MDA:

• Mechanics: are the base components of the game – its rules, every basic action the player can take in the game, the algorithms and data structures in the game engine etc.
• Dynamics are the run-time behavior of the mechanics acting on player input and “cooperating” with other mechanics.
• Aesthetics are the emotional responses evoked in the player

The paper seeks to better specify terms such as ‘gameplay’ and ‘fun’, and extend the vocabulary of game studies, suggesting a non-exhaustive taxonomy of eight different types of play. The framework uses these definitions to demonstrate the incentivising and disincentivizing properties of different dynamics on the eight subcategories of game use.

From the perspective of the designer, the mechanics generate dynamics which generate aesthetics. This relationship poses a challenge for the game designer as they are only able to influence the mechanics and only through them can be produced meaningful dynamics and aesthetics for the player. The perspective of the player is the other way around. They experience the game through the aesthetics, which the game dynamics provide, which emerged from the mechanics.

• Don’t combine genres unless they have a purpose or reinforce each other
• They need to complement each others aesthetic
• Make one genre compensate for another one
• What is the core game trying to deliver
• It’s risky, but has some potential
• Creating a unified experience
• Mechanics are the rules and systems
• Dynamics is how it is played
• Aesthetics is why you want to play, elicit some kind of feeling

Eight Types of Aesthetics:

• Sensation (Game as sense-pleasure): Player experiences something completely unfamiliar.
  • Any game that stimulates your senses
• Fantasy (Game as make-believe): Imaginary world.
  • Ability to step into a role that you can’t realistically
• Narrative (Game as drama): A story that drives the player to keep coming back
  • A game that lives off drama
• Challenge (Game as obstacle course): Urge to master something. Boosts a game’s replayability.
  • A game as an obstacle course, NOT difficulty
• Fellowship (Game as social framework): A community where the player is an active part of it. Almost exclusive for multiplayer games.
  • Working cooperatively
• Discovery (Game as uncharted territory): Urge to explore game world.
  • Finding new things
• Expression (Game as self-discovery): Own creativity. For example, creating character resembling player’s own avatar.
  • To stimulate your need to express your self
• Submission (Game as pastime): Connection to the game, as a whole, despite of constraints.
  • To let yourself to let go and relax
• Competition (Unofficial)
  • To state your dominance and prove yourself