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Is this thing on?
Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics
A Formal Approach to Game Design
Marc “MAHK” LeBlanc
April 2003
Game Design “Frameworks”
• Paradigms for organizing our understanding.
Game Design “Frameworks”
• Paradigms for organizing our understanding.
• Example Frameworks:– The 400 Project– Design Patterns
Game Design “Frameworks”
• Paradigms for organizing our understanding.
• Example Frameworks:– The 400 Project– Design Patterns
• Separate from the process.
Our Framework
• Organized around the designer-player relationship.
• Grounded in a formal approach.
The Designer-Player Relationship
Designer
Player
The Designer-Player Relationship
Designer
Player
Game
The Designer-Player Relationship
Designer
Player
GameCreates Consumes
The Designer-Player Relationship
Designer
Player
GameCreates Consumes
Book
The Designer-Player Relationship
Designer
Player
GameCreates Consumes
BookMovie
The Designer-Player Relationship
Designer
Player
GameCreates Consumes
BookMovie
Painting
The Designer-Player Relationship
Designer
Player
GameCreates Consumes
BookMovie
Painting
Chair
The Designer-Player Relationship
Designer
Player
GameCreates Consumes
BookMovie
Painting
ChairCar
The Designer-Player Relationship
Designer
Player
GameCreates Consumes
BookMovie
Painting
ChairCar
Steak Dinner
The Designer-Player Relationship
Designer
Player
GameCreates Consumes
The difference is the way that games are consumed.
An Extreme Opposite Example:A Theatrical Play
The “design team” knows:
• Script
• Lighting
• Acoustics
• Seating
• Intermissions
Games, on the Contrary
The designer doesn’t know:
• When will the player play? How often? For how long?
• Where? With Whom?
And most importantly...
• What will happen during the game?
Obligatory Editorial
This lack of predictability is the essence of play. It should be embraced, not eschewed.
A Formal Model of“Game Consumption”
Rules “Fun”System
Behavior
The Player-Designer Relationship, Revisited
Designer
Player
Rules “Fun”System
Behavior
The MDA Framework
Mechanics AestheticsDynamics
Definitions
• Mechanics: The rules and concepts that formally specify the game-as-system.
Definitions
• Mechanics: The rules and concepts that formally specify the game-as-system.
• Dynamics: The run-time behavior of the game-as-system.
Definitions
• Mechanics: The rules and concepts that formally specify the game-as-system.
• Dynamics: The run-time behavior of the game-as-system.
• Aesthetics: The desirable emotional responses evoked by the game dynamics.
The Building Blocks: Formal Models
• No Grand Unified Theory
• Instead, lots of little models
• Models can be formulas or abstractions.
• We can think of models as “lenses.”
• Discovering new models is an ongoing process.
MDA is a “Taxonomy” for Models
• Knowledge of Aesthetics
• Knowledge of Dynamics
• Knowledge of Mechanics
• Knowledge of the interactions between them.
Properties of Good Models
We want our models to be:
• Formal (i.e. well-defined).
• Abstract (i.e. widely applicable).
• Proven (i.e. known to work).
On any given game, we expect to use several different abstractions, not one big one.
Part III: MDA in detail
In this part, we discuss Aesthetics, Dynamics and Mechanics in detail.
The Player’s Perspective
Mechanics AestheticsDynamics
The Designer’s Perspective
Mechanics AestheticsDynamics
Understanding Aesthetics
We need to get past words like “fun” and “gameplay.”
• What kinds of “fun” are there?
• How will we know a particular kind of “fun” when we see it?
Eight Kinds of “Fun”
Eight Kinds of "Fun"
1. SensationGame as sense-pleasure
Eight Kinds of "Fun"
1. SensationGame as sense-pleasure
2. FantasyGame as make-believe
Eight Kinds of "Fun"
1. SensationGame as sense-pleasure
2. FantasyGame as make-believe
3. NarrativeGame as drama
Eight Kinds of "Fun"
1. SensationGame as sense-pleasure
2. FantasyGame as make-believe
3. NarrativeGame as drama
4. ChallengeGame as obstacle course
Eight Kinds of "Fun"
1. SensationGame as sense-pleasure
2. FantasyGame as make-believe
3. NarrativeGame as drama
4. ChallengeGame as obstacle course
5. FellowshipGame as social framework
Eight Kinds of "Fun"
1. SensationGame as sense-pleasure
2. FantasyGame as make-believe
3. NarrativeGame as drama
4. ChallengeGame as obstacle course
5. FellowshipGame as social framework
6. DiscoveryGame as uncharted territory
Eight Kinds of "Fun"
1. SensationGame as sense-pleasure
2. FantasyGame as make-believe
3. NarrativeGame as drama
4. ChallengeGame as obstacle course
5. FellowshipGame as social framework
6. DiscoveryGame as uncharted territory
7. ExpressionGame as self-discovery
Eight Kinds of "Fun"
1. SensationGame as sense-pleasure
2. FantasyGame as make-believe
3. NarrativeGame as drama
4. ChallengeGame as obstacle course
5. FellowshipGame as social framework
6. DiscoveryGame as uncharted territory
7. ExpressionGame as self-discovery
8. SubmissionGame as surrender
Clarifying Our Aesthetics
• Charades is “fun.”
• Quake is “fun.”
• Final Fantasy is “fun.”
Clarifying Our Aesthetics
• Charades: Fellowship, Expression, Challenge
• Quake: Challenge, Sensation, Competition, Fantasy
• Final Fantasy: Fantasy, Narrative, Expression, Discovery, Challenge, Masochism
• Each game pursues multiple aesthetics.
• Again, there is no Grand Unified Theory.
Clarifying Our Goals
• As designers, we can choose certain aesthetics as goals for our game design.
• We need more than a one-word definition of our goals.
What is an “Aesthetic Model?”
• A rigorous definition of an aesthetic goal.
• Serves as an “aesthetic compass.”
• States criteria for success as well as possible modes of failure.
Some examples…
Goal: Competition
Model: A game is competitive if:• Players are adversaries.• Players have an ongoing emotional investment in
defeating each other.
Some Failure Modes:• A player feels that he can’t win.• A player can’t measure his progress.
Goal: Realistic Flight Simulation
Possible Models: Our flight dynamics are realistic if:
• They match a mathematical formula, or,• They pass our “realism checklist,”
Failure Modes:
• Counter-intuitive system behavior.
Goal: Drama
Model: A game is dramatic if:• Its central conflict creates dramatic tension.• The dramatic tension builds towards a climax.
Dra
ma
tic
Te
nsi
on
Narrative Time
Conflict Resolution
Climax
Goal: Drama
Failure Modes:• No dramatic tension.• Tension does not increase towards a climax.
On to Dynamics...
Understanding Dynamics
• How can we predict and explain the behavior of the game-as-system?
Formalizing Game Dynamics
RulesInput Output
State(Player)
(Graphics/Sound)
The “State Machine” Model
Models of Game Dynamics
• Again, no Grand Unified Theory
• Instead, a collection of many Dynamic Models.
• Dynamics models are analytical in nature.
Some examples…
Example: Random Variable
This is a model of 2d6:
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Chance
in 3
6
Die roll
Example: Feedback SystemA feedback system monitors and regulates its own state.
Room
Too Cold
Too Hot
An Ideal Thermostat
Thermometer
Controller
Cooler
Heater
Example: Operant Conditioning
• The player is part of the system, too!
• Psychology gives us models to explain and predict the player’s behavior.
Where Models Come From
• Analysis of existing games.
• Other Fields: Math, Psychology, Engineering…
• Our own experience.
On to Mechanics...
Understanding Mechanics
• There’s a vast library of common game mechanics.
Examples
• Cards: Shuffling, Trick-Taking, Bidding
• Shooters: Ammunition, Spawn Points
• Golf: Sand Traps, Water Hazards
Mechanics vs. Dynamics
We need to acknowledge mechanics and dynamics as distinct concepts.
Dynamics emerge from Mechanics.
Interaction Models
• How do specific dynamics emerge from specific mechanics?
• How do specific dynamics evoke specific aesthetics?
Example: Time Pressure
• “Time pressure” is a dynamic.
• It can create dramatic tension.
• Various mechanics create time pressure: – Simple time limit– “Pace” monster– Depleting resource
Moving Forward…
Let’s hope the future brings us:
• A rich aesthetic vocabulary.
• A eclectic library of game mechanics.
• A catalog of formal models: Aesthetic, Dynamic, Interaction
In other words,
“Formal Abstract Design Tools.”
The Three Musketeers
...and the Dynamics of Drama
Rules for Three Musketeers
• Players take turns moving one of their pieces. No diagonal moves.
• Musketeers move by capturing a nearby enemy.
• Cardinal’s men move to a nearby empty space.
• Cardinal wins if the Musketeers are in the same row or column.
• Musketeers win if they cannot move.
Starting Board
Discussion Questions
What’s a good strategy for the Musketeers?
For the Cardinal?
Discussion Questions
What are the aesthetics of Three Musketeers?
In other words, what’s “fun” about it?
© Steve Jackson Games www.sjgames.com
Discussion Questions
When does the “dramatic climax” of the game occur?
Discussion Questions
Can we prove that the game halts?
Discussion Questions
1. What is the maximum number of choices the musketeer player can have on his turn?
Discussion Questions
1. What is the maximum number of choices the musketeer player can have on his turn?
2. How many first moves are there?
Discussion Questions
1. What is the maximum number of choices the musketeer player can have on his turn?
2. How many first moves are there?
Discussion Questions
1. What is the maximum number of choices the musketeer player can have on his turn?
2. How many first moves are there?
3. How many last moves are there?
Discussion Questions
What does this graph look like?
Time
Cho
ices
Discussion Questions
Time
Cho
ices
The Dramatic Arc
Time
RisingAction
FallingAction
Climax
The Dramatic Arc Pervades Game Aesthetics
• Challenge: Obstacle/Triumph
• Discovery: Novelty/Mastery
• Submission: Toil/Reward
• Competition: Equality/Supremacy
So Games are Stories, Right?
So Games are Stories, Right?
• Rather, Play and Narrative intersect.
So Games are Stories, Right?
• Rather, Play and Narrative intersect.
• The Dramatic Arc is the point of intersection.
So Games are Stories, Right?
• Rather, Play and Narrative intersect.
• The Dramatic Arc is the point of intersection.
• Drama is more “primal” than narrative.
So Games are Stories, Right?
• Rather, Play and Narrative intersect.
• The Dramatic Arc is the point of intersection.
• Drama is more “primal” than narrative.
• Games don’t tell stories, they are stories.
Drama in Detail
Drama Requires:
• Dramatic Tension
• Rising and Falling Action
Drama in Detail
Drama Requires:
• Dramatic Tension– Uncertainty– Inevitability
• Rising and Falling Action
Dramatic Tension
• Uncertainty: The outcome is ambiguous
• Inevitability: The outcome is imminent.
Drama in Three Musketeers
• Uncertainty: Search tree complexity
• Inevitability: Depletion of the Cardinal’s men
(consider “pushing” variant)
Other Sources of Uncertainty
• Negative Feedback (“Crash Team Racing”)
• Rising Stakes (“Jeopardy”)
• Limited Information (“Warcraft”)
Other Sources of Inevitability
• Non-reversible processes.
• Non-renewable resources.
• Perception is important.
Denouement in Games
• Games need to resolve their tension.
• Some resolution happens outside the game.
• Many digital games build in post-game resolution.
That’s All!
• Drama is a central play aesthetic.
• Drama is structured tension.
• Several different dynamics evoke uncertainty and inevitability.
