I don't think there are many particularly good models for the working designer (as opposed to the theorist) for experience-based design. The academic models I've looked at involve lots of dense reading with little return on investment in terms of practical advice. Mostly, the models are descriptive- an attempt to catalog and explain trends, experiences, and terminology in game design. Descriptive models are important to collectively expand our understanding of design, however in art descriptive models tend to lag behind the innovations being made. I think of prescriptive models as 'rules for design,' guidelines that (while breakable if you know what you're doing) advance the conversation of how to design. On this blog, I tend to be fairly prescriptive, using my fine arts background to offer alternate and parallel guidelines to the ones currently being passed from designer to designer. I am not disparaging the existing design standards, but seeking to fill the gaps I find.
By far the most well known and used model is Marc LeBlanc's MDA, which stands for mechanics, dynamics, aesthetics. You can read more about it here. The short reason I actively avoid thinking about MDA except when writing something like this is that I fundamentally disagree with the idea that mechanics are the starting point of all design. A starting point, sure. Not THE starting point. I also think about design from an outside-in approach and MDA is very much an inside-out approach. Again, my main problem is the lack of territory this model covers, i.e. theme-first design, art-first design and experience-first design.
Two competing models have been presented to replace MDA: DPE, or design, player, experience, and DDE, or design, dynamics, experience. You can read about them here. I don't find DPE to be very practically useful, even if I generally agree with it. DDE is strongly video game focused. I like its separation of the terms 'concept' and 'blueprint.' Importantly, DDE considers dynamics to be under the (partial) control of the designer and takes sensual, emotional, and cognitive experiences into account. Both models are more all-compassing than MDA. I disagree with some of its language around game narratives, but I believe this is a common problem when evaluating video game based philosophies for a board game space. DDE most closely aligns with what I write on this blog and I am glad to see these concepts discussed elsewhere, but the academic language limits its accessibility. Overall, however, I find all of these models to be interesting in the abstract but of limited usefulness as design tools. For instance, one of the pieces of advice for designers in the DDE framework is for video game designers to design iteratively. I do not recommend reading any of the links provided in this post if you are looking for design advice.
Gil Hova's player/avatar/agent model is an excellent tool to pull a gameplay experience towards a richer thematic feel. You can read about it here (scroll down to the fourth section). This framework is an attempt to show how dynamics shift as the focus/closeness between player, theme, and mechanics shifts. The closer the player is to the avatar, the more 'immersive' the game is; the closer the player is to the agent/mechanics the more elegant the game is; the closer the avatar is to the agent, the more thematic the game is. While this absolutely models game experiences, it does so in a very neutral way, leaving room for designs that fall along the various spectrums between the nodes. [Side note, I want a better description of this model that is publicly shareable. The talk described in the link is available online, but only if you are a Tabletop Network attendee. I had to reference my notes from TTN for my explanation of the relationship between the elements. Edit: My wish has been granted and you can watch Gil's lecture here.]
Now, we'll move into models that look at certain types of experiences. Marc LeBlanc's eight types of fun attempts to better define 'fun.' You can read the list here. The eight types are fairly self-explanatory and useful if you are wondering what fun is, but I don't find myself inspired or compelled toward creating a game when I read them. Rather, they seem like descriptors of elements found in every game to a greater or lesser degree. So, while this model does look at types of experiences, it does not offer a practical path forward for the designer. To support this claim, I would argue that the only time the eight types are brought up (that I have seen) is during designer discussions about the definition of fun, as opposed to as a dialogistic tool. [Quantic Foundry's gamer motivation model is similar in structure, but based on a huge data pool. It contains 12 categories. You can learn more about it here.]
Similar to how 'eight types' attempts to define fun, Gordon Calleja's player involvement model seeks to better define (and rename) 'immersion.' You can read about it here (just read the intro section). This model is video game focused (again), and some of the aspects, such as spatial, do not translate very well to board games. However, what I find most useful is Calleja's division of immersion into 'absorption' and 'transportation.' This distinction is very important in practice as many designers will use immersion to mean one or the other and spend a lot of time arguing at cross purposes. The 'player/avatar/agent' model uses immersion to mean transportation, as far as I can tell.
Speaking of absorption, that brings us to flow theory. You can read about it here. While absorption and flow are not identical, I believe they are on the same spectrum. However, I find flow to be a single note (albeit an important one) in the discussion of experiences while gaming.
The 'transportation' described in the player involvement model is borrowed from narrative transportation theory. You can read about it here. The issue with discussion of narrative in general and narrative transportation in specific in games is that most narrative theory has been developed for literature, and thus speaks primarily to embedded narrative as opposed to emergent. Flow theory and narrative transportation theory aren't game-based models, but I list them here because they are important to the formation of my categories, in addition to providing greater understanding to the immersion debate.
In the next several posts, I will be outlining my categories for experience-based design. In some ways, my categories resemble the eight types of fun: I am dividing and describing these experiences in a fairly descriptive way. However, I would say that, like fun and immersion, 'experience' needs a better definition in game design. This is my attempt.
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