This page contains a list of terms and principles that are essential to understand and communicate about the essentials of game design. In time, on each item a page will expand on the underlying nuances.

World Building

  • Game World – A game world is an artificial, imaginary universe in which the events of the game occur. When a player enters the magic circle, this is where they pretend to be.

  • Magic Circle – In the magic circle, the player replaces reality with the game world including its own set of rules. You design how the player “enters the magic circle”.

Storytelling

  • Narrative – The narrative is everything that determines the player’s experience of the game’s story, including plot, cut-scenes, gameplay, dialogues, and player’s choices. Consider how your game is experienced as a playthrough video on YouTube.

  • Plot – In a story, the plot is the series of linked events that build up a narrative. It highlights important points that have large consequences within the story.

  • Theme – Themes are the central topics of your narrative. They are often abstract concepts or fundamental conflicts, e.g. betrayal, human vs machine, dangers of capitalism.

  • Setting – The setting is the backdrop and context of your narrative and often includes: historical period, geography, and culture.

  • Mood – The mood is the atmosphere of the narrative. It affects the player emotionally by the perspective and manner in which the story is described and displayed.

Gameplay Design

  • Genre – The genre of a game is a specific category of games that share a set of similar mechanics that lead to similar gameplay, e.g. real-time strategy, sandbox, action-adventure, tower defence.

  • Aesthetic (within MDA) – The aesthetic is the emotional experience a game designer aims for with a game. It is the mix of feelings a player experiences giving your game its unique kind of fun.

  • Dynamic (within MDA) – Game dynamics are the set of player choices, strategies, and behaviors. They emerge directly from the mechanics (rules) and the player trying to achieve the goal of the game.

  • Mechanic (within MDA) – Game mechanics are the well-specified rules of the game world. They describe what the player can do, how the world interacts, and what resources are available.

  • MDA framework – A framework to analyse and design games. You always start with an perceived or intended experience (Aesthetic), which results from how a player interacts with the game (Dynamics), which in turns is determined by the ground rules of the game world (Mechanics).

  • Core Loop – The core loop of a game is the chain of high-level actions that is repeated for a player to progress in the game.

  • Controls – A control scheme is the set of inputs that is the physical connection between the player and the game world.

  • Game Feel – Game feel is the tactile sensation of a video game. It is determined by the real-time control of virtual objects in a simulated space, where the interactions are emphasised by polish.

  • Polish – The polish of a game consists of the small details (visual effects, micro-animations, sounds) that have no effect on the simulation of the game, but can have a huge impact on the game feel and perceived aesthetic.

Gameplay Balancing

  • Balancing – Balancing is the fine-tuning of the game design to keep the interest of the player from the beginning till the end of the game.

  • Feedback Loop – The feedback loop consists of the set of mechanics of rewards and punishment that regulates the rate of success of the player.

  • Flow – In flow, the player is fully immersed and in a state of energized focus. During the progression of the game, a player remains in a flow channel when their skills are balanced to the difficulty of the challenges.

  • Pacing – The pacing of a game is the variance in focus/relaxation, activity level, and emotional intensity in progressing the game. By controlling the pacing, you regulate the (cognitive) energy levels of your player.

  • Level Design – Level design is the discipline of creating an environment, stage, or mission in such a fashion that flow and pacing are balanced.

Backlinks