Part

Mechanics

You might say: rules and controls

Mechanics are the particular rules, data and actions the game affords.

What it does
Supply the designed components from which dynamics arise.
Ask
What rule or control is the player actually given?

Sources

  1. Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc and Robert Zubek, MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research, pp. 2–4Mechanics describes the particular components of the game, at the level of data representation and algorithms.
  2. Ernest Adams, Fundamentals of Game Design, introduction, p. xiiChapter 2 introduces the key components of a video game: the core mechanics, user interface, and storytelling engine.
  3. Ernest Adams and Joris Dormans, Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design, ch. 5, p. 80Machinations diagrams are designed to represent game mechanics in a way that is accessible yet retains the structural features and dynamic behavior of the games they represent.
  4. Daniel Cook, What are game mechanics?, game mechanics definition: rule-based systems/simulations with feedbackGame mechanics are rule based systems / simulations that facilitate and encourage a user to explore and learn
  5. Ernest Adams and Joris Dormans, Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design, Introduction pp. xi–xiii; ch. 1 pp. 1–22Game mechanics create gameplay, and to build a great game, you must understand how this happens.
  6. Ian Schreiber, Game Design Concepts, Level 5: Mechanics and Dynamics, Now, About That MDA Framework Thing…: mechanics as rules, actions, effects and game stateMechanics are a synonym for the “rules” of the game.
  7. Scott Rogers, Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design, ch. 1, p. 20the designer’s role is the same: create the ideas and rules that comprise a game.
  8. Tynan Sylvester, The Simulation Dream, Player Model Principle; Drowning in Complexity; Eclipse Colony design case studyWe make a simulation in computer code. That is a computer model of some situation
  9. Christopher W. Totten, An Architectural Approach to Level Design, Introduction, p. xxxiiinterpret the game rules, and to translate them into a construct (a level) that best facilitates play.

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