Game Fun

Game Fun

Today we looked at how fun playes a part in games and the definition of what fun is and learned how to make games fun by making the player think about what to do in order to get through .

Games can be described by the 3 components Mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics (MDA) or otherwise stated as rules – system – “fun”.

MDA

There are eight types of Fun outlined by the MDA. These eight are both a source of reference and player experience that blend together in many ways, and essentially what makes a game fun and enjoyable.

Eight kinds of Fun

To date, the MDA papers define the '8 kinds of fun' sensation, fantasy, narrative, challenge, fellowship, discovery, expression, and submission, remain a source of reference and possibly the most popular list of player interactions combining in various forms to attract each player to a particular game.

Fun

“Fun is a byproduct of good design. It is also not essential for a good gamified system,” by Andrzej Marchewski

There are a variety of definitions to describe the term “Fun”. Both Oxford and Merrian dictionaries define Fun as an enjoyment, delight. But within the context of a game it usually refers to a form of pleasurable entertainment.

Nicole Lazzaro presents four types of fun that are involved in defining how fun a game can be for different players.

• Easy Fun: This is essentially for players who are new to a game who want to satiate their curiosity.

• Hard Fun: It is essentially for people who like a real good challenge.

• People Fun: Amusement from competition and cooperation. Meaning Co-op.

• Serious Fun: Excitement from changing the player and their world.

Image Link

There are different types of “FUN” when discussing it; there’s the type 1 games such as poker, chess etc. which require thinking and different techniques to use to win the game.

Then there’s the type 2 games that require “reflex based skills” in such things like shooters that require a “sharp reflexes” and in fighter games that require “combo memorization and the execution”.

Flow

The Concept of Flow is characterized as a balance between skill-challenge and the individual's enjoyment. When in flow the player is focused on the activity they are participating in. This gives a sense of reward and promotes further engagement in the activity.

Flow is a balance

Flow theory provides a good framework for analysing motivation in gaming activities, in particular enjoyment, engagement and positive affect.

Elements of Flow

Clear Goals

Direct Feedback

The transformation of Time

Challenge that requires skills

Learning

“Fun is just the dopamine in our brains firing when we it is presented with a new situation to learn from” Raph Koster discussed about this saying that the different patterns that we take in helps our brain especially when it comes to enjoying a video game cause once you mater the many patterns that it offers you your brain has nothing to feed off making it unenjoyable to play anymore “Fun is the feedback the brain gives us when we are absorbing patterns for learning purposes.”

“Pattern recognition species”

“Games are fundamentally a creative art that gives us the ability to learn.”

Fun is also a part of learning.

There are four different parts of fun and they are: Serious fun, People fun, Hard Fun and Easy Fun.

We shouldn’t dismiss games on the basis that they are just for fun, we also shouldn’t presume all games are about fun.

Engines- reinforcing or balancing with the same resources. E.g. A development engine makes the process take care of a number of tedious underlying tasks.

Who

Why

• Feedback for our actions

• Clear Goals

• Control over our abilities

• A sense of engagement comes from having a challenge

Balance

When playing chess, we learn about strategy, tic tac toe teaches us about reading people’s mind about their next move and when we play games like civilisation or sim it teaches us resource management. When playing games we should be provided with a balance of fun and challenges.

Challenge

“Although a large body of research has investigated the negative effects of playing video games, there has been less examination of the psychological experiences associated with the activity.” (Linda K Kaye, Jo Bryce.2012)

The GameFlow model shows that the inherent structure of games is associated with the experience of flow and enjoyment during gaming, at least for strategy games.

Conclusion

We come across different types of fun in games that fulfil our amusement. Fun in games is experience in many different ways like through socialising with friends or exploring the game world. People experience different emotions when driven by gameplay

https://www.gamified.uk/2016/08/18/target-gamification-my-top-9-gamification-elements/

References:

Velev, A., 2016. Gamification Design: What’S Fun Got To Do With It?. [online] Megamification. Available at:< http://www.megamification.com/727-2/ > [Accessed 16 November 2020].

Kaye, L. and Bryce, J., 2012. Putting The “Fun Factor” Into Gaming: The Influence Of Social Contexts On Experiences Of Playing Video Games. Available at: <https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/9632557.pdf/> [Accessed 16 November 2020].

The Game Overanalyser., 2020. A Theory of Fun for Game Design | Raph Koster and The Art of Designing Fun Games. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sZJYA06z7Y&feature=emb_logo&ab_channel=TheGameOveranalyser/> [Accessed 16 November 2020].