MDA Notes

In this article I don't like how they approach games in the form of a business. In previous articles games have been described as items created out of passion. In this one the process of the design has been confined to the process of, manufacture, publish, sold, purchased, consumed and then disposed of. This makes computer games sound lifeless and have no essence.

Notes:

Notes:

In this paper we present the MDA framework (standing for

Mechanics, Dynamics, and Aesthetics), developed and

taught as part of the Game Design and Tuning Workshop at

the Game Developers Conference, San Jose 2001-2004.

Specifically, iterative, qualitative and quantitative analyses

support the designer in two important ways. They help her

analyze the end  result to refine implementation, and

analyze the implementation to refine the result. By

approaching the task from both perspectives, she can

consider a wide range of possibilities and

interdependencies.

MDA framework (standing for

Mechanics, Dynamics, and Aesthetics), developed and

taught as part of the Game Design and Tuning Workshop

at the Game Developers Conference, San Jose 2001-2004

[LeBlanc, 2004a].

AI coders and researchers are no exception. Seemingly

inconsequential decisions about data, representation,

algorithms, tools, vocabulary and methodology will trickle

upward, shaping the final gameplay. Similarly, all desired

user experience must bottom out, somewhere, in code. As

games continue to generate increasingly complex agent,

object and system behavior, AI and game design merge.

Games are created by designers/teams of developers, and

consumed by players. They are purchased, used and

eventually cast away like most other consumable goods.

Creates Consumes

The production and consumption of game artifacts.

The difference between games and other entertainment

products (such as books, music, movies and plays) is that

their consumption is relatively unpredictable. The string of

events that occur during gameplay and the outcome of

those events are unknown at the time the product is

finished.

Then the MDA frame work is skimmed over like this. Although I like how it’s done due to there being some form of structure to it whilst there’s still freedom in designing the game.

The MDA framework formalizes the consumption of

games by breaking them into their distinct components:

Rules àSystem à.Fun

.and establishing their design counterparts:

Mechanics à Dynamics à Aesthetics