Game Fun

The first article I read was “Natural Funativity” by Noah Falstein.

“We may not be able to describe fun, but we know it when we have it.”

He talks about ‘The Natural Funativity Theory’ that says that one of the toughest tasks as a game developer is picking a suitable name, and that stealing (or borrowing) from other sources is one method. This theory is then broken into three areas. 

1. Physical Fun.
2. Social Fun.
3. Mental Fun.

Physical fun is the simplest place to see a connection between our evolutionary heritageand games and entertainment is in this physical arena. Our primary urge is the survival instinct. Anything that involves threats to survival is likely to get a large audience. Some major factors for survival ability in a hunter-gatherer society were strong muscles and good coordination. This is why sports are quite popular in certain cultures. But physical fun doesn’t just apply to the hunting side of hunter-gatherers. In video games, gathering became very popular and RPG’s encouraged players to gather items making them popular games. Exploration is also a popular component to many games. 

Evolution focuses not just on the survival of individuals, but also the issue of reproduction and all the associated matters of meeting and attracting mates. Social interactions is a very part of our lives and this moves onto video games. We play games now are able to play video games while talking to our videos or even strangers. Games also include characters which socialize in the game.

The essence of intelligence is the perception and manipulation of patterns. Game designer Brian Moriarty found that people love to find patterns in things. In history games such as the Rubic’s Cube have proven to show that humans love patterns and enjoy mental fun. 

The second article is “Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades: Players Who Suit MUDs” by Richard Bartle. In this article four approaches to playing MUDs are identified and described.

The four things that people typically enjoyed about MUDs were:

·     Achievement within the game context.

·     Exploration of the game.

·     Socialising with others.

·     Imposition upon others.

Labelling the four player types we get: achievers, explorers, socialisers and killers. Often players would drift between these four types, depending on their mood when playing. However, most usually have a primary style. 

The “interest graph” is a representational structure which can chart what players find of interest in a MUD.

Interest Graph. (Source)

The axes of the interest graph represent the source of players interest in a MUD. Achievers are interested in doing things in the game, i.e. in acting on the world. Explorers are interested in having the game surprise them. Socialisers are interested in interaction with other players. Killers are interested in doing things to people, i.e. in acting on other players.

A stable MUD can be adjusted so as to favour the various extremes of the interest graph, and what would happen if each approach were taken to the limit: 

• Players.
• World.
• Interacting.
• Acting.