Concept
Aesthetics
You might say: the desired experience
Aesthetics are the emotional responses and kinds of fun the game aims to evoke through play.
- What it does
- Sets the experience target against which mechanics and dynamics can be judged.
- Ask
- Which specific feeling should this system support?
Sources
- Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc and Robert Zubek, MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research, pp. 2–4
Aesthetics describes the desirable emotional responses evoked in the player, when she interacts
- Celia Hodent, Cognitive Psychology Applied to User Experience in Video Games, author article: satisfaction, emotions, game feel, motivation and intended experience
The emotional aspect in video games is frequently addressed through aesthetics, music, or narrative.
- Raph Koster, A Theory of Fun for Game Design
Fun should not be a guilty pleasure. It is core to being human, and games are an incredibly important part of human development.
- Celia Hodent, Developing UX Practices at Epic Games, slides 3–7, 34–45
Ultimately, players want to have fun, and this is what gameflow is all about.
- Steve Swink, Game Feel: The Secret Ingredient, opening; Polish; Conclusion
the aesthetic beauty possible with game feel.
- Ian Schreiber, Game Design Concepts, Level 5: Mechanics and Dynamics, Now, About That MDA Framework Thing…: aesthetics as player experience
Aesthetics (in the MDA sense) do not refer to the visual elements of the game, but rather the player experience of the game
- Tynan Sylvester, The Simulation Dream, Creating apophenia; Creating Story-Richness
simulation is a co-author of stories with the player
- Christopher W. Totten, An Architectural Approach to Level Design, Foreword, p. xxiii
it evokes a feeling of playfulness within the mind of any player who actively engages with it.
Use it on your project
teardown-apply: hold "Aesthetics" (aesthetics) from the teardown at https://teardownatlas.com/game-design/ against my project
Paste it into a coding agent that has the teardown skills.
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