Presenting a Game: It's all Art to Me

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Presenting a Game

It’s all Art to me

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The Games We “Play”

• Video games• Casual• “Hardcore”• Art• Instructional• Cooperative• Competitive

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MDA: Say What?

• Hunicke, LeBlanc, & Zubeck (2004)

• Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics• Consumption as an artifact

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Aesthetics

1. Sensation Game as sense-

pleasure 2. Fantasy Game as make-

believe3. Narrative Game as drama4. Challenge Game as obstacle

course

5. Fellowship Game as social

framework6. Discovery Game as uncharted

territory 7. Expression Game as self-

discovery 8. Submission Game as pastime

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NOTE

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These are not exclusive categories!

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Sensation

• “If it feels good…”

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Guitar Hero

AudioSurf

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Fantasy

• Alternate world scenarios

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Mass Effect 2

Half-Life 2

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Narrative

• Emergent narrative– No explicit storytelling

• Controlled by the creator–Mechanics as a tool to create

narrative

2/15/2011Braid

Digital – A Love Story

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Challenge

• I will become the best!

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Super Meat Boy

Counter-Strike

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Fellowship

• Come on feel the love

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Discovery

• The user is tasked with “finding the point”

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Expression

• The User “builds” the narrative– High Level of affordance

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Minecraft

Sleep is Death

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Submission

• Well, I’ve got nothing better to do.

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To tie it together

• What kind of gamer are you?• List your likes and dislikes• How can the games you make

appeal to your audience?

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Games

• Sleep is Death– Jason Rohrer

• MineCraft– Markus “Notch”

Persson

• Digital – A Love Story– Christine Love

• Majesty of Colors– Gregory Weir

• The End of Us• Half-Life/Half-Life 2 &

Portal

– Valve

• Mass Effect/ Mass Effect 2

• Braid• Super Meat Boy

– McMillen & McEntee (Team Meat)

• Audiosurf– Valve

• Guitar Hero• Newgrounds.com• Kongregate.com

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