What is a game? Image Credit:

What is a game? Salen and Zimmerman define a game as ‘a system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome.’ (2003: 80) Champion defines a game as 'a challenge that offers up the possibility of temporary or permanent tactical resolution without harmful outcomes to the real world situation of the participants.' (2011: 84) ‘games serve as very fundamental and powerful learning tools.’ (Koster, 2005: 36)

What is a game? Key Concepts: Challenge or conflict: a game needs a goal to drive player actions. Players: game needs at least one player to be actively involved. Rules: game use rules to structure player experience. Real or artificial: games are removed from real world consequences. (Modified from Salen and Zimmerman 2003: 80)

What is a game? Challenge or conflict, Players, Rules, Real or artificial. Examples: Monopoly, Grand Theft Auto, Football

Games: Related Issues Rules Interactivity Feedback Play

Games: Related Issues - Rules Rules ‘Constituative rules’ the coded restrictions ‘Operational rules’ the rules of the game ‘Implicit rules’ social and physical (Modified from Salen and Zimmerman 2003: 139)

Games: Related Issues - Interactivity Interactivity ‘Cognitive interactivity’, (what you imagine) ‘Functional interactivity’ (the qualities of the system) ‘Explicit interactivity’ (clicking buttons, etc.) (Modified from Salen and Zimmerman 2003: 69)

Games: Related Issues - Feedback Feedback (positive, negative) Feedback is a process in which information about the past or the present influences the same phenomenon in the present or future. As part of a chain of cause- and-effect that forms a circuit or loop, the event is said to "feed back" into itself. (From the Wikipedia entry for feedback) Interface feedback: cursor, sound, change of state

Games: Related Issues - Play ‘Play is free movement within a more ridged structure.’ (Salen and Zimmerman 2003: 304) Caillous defines play as: ‘Free’ ‘Separate’ ‘Uncertain’ ‘Unproductive’ ‘Governed by rule’ ‘Make-believe’ (Caillous, 1961: 9-10)

Games and Experience Design Gamification

Games and Experience Design Gamification is the use of game design techniques [1], game thinking and game mechanics to enhance non- game contexts. Typically gamification applies to non- game applications and processes, in order to encourage people to adopt them, or to influence how they are used. (From the Wikipedia page for gamification) Rewards, levels, leader boards, progress bars, competition, mini-games,

Caillois, R. (2001) Man, Play, and Games. University of Illinois Press. Translated by Meyer Barash Champion, E. (2011) Playing with the past. London, Springer. Koster, R. (2005) A Theory of Fun for Games Design. Paraglyph Press. Salen, K. & Zimmerman, E. (2003) Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, England, MIT Press.