Game MDA

Game MDA
Source: pixabay

Hi

You probably can guess but, in this post I'm going to once again write down my thoughts after reading the academic papers written by Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc and Robert Zubek. In addition to that I also watch the video on MDA Frameworks. I found both the reading and video to be very interesting because it introduced me to new terms and topics about Game Design.

First thing I'd like to write about are mechanics, dynamics, aesthetics and what they are/what's the difference between them?
Mechanics
- Mechanics are the constraints under which the game operates, they are like the 'rules' of the game.
  Rules like when does the game end? How is the game set up? What actions are available for the
  player to take etc. All of these are defined by the mechanics.

Dynamics
- On the other hand, dynamics describe the 'play' of the game, when the rules are set in motion. So,
  basically the dynamics impact how players interact with one another?

Aesthetics
- Lastly, aesthetics don't have anything to do with the visual elements of the game. They deal more with the player experience of the game. To put this into simpler terms, is the game fun? is playing the game frustrating or boring? etc.

During the video/readings, I was introduced to The Building Blocks: Formal Models. Within those building blocks there is no grand unified theory but, instead there is a lot of small models. (Think of models as lenses). MDA is the branch for these models and this branch consists of knowledge of mechanics, dynamics, aesthetics and also the interactions that occur between them. To paint a better image of models, here is a list of the properties that good models possess.
- formal --> well defined
- abstract --> widely applicable
- proven --> known to work

The reading continues to introduce eight new kinds of the word "fun" as we are encourage to think pass the word fun.
1. Sensation - referring to the game as sense-pleasuring
2. Fantasy - portraying the game as make-believe
3. Narrative - refers to the game as drama
4. Challenge - describes the game as an obstacle course
5. Fellowship - refers to the game as a social framework
6. Discover - refers to the game as uncharted territory
7. Expression - talks about the game as self-discovery
8. Submission - refers to game as pastime

To finish off this blog, the next part I found to be very interesting mainly because I haven't thought about it in that way before. What am I talking about? The authors described and explored games like Final Fantasy and Quake and how they contained different aesthetics.
I found these articles and video to be helpful and interesting and I really enjoyed learning more about game MDA.
Thanks for reading.

Game Design Theory Behind Games
Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics - Game Design and Theory
Explaining the MDA Design Framework

Ps - the links above are off two articles and a video that I've also looked at to help me understand the MDA framework. I found the video to be the more enjoyable as it covers all the MDA sections.