Elements for the Theory of Fun

Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi

Theory of Fun (for Game Designers)��Videogame Design and Programming


Readings

•  Raph Koster. Theory of Fun for Game Design Second Edition 2013

•  Jesse Schell. The Art of Game Design (2nd Edition) Morgan Kaufmann 2015

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mancala


there are games we love, gamesthat bore us, games we hate.


http://nicolelazzaro.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/4_keys_poster3.jpg


Nicole Lazzaro’s 4 Keys

Easy FunHard fun

People funSerious fun

poster : http://xeodesign.com/4k2f/4k2f.jpgwhite paper: http://www.xeodesign.com/xeodesign_whyweplaygames.pdf


Nicole Lazzaro’s 4 Keys

•  Easy Fun § Focus on the sheer enjoyment of experiencing the game activities.

§ Maintains focus with player attention rather than a winning condition.

•  Hard fun § For many players overcoming obstacles is why they play.

§ Creates emotion by structuring experience towards the pursuit of a goal.

•  People fun

§ Players might play games they don’t like to spend time with their friends.

•  Serious fun/altered states

§ Changes how players think, feel, behave or make a difference in the real world. The excitement of games enlivens otherwise boring tasks.

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Marc Leblanc’s 8 Kinds of Fun http://8kindsoffun.com/

•  Sensation

§ Game as sense-pleasure

•  Fantasy

§ Game as make-believe

•  Narrative

§ Game as unfolding story

•  Challenge

§ Game as obstacle course

•  Fellowship

§ Game as social framework

•  Discovery

§ Game as uncharted territory

•  Expression

§ Game as soap box

•  Submission

§ Game as mindless pastime

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14 Forms of Fun

•  Beauty

•  Immersion

•  Intellectual Problem Solving

•  Competition

•  Social Interaction

•  Comedy

•  Thrill of Danger

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•  Physical Activity

•  Love

•  Creation

•  Power

•  Discovery

•  Advancement and Completion

•  Application of an Ability

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/227531/fourteen_forms_of_fun.php


why? can we engineer fun?


“A Theory of Fun for Game Design” Ralph Koster © (http://www.theoryoffun.com)


Cartoon from “A Theory of Fun for Game Design” Ralph Koster © (http://www.theoryoffun.com)






Highway to Hell by AC/DC © AC/DC


The world's ugliest music: Scott Rickard perTEDxMIA



humans love patterns!


Super Mario https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NnhWpI-EPM


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Super_Mario_64_jumping.jpg


Indie Game the Movie


'A Minute to Learn… A Lifetime to Master’

James R. Becker


grok

MDA Model

DynamicMechanics Aesthetic

Player

Game Designer



Cartoon from “A Theory of Fun for Game Design” (http://www.theoryoffun.com)


Cartoon from “Level Up!”


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW8nXTzroos


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XV478axBuiU


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uigWhf2zRbQ


140 http://vimeo.com/59001919


Thomas was Alone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K4zjNtQ3y8


chunking & grokking


Flow (M. Csikszentmihalyi)


games that fail to exercise the brain become boring��

fun is all about the brain feeling good (endorphines)��

the moment of triumph when we learn to master a task��triggers the release of chemicals triggering good feelings��

��fun comes from “richy interpretable” situations




Theory of Fun for Game Designers

•  Brains are mostly voracious consumer of patterns

•  Games are just exceptionally tasty patterns to eat up

•  The brain is good at cutting out the irrelevant

•  The brain notices a lot more than we think it does

•  The brain is actively hiding the real world from us

•  These are all example of chunking

•  We usually run on automated chunked patterns. Thinking is in fact mostly memory, pattern-matching past experiences

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Many developers always lose their objectivity��during the course of production. ��

��Theory of Un-Fun��

If you find something in the game that is not fun ��(or un-fun) remove it. After you have removed��all the un-fun, all that should be left is the fun.��





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http://www.youtube.com/PierLucaLanzihttp://www.polimigamecollective.org

Education

Elements for the Theory of Fun