Game Design

Disciplines > Game Design

Game design is a discipline that is important not only in the multi-billion-dollar gaming
industry but can also be useful in business and education, where 'gamification' is the
application of game principles in non-traditional-game fields. When people play games
they are engaged, motivated and learn rapidly, which makes an understanding of the
principles useful in all kinds of motivational contexts.

What is a Game?: What makes a game a game.

The Purpose of Games: Why do people play games?

o Games as Comfort, Games as Time-Wasting, More...

Types of Game: Effective design frames.

o Competitive Games, Computer Games, More...

Principles of Game Design: Fundamentals for any game.

o The Economy Principle, The Camaraderie Principle, More...

Games Articles: More about games.

o What Men Like In Games, What Women Like In Games, More...

What is a Game?

Disciplines > Game Design > Articles > What is a Game?

A game is | A game is not | Discussion | See also

What is a 'game'? How can we define the term? Below, we look at things that make
games and things that do not.

A game is...
A dictionary definition of 'game' is:
A game is a contest with rules to determine a winner.
Certainly some games are like this, and rules seem critical at the very least to constrain
action and create boundaries for the game. But must there always be a winner? Must it
be a contest? What about games of patience that one player plays? What about roleplaying games that have no particular beginning or end?
An additional definition is:
An amusement or pastime.
This fits the more relaxed view of games and helps indicate two very different types of
game, those that are about 'winning' and those that are about 'playing'. There are many
definitions that miss this point.
Wikipedia defines it as 'structured playing'. 'Structure' echoes the rules, but 'playing' is
new. Play is done for pleasure. Can you play without enjoyment? Possibly, but that is
unlikely to be thought of as a good game. Can you play without it being a game? It
seems so. I can play with a football without it being a game.
Games may engage any number of people. They may be played alone or with played
with others. Games with others may be one-on-one, team-vs-team or large-group
activities.
Games are stimulating, arousing interest through challenge. They offer a satisfying
sense of achievement through completing challenges or beating other players.
So here is a revised definition:
A game is a stimulating, rule-bound activity.
No point mentioning people as there can be any number. No point talking about winning
because not all games are contests.

A game is not
If we can think about what a game is not, then we can further bound the term more
tightly, excluding certain aspects and domains.
A game is not real.
While games are played, the outcomes do not have much or any effect on your daily
life. You may lose at chess, your video-game characters may die but you still sit down

for dinner afterwards as if nothing had happened. In the game, you are player, playing.
In the real world, your actions have lasting consequence.
A game is not passive.
You are not just an observer as games require you to act in some way. The game or
other players may well respond, causing interaction and conversation. Movies are
passive as you just sit and watch. You have to engage in games.
A game is not unemotional.
Games stimulate, they create pleasure and other emotions. The echo the trials and
tribulations of life. They engage you and stir your interest. Few people will continue to
play a game they find boring.

Discussion
Games are often associated with children. But adult do and can play games too. You do
not have to give up fun when you grow up, and in fact in an increasingly pressurized
world you need to find such ways to release the stresses and strains of everyday living.
Beyond this description of what game are and are not is the bigger question of what
constitutes a good game.
Rules are important in games as the boundaries they define shape the play. It is also
important that players follow the rules and that they believe others do likewise. If
necessary, an umpire of some sort may be employed to ensure the rules are followed,
with the power to punish transgressors. The shaping of the game may also be helped by
various mechanisms, such as objectives, throwing six-sided dice or a guiding storyline.
Games are increasingly being examined for ways they can be used in educational
classes and in the workplace. Games seem to get people highly motivated to achieve
'great' things (at least in the game world). What if we could take some of the aspects of
games and use these to motivate people in the real world? For this, the curious word
'gamification' has been invented.
We also talk about games as repeating patterns of activity that are often
dysfunctional. Addicts play them. Families play them. But this is not the
'games' that we are talking about in this section.

The Purpose of Games

Disciplines > Game Design > The Purpose of Games

Game-play are common across countries and cultures. Even animals indulge in play as
they simulate real conflict. Humans can have many reasons why they play or why they
set other people playing.
When playing or designing games, it is always a good idea to think about what people
are getting out of the game and how it may change their mind in some way. Here is a
large set of purposes that give reason for gaming.

Games as Comfort: repeating recognizable patterns, cocoon

Games as Time-Wasting Just avoiding boredom.

Games as Learning: discomfort, new skills, improvement, progression.

Games as Self-Development: social, risk management

Games as Conflict: Winning and losing.

Games as Hope: gambling, wish-fulfilment.

Games as Hedonism: just for the pure pleasure

Games as Therapy: healing inner hurts

Games as Escape: fantasy, better than movies, visceral, safe

Games as Need-Fulfilment: Getting what you can't get elsewhere.

Games as Social Facilitation: Helping along the conversation.

Games as Bonding: Connecting people as one.

Games as Being: As the person you really want to be.

Game as Purpose: Providing meaning and intent.

Games as Experiencing: That make you happier.

Games as Discovery: Self, others and things.

Games as Storying: With plot, characters and so on.

Games as Real-izing: creating reality in real-time.

Games as Prisons: Lock-in, control and more.

Games as Comfort

Disciplines > Game Design > Games as Comfort

Description | Example | Discussion | See also

Description
We sometimes play games for the sense of comfort that it gives us. At such times we
seek familiarity rather than novelty, ease rather than challenge. Hence we will choose
and play games that give us that warm sense of comfort.
When we are playing with others, the invitation to play starts with 'Let's play...',
followed by a game with which the other person is very familiar, whether it is chess,
Monopoly or the latest video game that you both have been playing.

Example
It's been a long week. How about a game of Scrabble and a glass of wine?
A person regularly goes home from work and spends an hour unwinding while they
have a go on an old flight simulator game, perhaps flying to a familiar airport and
enjoying the sights along the way.

Discussion
Sometimes when I watch a movie I want to be challenged or stimulated. Sometimes I
want to have to pay attention and to be made to think. And yet other times, I just want
something relaxing that I can enjoy without having to get my brain in gear. I might even
re-watch an old favorite, just for the smile and basic satisfaction it brings.
Games can be like this too. We typically seek comfort first when we are tired and
stressed. When there is already too much tension in our lives, we cannot cope with
further thrills and challenges. All we want is something with which we can feel good.
One of the basic ways that our brains reward us is when we identify familiar patterns. It
says 'Well done, you understand what is going on and are in control. There is no need to
be alert to dangers as you are now safe.' Sometimes this is all we want from our games.
Even within challenging games, it can be a useful point of design to give
comforting breaks during which the normal difficulties are kept at a
distance. Hence we can pause when we reach the end of the current 'level'.
Sometimes also a smart designer puts in an easy level as a bonus for
getting so far.

Games as Time-Wasting

Disciplines > Game Design > Games as Time-Wasting

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Description
Sometimes we play games just to occupy time.
In those dead spaces when we are waiting or cannot do anything more interesting, we
just want something to alleviate the boredom.
Alternatively when our brains are so full that we do not want anything more stimulating,
we just want a no-brainer activity to pass the time.

Example
A person plays a game on their phone on the way to work on the bus.
Whilst waiting for emergency calls, a fireman plays games of card patience, hardly
noticing if he wins or loses.

Discussion
Some people see time as a precious resource and spend it carefully, always doing
something of value. Others have no such view and see time as a nuisance that fills the
gaps between doing the things that they really want to do. This latter type may well use
games to fill in these gaps, perhaps even making up pointless activities such as counting
windows or not stepping on the cracks in the walkways.
This highlights two very different types of player. Some always
seek stimulation while others are just going along with the game, seeing it
as something to do rather than something to achieve. The first type typically
plays more competitively, enjoying the challenge of trying to win. The latter
is less likely to be concerned about winning, which can puzzle and frustrate
the challenger who may think they are 'not trying' or otherwise breaking the
implicit rules of the game that require energetic competition.
Games as Learning

Disciplines > Game Design > Games as Learning

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Description
Many games have aspects of learning about them. These provide key ways in which
players gain pleasure from playing the game.
The learning has to be challenging enough for the player to be stimulated, but must not
be so hard that the players is unable to learn. What players seek is a continuous
sequence of 'aha's and proof that they have succeeded and improved.
The learning may have no direct application in the real world but still creates skills and
provides pleasure within the context of the game. The game may also be designed
deliberately as a vehicle for teaching, with direct and applicable value gained from the
learning during play.

Example
A game has a leaderboard that shows players and their skill levels. a player works to go
up one level every week.
A person joins a local sports team and enjoys the training and subsequent feelings of
competence and success. After a couple of years they reach their natural maximum
skill. A year later they give up as they are no longer getting better.
A game designer creates a game that adds new skills to learn at each level, along with
new artefacts that the player can use.

Discussion
The brain rewards us for two things, both of which have evolutionary benefit. First is
recognizing familiar patterns, a useful skill than helps keep us alive by recognizing
threats and managing our environment. Beyond this, we are rewarded for identifying
new patterns and other learning that helps us cope with new situations.
Designing games that provide a continuous stream of learning that is both challenging
yet not impossible for each player is a particular challenge in itself for the game
designer. Different people have different knowledge and skills. They have
different learning styles and learn at different rates.
One way that learning can be sustained during a computer game is to use a dynamic
engine that assesses the player's learning style and ability and varies what is presented
as a result. Another route is to add random elements that the player does not realize and
so they think they have learned when perhaps they have not.
Explicitly telling people they have learned can help. A typical device to indicate
learning is 'levels'. As you go up levels, you are assumed to be more competent,

typically as the levels get progressively more difficult. Another way is the awarding of
points. People with more points are assumed to have learned more.
In more traditional competitive games, people learn by finding playing partners who are
at a similar level to them or who can still provide learning opportunities.
The learning that a person does can be compared with themselves, for example gaining
skills or acquiring more knowledge or artefacts. Learning may also be comparative in
that a person who can beat someone who used to be better than them has the added
satisfaction of knowing they are learning faster than others.
Even when learning is applicable only within the game, the player gains
mental stimulation and is learning to learn. Virtually any learning is hence
better than no learning.
Games as Self-Development

Disciplines > Game Design > Games as Self-Development

Description | Example | Discussion | See also

Description
Although they are criticized for being anti-social, many games help players develop
skills that are useful in real life. Hence:

Puzzle games help develop cognitive and logic skills.

Video manipulation games help develop hand-eye coordination.

Multi-user games help develop social skills.

Adventure games help develop decision-making, risk assessment,

courage and more.

Physical movement games help get you fit and healthy.

Simulation games teach you about the world.

As with any activity, the secret is balance. If you only play games then other parts of
your life will suffer. If you play a game for ten minutes a day, then you will unlikely get
much development benefit.

Example
A person develops their mental abilities by playing chess and other games of pure skill.

A multi-user role-play game is used to help a normally-shy person become more

comfortable conversing with others online before meeting people in real life.

Discussion
The classic mental model of the game player is a grubby teenager hunched for endless
hours over a console or computer screen and certainly this does happen, though people
play games in all kinds of situations, and not just with computers.
The principle of personal development is to take actions that will help you develop
skills, knowledge, attitudes and so on that will assist you in achieving your life goals. In
a typical situation this includes going on training courses, being coached, taking
exercise, eating well and so on. It is a deliberate set of activities that are planned and
executed with care.
We also develop our personalities through everyday actions and interactions with others.
Likewise, many everyday games provide accidental development in the way they
provide the ability to practice in safe environments. The fact that it may well be fun is
simply a bonus. The young of many species practice life skills through play.
A key part of development is feedback and repetition. Try, fail, re-think, try again, and
so on. Games are good environments for doing this. Not only can they provide feedback
and the scope to have another go (which life does not always offer), they also do this in
a safe environment where failure is permitted and nobody gets harmed.
Games can be deliberately designed for the personal development and
learning. They can provide challenging encounters that require logical
analysis, creative thought and social skills. Focused feedback and
opportunity for reflection can be easily included. Many companies use
games in 'away days' and other non-work situations. You can also build
game principles into daily work.
Games as Conflict

Disciplines > Game Design > Games as Conflict

Description | Example | Discussion | See also

Description
While games are often viewed as being relaxing entertainment, they often are closely
related to conflict, even when we do not realize this.

Many games are played as competitions, which are often treated with great seriousness
by the players on either side. Opponents are viewed as enemies. They are denigrated
and dehumanized in songs and talk. Deliberate and unsporting violence and threats are
used to intimidate and demotivate.
Games can also create conflict as primitive reactions are stimulated when an initially
friendly game turns nasty. All it takes is for one person to get too competitive and the
other to consider this unfair and so fight back.

Example
Two towns have an ongoing rivalry with some long-running feuds and bitterness. Every
year there is a football game between the two towns. It is not uncommon for several
players to be carried off the field as real-world enmity is played out.
A mild-mannered person often plays chess and croquet, in which they become vicious in
their clinical and unforgiving attack of their opponents.

Discussion
One of the most primitive purposes for games is practicing for real-world conflict. From
tame kittens and puppies to lion and wolf cubs, the young of many species indulge in
play fighting that is, in reality, a learning exercise, preparing them for the battles of
adulthood.
As humans, we consider ourselves civilized, yet war is never far away and we are easily
provoked into conflict. It is perhaps not a coincidence that many video games are
simulations of brutal combat. Even 'nicer' games like chess are based on war and
beating the other side.
Conflict often starts when:

Needs are threatened and we instinctively fight back (often triggered

by fear and anger).

Goals are frustrated and it seems necessary to fight in order to

achieve them.

Values are transgressed and we feel justified in meting out

punishment to people we have judged as bad.

Games have value in providing a release for inner conflicts, a safe place where our
frustrations about life and relationships can be let out in a way that is largely harmless.
There is concern that as computer games become more realistic, the boundary between
the real world and the computerized world can become blurred, with computer violence
being replicated in real life. In practice very few people get confused by this and

perhaps these are people who are already on the edge and might have turned to violence
anyway.
When people turn to conflict it often reflects inner issues that may go back
to childhood more than the current situation. Games that reflect conflict
often also appear in everyday situations where we unconsciously play out
patterns of behaving that reflect our inner problems.
Games as Hope

Disciplines > Game Design > Games as Hope

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Description
Sometimes people play games simple because they want something and they are
holding out hopefully that the game will provide it. They do not really know they will
succeed, although hope can make them feel that this is more likely than it really is.
A whole set of games based on hope are found in gambling. Some people gamble as a
form of entertainment. Others have a forlorn hope that they will get rich quick and all
their problems will be solved. While a few publicized cases of gaining riches from
gambling do exist, most hopers lose their shirts.
You can also be hopeful in any game, where you seek to win or achieve the game's
goals. It can be fun in any game to play 'what if' and wonder about the possibilities of
great achievement.

Example
A person who is in deep debt and has other personal problems heads for the casino with
the last of their money in the vain hope that they will win the jackpot.
A regular adventure game player reflects that much of the pleasure gained is in hoping
to find big treasure and defeat the major monsters. If this happens, they muse, they can
be lauded in the game and be able to boast of their success to their real-world friends.

Discussion
To hope is human and can usefully lead us to persistence in seeking and working
towards our goals. It can also be dysfunctional when we hopefully pursue hopeless
goals where we have little or no chance of achieving them.

Hope is better than hopelessness, which is often why we hope. Hope can be defined
as anticipated pleasure, where we think of potential good feelings and vicariously
experience them now. This gives rational reason to hold out hope in any game, as in life.
A big difference between games and life is that the relative insignificance of failure and
disappointment in games is often not as much as when life lets us down (although
people who become deeply involved can feel like it is). This again boosts the net benefit
of hope in gaming.
Hope can be driven by negatively wanting to get away from something or by
a positive desire to achieve something specific. Depending on whether we
are escaping or seeking, we will be impacted by the effects of push or pull.
When we want to avoid or escape, we look over our shoulders and are
driven more by fear. When we have more positive attraction goals we are
driven more by desire.
Games as Therapy

Disciplines > Game Design > Games as Therapy

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Description
Life is hard for many people and we suffer emotional traumas and blockages at all
stages. Therapy seeks to release the stored tensions of such troubles and set us on a
healthier course.
Rather than the more expensive option of visiting a qualified therapist, games can be
used as a way of releasing tensions and exploring oneself. When you show courage in
the game you may be encouraged in the real world. When you are fighting virtual
dragons you can simultaneously be fighting the dragons of your past. When characters
die, you can release the pent-up grief of personal losses.
Physical games also provide release and there is nothing quite like the crunch and
exertion of contact sport or the exhaustion of running or racket sports.

Example
A teenager with a troubled family plays video adventure games where there is pure
motive, clear good and evil and where they can triumph over the bad people. By
focusing their frustrations within the game, they find it easier to handle family conflicts
without being drawn into angry exchange.

A person plays chess both to get away from life and also as a paradoxical period of
quiet contemplation where they can mull over personal issues and work out what they
can do about them.
A therapist uses games to help clients access a child state from which they can address
old traumatic issues in a safe place.

Discussion
Games largely require focus which, in itself, is a helpful escape from real-world
troubles. Beyond this, the game itself can be a metaphor for life into which the player
can project themself. In this safe and separate context they can both let out inner
tensions and also explore other ways of being.
This can be done deliberately, although games often have a cathartic effect without
being consciously chosen for this property. Perhaps this is one reason why there are so
many robust and physical games.
Caveat: This is not a recommendation to replace therapy with gaming. If you
are troubled, find professional help first.
Gaming as Escape

Disciplines > Game Design > Gaming as Escape

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Description
When people play games, there can be many reasons that motivate them. A common and
simple reason is to escape the stresses and strains of the real world.
Games provide an easy escape when they are immersive and require full attention. They
change the nature of current reality and let us leave the real world behind and, in doing
so, permit us the relaxation and recovery that we crave.
Games can also be used in a creative way. If you want to think differently about a
problem, reframe it as a game. Put it into a different world, with different rules. Create
competitions, challenges and other ways to stimulate fun and thinking.

Example
A person comes home from work and unwinds by playing an online game.

A sales manager creates a game for a sales training away-day where half the
salespeople act as buyers and a game of who can make the greatest gains is played out.
This forces the salespeople to escape from their current mindset. In discussion
afterwards, the mind of the buyer is understood afresh and new ways selling are
identified.
A person who is having relationship problems joins a local quiz team as an excuse to
get out of the house. The challenge of quiz competitions also helps them take their mind
off their private issues.

Discussion
Escape is a common theme in life and particularly when stress gets too high.
The Yerkes-Dodson Law shows how, beyond a certain point, performance drops off and
we can even fall into satisficing or othercoping where we seek to reduce the stress rather
than doing the job to our best ability.
Escape is, in effect, a form of flight. We want to get away from the things that trouble
us, and the comfort of familiar games can help, especially if the challenge presented is
sufficient to take our minds off our problems.
While escape can help people get away and de-stress, it does not solve
problems unless the escape includes aspects that help the person think or
practice new ways.
Games as Need-Fulfilment

Disciplines > Game Design > Games as Need-Fulfilment

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Description
We all have deep needs that drive much of what we do. Games can be clearly viewed
with this lens, with which it can be seen how significant and useful this comparison is.
For example:

The essentially harmless nature of games gives a sense of safety.

Games create novelty and so stimulate interest and enjoyment.

Social games create a sense of belonging.

Winning games helps boost our esteem (both self-esteem and the
accolade we get from others).

Rewards build a sense of achievement.

The rules of the game help ensure fairness.

Example
When a teenager plays a video fighting, there is satisfaction of needs for control plus
stimulation and safety at the same time. Although they can 'risk death', this is only in
the simulated scenario.
A pool player satisfies their need for control with a great deal of practice. They then
boost identity needs by doing well in club competitions.

Discussion
Needs are fundamental human drivers and, while we may be seeking specific goals or
other intent, beneath these are always the aim to satisfy basic needs.
The reason for playing games can be examined using the CIA Needs Model.
Control

Games are largely about control. In games such as chess there is no luck and everything
is down to our own skill. In video games, the control of avatars and objects is also found
to be pleasurable.
In gambling, there may be no real control, but gamblers still believe they have some
mysterious ability and just need to court luck. If they can do this, they can control their
fate.
Identity

When we play deeply with a game we connect it to our sense of self as we 'become the
game' and after a good game we emerge feeling good.
Identity is also boosted in the relationships we form with other players. We can be
friends with them, we can be admired by them, we can feel superior and achieve a
higher status.
Arousal

Games are stimulating, hence helping our arousal needs as they engage and challenge
us. If a game is not arousing, then it is probably a pretty poor game.
Challenging games like chess stimulate cognitive arousal. Video games can
stimulate emotional arousal. Physical arousal can be gained through games
such as football.
Games as Social Facilitation

Disciplines > Game Design > Games as Social Facilitation

Description | Example | Discussion | See also

Description
When we play games with other people, we often have to interact with them in some
way, whether it is the simple comments on the other's move (or later analysis) in chess
or the intensive dialog of online multi-player adventure games.
The game hence acts as a facilitating structure that both brings people together and
provides a context and implied rules for communication between players.

Example
A person who is normally quiet has an online game persona who is loud and boisterous.
A pre-school unit has an area with toys and games in where the quieter children can
play. It is noticed that the talk is more about the things they are playing with than the
individuals.
A company has a training day in which they use games as a way to bring people
together from different departments.

Discussion
Some people find it easy to talk and interact with others. There are, however, many who
are more introverted and who find making conversation hard work. You can see these
people in parties where they sit quietly, talk with the same people that they know and
then leave as early as is polite. Yet the same people may be found in online games
leading bands of warriors against dragons or commenting wryly upon other games they
have played.
Games bring people together and give them rules to follow, which may include or
require social interaction. Individuals and groups are given purpose in specific
objectives to achieve and so have a reason to act and to interact. They may need to find
or use artefacts, weapons and so on, which they cannot do on their own.
The structure of games gives reason for talk and people who struggle at party small-talk
are more comfortable interacting where there is a clear need and purpose. The focus for
such situations is doing andachieving, not just interacting and conversing for its own
sake. Men, who focus more on things (vs. women who focus more on relationships)
hence tend particularly to benefit from games.
Games also provide safety, both within the rules and, if this is where games are played,
online. If you can walk away without social harm, then it is easier to start playing. In

live team games, the coach and referee can also provide structure and safety, ensuring
rules are not broken.
This is not to say that the social animals who frequent parties cannot also
enjoy themselves in playing games, nor that all introverts enjoy games. The
point is that games provide a structure within which a wider range of people
can interact than might be found in normal social situations.
Games as Bonding

Disciplines > Game Design > Games as Bonding

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Description
A key purpose of many games is to connect people together, acting as 'glue' to help form
social bonds.
Team games do this particularly well as, to be optimally successful, people must play
together and not just try to play as a collective of individuals heading in the same
direction.
Even competitive two-player games help create bonds around a common interest in the
game and the way the game forces the players to address the same problem (albeit from
different viewpoints).

Example
A football team not only plays together -- they also party and have fun together. They
feel like a single unit, like a family on a common mission.
Two chess players get involved in the game to the point where they lose all track of
time. It is just them and the game, each thinking through the other's game as well as
their own. They play together regularly and like talking about the game. While winning
is enjoyed, the relationship actually gives greater pleasure.
A business facilitator designs a game to be played at an offsite meeting to help people
understand one another more and to work together to achieve a common goal.

Discussion
There is a need to connect and be as one with others that starts in the infant neonatal
phase, before we gain a sense of individual identity. Forever after we struggle between
the two, seeking first individual separation then conjoined one-ness. Games help

facilitate this process, creating contexts where we can be at one with the team, the other
player and even the game.
When bonded with another person, we both lose our sense of individual identity and
also feel larger, with our identity expanded to include the other. With more people, we
increasingly feel our identity as a part of 'the group' rather than tied to distinct
individuals, although key interpersonal links may also remain.
Strong bonding can be detected when players talk about 'we' more than 'I'.
Even people in two-player competitive games will say things like 'we were
playing chess' rather than 'I was playing chess'.
Games as Being

Disciplines > Game Design > Games as Being

Description | Example | Discussion | See also

Description
When playing a game, the player can become so involved in the game that they bond
into it, becoming 'one with the game'. In this sense, they become the game.
Role-playing games, when the player takes the part of a defined character, can easily
lead to situations where the player becomes the character, forgetting their own
personality.

Example
A normally shy person plays an aggressive fighter in a game. When they are in
character, they are nothing like their 'real world' personality.
A chess player studies and plays the game so much that it becomes a defining element
of their life.

Discussion
'Ontology' is the study of being and existence. Games can hence be viewed in an
ontological light. When you become not just one with the game but become the
game (or character), then your identitychanges. As such there is a loss of original self.
An effect of this 'flow' state is that when the person returns to their self there is a great
sense of elation.
Gaming as being is related to gaming as escape in that when your being locks into the
game the 'real world' is left behind. The difference is that gaming as escape is about

moving away what is not wanted, while gaming as being is moving towards the state of
being.
Gaming as being is also related to games as bonding. The critical difference
here is one of identity. It is not just connecting but one of becoming. Gaming
as being is also more about the self, while gaming as bonding is about the
joining of two equals.
Games as Purpose

Disciplines > Game Design > Games as Purpose

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Description
Games and gaming can be more than a pastime, becoming a major purpose in life,
providing the player with significant meaning and a reason for existence.
Gamers who get into their games may find the game more real and more meaning than
real life. This happens particularly in immersive role-play games, but can also happen in
other games such as chess or football where the game and success in it become the
driving purpose of the player's life.
When games become a primary purpose, players live to play. It can become almost an
addiction and certainly an obsession.
Games can also help give purpose but not be all-enveloping. Many hobbies and
pastimes can provide meaning in life without taking over everything.

Example
A person with a menial job and humdrum existence finds little meaning in the outside
world, yet every evening, they are Cynddylan the Warrior, leading a troop of expert
fighters on dangerous missions.
A person who just enjoys chess joins a local club and plays online too. It is not central
to their life but they think of themself as a chess-player, with connotations of
intelligence and analytical capability.

Discussion
We all seek meaning and purpose in life as a deep need to give us a sense of why we are
here and that we are more than just a flash in the history of the universe. Some find it in
religion, others in service, others in their families and children.

Games can serve this function too and are often designed with deeper meaning in mind.
Simulation and role-play games are often in complete worlds that can shut out the real
world. Even other games can be so engrossing that they exclude other perceptions and
the game becomes the end in itself.
Purpose gives reason not only to live but also to act. When we have purpose, we have
direction and motivation to get up in the morning. With purpose we have objectives
and goals, we know what success means and we know what we must do every day.
As meaning-making is so significant for us, we easily find purpose in much
of what we do, and when much of what we do is find games, then we will
find meaning in them. When the game is also designed with this in mind, it
becomes even easier for it to become significant for us.
Games as Experiencing

Disciplines > Game Design > Games as Experiencing

Description | Example | Discussion | See also

Description
There are many distinct experiences in life and sometimes games can be seen more
as escape, yet the experiential aspects of games can be a very deliberate part of the
design and can contribute significantly to make the game more enjoyable.
This may be done in two ways. First, the overall general experience of playing the game
may be considered, for example the concentration of thoughtful games like chess, the
visceral aspects of physical games, the visual quality of board games or the atmosphere
of a role-playing game.
Individual experiences may also be designed, for example where role-players enter an
unexplored room or where fighters engage in a battle. A full design of experience
considers all aspects, from thinking of playing through to after-game situations.

Example
An urban street treasure-hunting game is designed both for the overall experience of
running around a city and individual 'adventures' in finding clues in distinctly different
contexts, such as abandoned buildings and churches.
A football team manager considers the whole experience of the players, from joining to
coaching to changing-room build-up to the actual impact of the game and post-game let
down.

Discussion
Meaning, which is central to our lives, comes from experiencing. From the
interpretation and learning that we get out of games we both improve our game-play and
also find better ways of living in the 'real' world.
Experiences are not 'events' or what happens, they are how people feel about such times.
A strong experience is likely to have peak emotions with perhaps a complex set of
feelings along the way. We remember good experiences because the emotions we feel at
the time help fix the experiences in our memories such that when we recall that period
we experience again the emotions we felt then.
It has been found that varying experiences is a often a better way of
generating happiness than acquiring material goods. It is hence better to
spend your money on experiences, including games, than buying more
'stuff'.
Games as Discovery

Disciplines > Game Design > Games as Discovery

Description | Example | Discussion | See also

Description
Playing games can be done as a means to various forms of discovery, including selfdiscovery, other-discovery and exploration.
Games can lead to self-discovery as we find out how well we cope with challenge,
difficulty, winning and failure within the game. In this way we can find both strengths
and also aspects of ourselves that need improvement.
When we are playing with others, we also discover something of their personalities. In
the same way as discovery about ourselves, these can be surprising, pleasant or maybe
not so enjoyable.
Discovery can also be an integral part of the game, for example when there are lands to
explore and treasure to be found.

Example
A chess player discovers that they are good at short, fast games but lack the patience to
win at long games of attrition. Their main rival seems good at the long game, which
makes them irritated (which itself is another point for self-discovery).

A video game role-player goes on long missions of exploration and discovery in strange
new worlds. They enjoy not just the discovery but the exploration and search.

Discussion
Exploration and discovery are natural human motivations. The alternative of staying at
home and not taking risks or finding new things is not good for evolution, which is
probably why we feel the excitement of exploration and joy of discovery.
By providing situations where we can discover ourselves, others and things of value,
games feed this need.
For discovery to be optimally pleasurable it needs to be spaced out over
time and effectively act as a reward for effort. If things are too easy to find,
then they are not valued as much. If they are too hard to find, then players
may give up in disgust.
Games as Storying

Disciplines > Game Design > Games as Storying

Description | Example | Discussion | See also

Description
Games not only tell stories, they create them. The process of play generates a narrative
that becomes a story, with a beginning, middle and end.
Just a people enjoy stories, so both players and observers can find pleasure in the
unfolding stories within games.
Where games are related, the stories can combine into an overall story arc, just as TV
dramas have both episode stories and seasonal openers, developments and finales. There
can even be wider stories across the whole series of seasons. Similarly, stories can
emerge within and across games, seasons and lives.

Example
A football player has a game narrative where they make heroic efforts within each
game and sometimes score. There is also the story of the season, complete with
individual tragedies and glories. And again, there is an even wider story across the
active life of the player.

A role-player takes the part of a timid magician in an adventure game. Across the game,
their character makes friends, learns about courage and gains experience to go up
levels and achieve greater power.

Discussion
Stories have plots, often of an archetypal nature, which employ various devices that
create excitement and interest. They have good, bad and ambiguous characters with
whom audiences identify or who are detested. There are multiple tensions and closures,
culminating in a grand climax. These elements can often be found in games, too.
Games can be understood from the evolutionary perspective as preparation for life.
Stories are frames by which we make sense of life's episodes. It is hence understandable
why games and stories should be so well connected and why we understand one in
terms of the other.
It is a good question for game designers as to what stories can be formed within the
game. There are two forces here that must be balanced: structure and openness.
At one end of the spectrum is a game that is a simple, one-track story that the player
dumbly followed. This has total structure but no openness. At the other end is an openended game with no rules, in which the player creates the story out of their own
imagination and experience.
Most games sit somewhere in between, with a degree of designed structure
that shapes the stories that may emerge from the game, plus many aspects
of choice where the player's decisions and successes form the body of the
story. In this way designers effectively give the players 'story kits', which
include the tools and structures by which the players create their own
individual and collective stories.
Games as Real-izing

Disciplines > Game Design > Games as Real-izing

Description | Example | Discussion | See also

Description
Games can seem as being played in a world separate from reality, where imaginary and
conceptual events have no bearing on the daily world of a game's players.

Yet games and reality are deeply intertwined. Games often are created as a reflection or
metaphor of reality, re-creating tensions that can be tested in a relatively safe
environment.
Players also take things from games and use their learning in their non-game lives.
Games can hence teach us about ourselves and other people and the general ways of
things.
In a reversal, games can also become reality when the player becomes so involved in it
that reality fades, albeit usually on a temporary basis.
In either case, games create reality, 'real-izing' it, bringing it into existence.

Example
An amateur football player learns much about teamwork, sharing and playing to
strengths. The more they play, the more this becomes 'normal' to them and they become
more collaborative in their outer work life.
A role-player becomes so engrossed in their gaming that they play for many hours at a
stretch. When working for a living, they yearn to return to the more vivid reality of the
game.

Discussion
As humans, we have a given set of motivations and ways of behaving that permeate
everything we do, including games. Games designers should be aware of these and
design games accordingly.
It is perhaps a higher art to design games that, rather than whiling away a person's time,
help to transform them into a better, more effective person. If life's difficulties can be
found in some way in the game, then this can provide a safe environment for players to
err and learn with minimum real cost.
Games can also be a place to take life's frustrations and work them out or otherwise
expel them relatively harmlessly. Physical games such as football can be a way of
providing this therapeutic release.
Games can also be a substitute for what many people would call 'reality'. Yet
we cannot escape reality and create it for ourselves wherever we are. When
outer reality is painful, the escape that games afford can extend to become
a more vibrant and desirable reality, even to the point of displacing the
outer world as a place where the person can find a more satisfying purpose.
Games as Prisons

Disciplines > Game Design > Games as Prisons

Description | Example | Discussion | See also

Description
Although it may seem a strange metaphor, in many ways games can seem and act as
prisons, incarcerating and enslaving their 'inmates'.
Prisoners are kept for a certain period of time, or 'sentence'. Game players can also feel
like they are unable to quit when they are on missions, between levels or otherwise
unable to stop playing without incurring a loss (typically having to start again next
time).
Prisoners have to work for simple 'advantages', often doing menial work. In games from
role-play to simulation, players are required to complete simple, often very repetitive
tasks to achieve progress.
One of the pernicious aspects of prisons is that they imprison the mind as well as the
body as a kind of psychic entrapment takes place. Games, also, can be mentally and
emotionally constricting as thoughts and feelings about them can occupy virtually every
waking minute.

Example
A role-playing game player commits her time to other players in the game as her party
gains treasure and experience. She then feels trapped as her private life suffers due to
the demands of the game.
A chess player joins a league and becomes determined to progress. He studies games
and strategies obsessively and the game becomes all-consuming in his life.

Discussion
Prisons are places that people fear and try to avoid thinking about, so the bringing
together of the pleasure of games with this very real horror seems a strange
combination, yet the parallels are quite strong. However, for those who dislike games or
the effects they can have, this link may be appreciated more, particularly if it seems as if
people they care for are trapped within the gaming world.
The idea of organizations as 'psychic prisons' was originated by Gareth
Morgan who used a series of metaphors as lenses through which to examine
organizations.
The Economy Principle

Disciplines > Game Design > Principles > Principles > The Economy Principle
Principle | Action | Discussion | See also

Principle
People live in and function through economies.

Action
Create an economy. Have things that can be counted, that players want (or maybe do not
want). Let different things have different value. Have ways to find, earn, swap, steal or
otherwise gain things. Have ways to keep things safe. Have ways things are used up,
lost, broken or otherwise disappear.
Value items within game economies can include:

Game money.

Things that you buy with money (for example properties and hotels in
Monopoly).

Weapons and body protection (common in role-playing games).

Information (such as maps and military intelligence).

Cards that may be used within the game for various purposes.

Artefacts which may not be of immediate value, but which can be

sold or exchanged.

Houses, food and other things needed to live (typical in life simulation
games).

Discussion
Money is the classic currency, but there can be many more things we can use for barter,
such as food, weapons, artefacts and so on. In fact anything that people can acquire and
exchange with others can lead to an economy.
Things that you gain but cannot give to others, from experience points to gold stars are
peripheral, particularly if they cannot be bought. If, however you can acquire them by
exchange, then they may be considered a part of the wider economy.
Money is a clever invention as, while it has no use in itself, it is used as a single means
of valuing everything else. It is an interim, an asynchronous way to pause exchanges
between giving and receiving. The flexibility and potential it offers makes it very useful.

The success of an economy is movement. If everyone just keeps what they have, then
the economy stagnates. There are hence important roles in creating and managing
markets.
One of the drivers of markets is our need to possess. We buy things not just to use but
also to own. Our sense of identity expands to include our possessions. We are not just
our bodies but also what we have.
Many games, from role-play to card games are based on acquisition and
exchange of things. By creating an economy within the game, you provide
the means for complex enjoyment.
The Camaraderie Principle

Disciplines > Game Design > Principles > The Camaraderie Principle
Principle | Action | Discussion | See also

Principle
People find pleasure in the company of others.

Action
Give opportunity for connection, collaboration, competition and social interaction.
Create a system whereby people self-select or can find others with who they will get on.
For example games that require particular abilities automatically filter for people with
those skills. Other games give scope for players to choose different roles.

Discussion
We all have a need for a sense of identity which we often get through connecting with
others, forming relationships and working together. As we join identities, our own sense
of identity grows as we feel we the connection as an expansion of our self.
Games are often vehicles for social interaction. We play them as much for the
camaraderie and connection with others as for satisfying our competitive instincts and
need for arousal.
In two-player competitive games such as chess, we seek to beat the other person. There
may not seem to be much camaraderie in such formats, yet the common love of the
game and consequent conversation gives plenty of scope for friendship.

In team games, a common enemy (the opposing team) or common goals (eg. winning
the tournament) gives clear, shared purpose that binds the team together.
When ex-soldiers are asked of their greatest moments, even years later they
cite the shared experience and hardship, where comradeship was the
reason they fought, far more than national pride. Likewise when others look
back, it is relationships with others that make the best memories. Games
simulate this shared interest and stress, albeit with less personal risk, while
creating a similar social dynamic.
The Progression Principle

Disciplines > Game Design > Principles > The Progression Principle
Principle | Action | Discussion | See also

Principle
People like to feel a sense of achievement and advancement.

Action
Give them ways to learn and visibly improve. You can also offer ways for them to be
promoted or achieve higher levels.
Ways of doing this include:

Game rules that may be learned along the way rather having to be
learned in detail beforehand.

Tasks, missions, objectives, game levels, etc. within the game that,
when completed, mark a level of achievement or skill achieved.

A ratchet system whereby achievements do not have to be repeated,

so the player can restart at a previously achieved level.

A system of seniority.

Titles for skills and positions achieved.

Discussion
We have a deep need for a sense of achievement. When we reach a goal or do
something we thought we could not do, we feel a sense of elation, of an extended
identity, of somehow being greater than we were before.

Achievements can be planned and deliberately worked towards. They may

also be opportunistic, being gained as the chance arises. Opportunistic
achievement may seem like luck, but happen mostly by being prepared and
alert.
The Status Principle

Disciplines > Game Design > Principles > The Status Principle
Principle | Action | Discussion | See also

Principle
People like to feel important, superior, admired and respected.

Action
Include systems whereby people can compare themselves with others and feel superior.
Create systems of progression that are common for everyone, and hence allow for
comparison. For example:

Levels of achievement, seniority, etc.

Hierarchies and roles of power and influence.

Grand sounding titles for levels, roles, etc.

Contests with winners and losers.

Things people can acquire that others will admire and covet.

Discussion
We all have a need for status, for social approval and admiration. Games provide a route
which this need may be satisfied.
One way to use games to gain status is to get good at them. We practice, learn and
compete, showing our prowess. Others praise our efforts and successes, thinking more
of us for our achievements in what is, after all, just a game. And this makes us feel
good.
The ultimate goal of most games is to win. This usually means somebody else loses.
The result of this is that the winner feels a boost to their sense of status. The loser must
not feel too damaged by this or else they may not want to play again. This is one reason
why many games include a balance of chance and skill, whereby losers can still hope to
win in future.

Games can include formal and informal hierarchies and status structures. You can
become team leader, tactical specialist, physical expert and so on. In such groupings, the
respect others pay you is largely based on merit, perhaps unlike other parts of your life
where politics and historic position may have a greater influence.
Games can be microcosms, little worlds which we inhabit from time to time.
Within these worlds, we can take on alternative personas that gain power
and status within that world. Role-playing games are like this, where we may
be bold adventurers when our real personalities are actually more timid.
The Possession Principle

Disciplines > Game Design > Principles > The Possession Principle
Principle | Action | Discussion | See also

Principle
We like to own things.

Action
Give the ability within the game to acquire, collect and otherwise own things.
Ways to do this include:

Methods and opportunities for finding, earning, receiving, buying,

exchange or otherwise acquiring things.

Collecting sets of things that give further advantage once the set is
complete.

Gaining points, coupons or money that can be used to buy things.

Systems where people can show off the things they own.

Discussion
One of our deep needs is to possess. We are an acquisitive species, as can be seen in the
clutter around our homes and the way we collect everything from picture cards to
antiques. The process of discovery and acquisition is at the heart of many games.
We can also seek to possess other people. This can be seen when a person talks about
'my' family, employees, army, and so on. An important part of possession is the ability
to controll, which we tend to enjoy. Possession of others may also bring responsibility
and the need to protect and defend.

The need to possess drives the fear of loss. When we fear losing something we jealously
desire it more and seek to protect it. This sub-principle can be used to add tension to a
game, for example through forfeiting items or 'stealing'.
Possession fuels other drivers, such as the need for status. When we own
things we can show them off to others, demonstrating our prowess
and power, and hence gaining the admiration of others.
The Balance Principle

Disciplines > Game Design > Principles > The Balance Principle
Principle | Action | Discussion | See also

Principle
We seek fairness and equality and feel wronged if this is not offered or achieved.

Action
Make the game balanced and equitable, so people feel they can have a good game with
a reasonable chance of winning. This may include:

Each player starts with the same tools, equipment, money, etc.

The same rules of chance apply equally to all (for example through
rolling dice, drawing cards, random computer sequence, etc.).

Players take turns to act.

Players have the same amount of time to take their turn, or the same
total time for all turns (as in competitive chess).

Skilled players are handicapped so those with less ability still have a
chance to win (like in golf).

Have an impartial referee to administer rules and settle disputes.

Discussion
We all have a need for fair play and will quickly rebel if we feel we are being treated
unfairly. In games this typically means refusing to play further. This easy withdrawal
means games must be scrupulously fair. In fact we may seek the fairness of games as a
refuge from the unfairness of life.

When people feel things are unfair, there needs to be a means of resolving this
unhappiness. A common approach is recourse to the rules. An alternative is appeal to an
independent arbiter.
An important balance in games is between chance and skill. If a game is
based too much on chance, the players' sense of control is damaged as they
realize that progression through effort and learning is impossible. If it is
entirely skill-based, then weaker players may feel they have no hope of
winning.
The Reward Principle

Disciplines > Game Design > Principles > The Reward Principle
Principle | Action | Discussion | See also

Principle
Offering rewards encourages players to act in ways that gain the reward.

Action
Give the player rewards for playing the game with skill, passion and other attributes that
are desirable in drawing them into the game and then keeping them playing.
Typical actions that may be rewarded include:

Completing goals set within game, for example 'levels' in video

games.

Taking risks, such as doing things that others have not done, going to
uncertain places, fighting monsters, etc.

Finding treasure, artefacts and other items of value.

Collaborating with others on shared goals.

Typical rewards include:

Payment of game money proportionate to achievement.

Keeping treasure and other items of value found.

Drawing a card from a deck that gives rewards of varying value.

Being designated as a more skilled player, for example with skill level,
titles ('master swordsman'), etc.

Structure rewards for the actual effects they have on motivation, not those you think
they will have. You can also give random rewards, effectively just for continuing to play
the game. In particular if the person has not been rewarded recently and whose
motivation may be waning, a little encouragement may be useful to keep them going.

Discussion
Rewards are forms of extrinsic motivation, and must be used carefully, as there is
always a risk of ending up reducing the pleasure the player gets from the game. This
happens when:

The player considers the reward to be too small for the work required
to achieve it.

The player considers the reward to be too big for the work done and
so considers the game too easy.

The player becomes so motivated to get the reward, they lose

interest in the other elements of the game.

The player is not interested in the reward and acts in ways that th

The person sees the reward as a cynical method of trying to exploit

players (and hence may stop playing the game).

Other people become demotivated as they see people getting

rewards which they consider to be undeserved.

Finding rewards that truly motivate over the longer term and across all
players is difficult and needs care as well as structured testing.
The Learnability Principle

Disciplines > Game Design > Principles > The Learnability Principle
Principle | Action | Discussion | See also

Principle
If people cannot easily learn the game, they will likely abandon it. If they can learn,
they will enjoy it.

Action
Make the game easy to learn. Ways you can do this include:

Design the game to be learned, for example making options easier to

see.

Describe the goal (the 'what') of the game up-front and gradually add
methods (the 'how').

Write the rules in ways that are easy to reference.

Have a 'help' system that can be consulted.

Tutorials step through what to do next, removing the person's choice

while showing them how to play.

Tips can appear through the game, offering suggestions of what to do

next.

'Sandpit' or 'playpen' scenarios let people play without being harmed.

Experienced players may be rewarded for helping newer players.

A handicap system (like golf) can help new players keep up while they
are learning.

'Levels' of play where lower levels require less skill.

Added complications appearing only when the player has mastered

more basic skills.

Hiding more complex elements where beginners will not see them.

Discussion
Some games are very clever, very complicated and very difficult to learn. Such games
may have a few dedicated players but will not get widespread adoption as we will easily
give up on games that are not easy to learn. Even quite easy games are quickly
abandoned if the way forward is not abundantly clear.
The ideal learnable game reveals new elements only as they are needed, matching new
information to both the game play and also the ability of the player to learn new
elements.
The brain rewards us for learning, adding a pleasant 'aha!' to the confusion
of new things.