Mimic

Summary: A term, object, character or action that mimics a harmless or beneficial thing to deceive users, functioning instead as a trap or hostile entity.

Pattern Description

Mimics are visually designed to closely resemble their harmless counterparts, making it difficult for players to distinguish them from genuine items. They often appear as desirable objects, characters, or actions in which users expect to find valuable content, rewards or benefits.

In video game design, mimics typically take the form of characters, treasure chests, doors, switches, checkpoints, or other objects that players would naturally interact with during gameplay. When a player engages with a mimic, it reveals its true nature – either by triggering a trap, exhibiting unexpected behavior, or transforming into a hostile entity –resulting in some form of negative consequence, such as damage, status effects, or the loss of valuable resources.

In the context of web design, mimics may appear, for example, as disguised advertisements, misleading content or wording, or via the use of misdirection in call-to-action highlights intended to deceive, confuse, or distract users into clicking or performing an action that is not in their best interest.

Interaction Design Implications

• Surprise and Tension: Mimics can add elements of surprise and unpredictability, enhancing the atmosphere and creating memorable encounters. It rewards careful observation and deliberate exploration.

• Psychological Load: Falling victim to a mimic can cause significant consequences. They increase cognitive load as users must remain vigilant and question the true nature of entities.

• Heuristic Violations: May violate Visibility of system status (Nielsen), Keep users in control (Shneiderman), Consistency and standards (Nielsen/Shneiderman/Bastien & Scapin), and Significance of codes (Bastien & Scapin).

Usage

To introduce surprise or unpredictability into an interaction, designers may use semantic or visual tricks to create mimics that breaks design consistency and established standards to increase cognitive load and deceive users.

Using the Mimic pattern involves the careful placement of seemingly benign objects within the interface. Designers should position mimics in locations that demand necessary interactions or where users expect valuable rewards. Additionally, it is important to ensure that Mimics closely resemble their non-threatening counterparts in order to effectively deceive users. It is up to the designer to decide whether to provide subtle visual or behavioral cues for the possible identification of potential Mimics.

Sub Patterns

• Mimic code: Terms or signs that, at a quick glance, appear to mean one thing, but upon closer inspection, have an entirely different meaning.
• Mimic object: Objects that are visually disguised as other types of valued items or content.
• Mimic character: Characters that can disguise themselves as the main character, user allies, or enemies throughout the interaction.
• Mimic action: Items that resemble interactive objects and may prompt or elicit user actions.

Examples

Pokémon Black Version & White Version (2010)
Moment in the game when the player is tricked by a mimic character disguised as a Poké Ball. When the player interacts with the mimic, instead of obtaining a new object, they encounter a Pokémon battle.

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