17) – Frequently combined: information analysis.
• Negotiation (MEC-26) – Frequently combined: negotiation over channels.
• Coordination (MEC-25) – Frequently combined: coordination through communication.
• Verification (MEC-27) – Frequently combined: truth verification.

Ludic Organisational Structures

Democracy / Voting System · Alliance System (core) · Commons · Reputation / Trust System (dynamic)